Dyaisha Fair dropped 28 points, three assists, two steals and three rebounds to lift the Bulls (20-8, 14-4 MAC) to an 82-64 victory over Kent State (17-10, 9-9 MAC) Saturday afternoon.
Fair, a junior guard from Rochester, is fourth in the nation in scoring, at 23.8 points per game, while UB is second in the Mid-American Conference with just over a week remaining until the MAC tournament.
Redshirt fifth-year forward Summer Hemphill continues to dominate on both sides of the ball, as she dropped 15 points and 18 rebounds to secure her second-consecutive double-double. Junior forward Loren Christie found the basket for 12 points; she also added six boards and three blocks to extend UB’s winning streak to four.
Back-to-back layups from Christie gave UB a 4-0 advantage within the first minute of the game. A triple by junior guard Dominique Camp gave Buffalo a 7-2 lead with 8:04 in the first quarter. That became a 19-14 advantage at the end of the period thanks to a 6-0 run capped by a jumper from Christie.
Fair opened the second quarter with a fast-break basket with 9:13 to play to snag a seven-point lead. A three from Fair with 20 seconds left before the half gave Buffalo a 44-24 lead.
Kent State came ready to play in the third quarter, jumping out to a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 11 with 6:07 left to play. A two-minute scoring drought for the Bulls was rained on when Fair tacked on a jumper in the paint with 2:28 to go to grab a 53-40 lead. UB’s offense refused to pump the breaks and went full throttle to clutch a 60-44 advantage entering the final 10 minutes of the game.
Buffalo opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run, which was highlighted by a three-pointer from freshman guard Georgia Woolley to secure a 70-49 advantage with 6:21 left to play. The Bulls snagged a 20-point lead with 4:43 remaining thanks to a pair of baskets at the charity stripe from Fair. UB held a 23-point advantage four times in the fourth quarter as it proceeded to an 82-64 victory.
UB out-rebounded the Golden Flashes 41-38 and turned 12 turnovers into 15 points. UB dominated in the paint, scoring 42 points compared to Kent State’s 20. Buffalo turned 14 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points while shooting 32-of-63 from the field. The Bulls are 10-0 when they score 80 or more points this season.
The Bulls will return to MACtion on Wednesday as they face the Zips in Akron at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Kayla Sterner is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at kayla.sterner@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.
