Women’s basketball (1-0) defeated the Canisius Golden Griffins (0-1), 102-42, in its season opener Tuesday night at Alumni Arena.
The Bulls quickly asserted control, clutching the lead for all but one minute of the game. UB held a staggering 34-point lead at halftime over its crosstown rivals.
UB saw a balanced scoring attack, with multiple players ending up in double digits. Redshirt fifth year forward Summer Hemphill recorded the 24th double-double of her career with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while junior guard Dyaisha Fair paved the way with 16 points, four steals and two assists. Junior guard Dominique Camp, who transferred from Troy in the offseason, managed nine assists, five rebounds and seven points. Freshman guard Georgia Woolley recorded11 points, three steals and six rebounds in her UB debut.
Four other players also reached double digits., Sophomore guard Cheyenne McEvans added 13 points, junior forward Loren Christie and senior forward Adebola Adeyeye each had 12 and senior guard Jazmine Young contributed10.
The Bulls dominated on the glass, hauling in 54 rebounds compared to the Griffins’ 32. UB was also able to turn defense into offense, as the Bulls capitalized with 43 points off of Canisus’ 27 turnovers. UB was unstoppable in the paint with 62 points, but couldn’t find any rhythm from the three-point arc, shooting an alarming 4-of-17.
The Bulls mounted a 51-17 lead at halftime while also flaunting a perfect free throw percentage and a strong 43.6% from the field. On defense, UB only allowed four points in the second quarter and six points in the fourth.
The Griffins found a slight spark on offense with 19 points in the third quarter but it wasn’t nearly enough to threaten the Bulls, who averaged 25.5 points a quarter.
The Bulls will travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas to participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis against the nation’s highest-ranked team, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, on Saturday, Nov. 20. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Flohoops.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Kayla Sterner is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. She is studying communications with the hopes of being a sideline reporter. In her spare time, she can be found in the gym, watching football or vibing to Mac Miller. Kayla is on Twitter @kaylasterner.
