Women’s basketball (1-0) started its season Tuesday night with a 61-56 win against Central Connecticut (0-1).
While the Bulls came out victorious, the game had a rough start for the defending conference champions. Consistent defense kept them in the lead but many players struggled offensively, revealing areas for improvement as the season progresses.
“Tonight, we played so tight and so timid,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
The Bulls started slow as they were just 2-19 from the arc and 9-30 from the floor after the first half, having a hard time scoring against a more experienced CCSU team.
Junior guard Hanna Hall went 0-13 in shooting for the night, with only one point coming from a free throw in 28 minutes of play. Junior forward Marissa Hamilton also scored just one point, shooting 0-8. She finished with five rebounds and two assists.
But two players for UB didn’t let Connecticut’s defense phase them.
Freshman guard Dyaisha Fair led the Bulls in scoring with 24 points. She also contributed 10 rebounds and earned a double-double in her first official win as a Bull.
“I just had to keep my composure,” Fair said. “It was all in slow motion once I remained calm.”
Senior guard Theresa Onwuka shoots a free throw. Onwuka was a big part of UB’s 61-56 win over Central Connecticut State Saturday.
Senior guard Theresa Onwuka followed closely behind, scoring a career-high 21 points and adding five steals, five rebounds and three assists to the win.
“My teammates did a good job of finding me when I was wide open and they did a good job of leaving the lane open for me to drive,” Onwuka said.
With Onwuka and Fair putting up numbers for Buffalo, defense was crucial in keeping them ahead of CCSU.
UB was able to secure 18 turnovers and 25 defensive rebounds to keep Connecticut’s scoring to a minimum, never allowing them to regain the lead. Both teams were aggressive throughout the game, with each team drawing 25 fouls.
Legette-Jack focuses on the more positive aspects of how her team played.
"Our goal is always to hold teams under 59 points and we did that tonight,” Legette-Jack said. “You are never going to see this team quit. We are going to fight, we are going to claw, we're going to find a way and we're going to continue to adjust.”
The Bulls will be in action again on Saturday Nov. 9, as they travel to Niagara to take on the Purple Eagles (0-0).
Sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com.
Myah Gonzalez is an asst. sports editor at The Spectrum.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
