Women’s basketball (23-8, 16-4 MAC) defeated Western Michigan (16-14, 10-10 MAC), 63-49, in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland Wednesday.
The Bulls went into the tournament as heavy first-round favorites, and they took care of the Broncos to advance to the Friday semifinals.
Junior guard Dyaisha Fair dominated with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists while graduate forward Summer Hemphill pulled off a game-high 13 rebounds to put her 13 rebounds away from notching the program’s all-time boards record.
Senior guard Jazmine Young and junior guard Dominique Camp both reached double digits with 10 points each, as the Bulls dominated the game defensively — limiting the Broncos to 28.3% shooting and 16.7% from the three-point line.
“They locked in defensively,” head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.
UB maintained its typical dominance in the paint, outscoring the Broncos 42-26, while simultaneously managing a 46-38 edge on the glass and turning 13 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
The Bulls also turned WMU turnovers into 20 points.
“We just turn those turnovers into points,” junior forward Loren Christie said, in reference to the Bulls turning 18 WMU turnovers into 20 points of their own.
The Bulls did get off to a sluggish start offensively.
Legette-Jack’s 200th career win saw the Bulls fail to record a field goal until the 6:09 mark, when a Camp layup and a subsequent two-pointer cut the WMU lead to 8-4 by the first media timeout.
UB was able to bounce back to gain a 14-12 lead by the end of the first, capped off by a Hemphill midrange jumper.
“Summer suggested what defense we went,” Legette-Jack said, highlighting how Hemphill’s leadership propelled the Bulls to victory.
The 33-18 halftime score marked the second-fewest points the Bulls have allowed at the midpoint this season.
Fair was blazing hot to start the third quarter, as she contributed baskets on UB’s first two possessions and a stellar assist to Christie that led to a big triple.
Passes and assists characterized the Bulls’ later gameplay.
“We played as one,” Legette-Jack said.
UB was able to stretch its lead to as many as 22 points at the end of the third quarter before WMU started the fourth with a 9-2 run. But UB wouldn’t let up.
“[If] they’re gonna disrespect you, make them respect you,” Fair said.
UB stayed strong and fought hard to pull off the 63-49 win.
The Bulls will return to action Friday for the MAC semifinals against Akron (13-7, 17-10 MAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Sophie McNally is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at sophie.mcnally@ubspectrum.com
Sophie McNally is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. She is a history major studying abroad for a year from Newcastle University in the UK. In her spare time, she can be found blasting The 1975 or Taylor Swift and rowing on a random river at 5 a.m.
