UB women’s basketball (2-2) lost to the Purdue Boilermakers (2-1) 82-70 at Mackey Arena Wednesday night.
The Bulls had four players finish in double figures. Freshman guard Cheyenne McEvans led the way with a career-high 16 points while also totaling six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Senior forward Summer Hemphill and sophomore center Elea Gaba both finished with 12 points. Junior forward Adebola Adeyeye rounded out the Bulls’ double digit scorers by tacking on 10 points of her own.
Hemphill got the Bulls’ offense off to a strong start, connecting on back-to-back buckets. Adeyeye converted on an offensive rebound before Fair drained a three to put UB up 9-5. The teams exchanged baskets coming out of the first media timeout before Purdue capitalized on just over a two minute UB scoring drought, closing out the quarter on a 5-0 run.
Buffalo’s offensive struggles continued into the second quarter before Adeyeye put home a layup cutting the lead to six. The Boilermakers responded with a 7-1 run to take a 12 point lead. Things started to turn around for the Bulls, as they made three consecutive baskets, cutting the deficit to 27-19 heading into the media timeout. Sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair would look to spark the Bulls’ offense as she found sophomore guard Jessika Schiffer for three before picking off a pass and finishing a layup to bring her team within five. Purdue countered with back-to-back three’s to take a 37-26 lead. Gaba closed out the half for the Bulls hitting one of two free throws. UB headed to the locker room down 10 after two quarters of play.
The Boilermakers continued their strong offensive play, opening up the second half on an 8-0 run, increasing their lead to 18 points. Purdue would extend the run to 15-4 before Buffalo answered with a 5-0 run of their own, capped off by Schiffer draining a three.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Bulls’ offense surged as they put together a 7-0 run cutting the lead to 55-43. McEvans put home a three on a feed from junior forward Keowa Walters to reduce the deficit to 11 points with just over three minutes left to play in the third. Purdue responded with a 7-0 run regaining an 18 point lead before the teams exchanged buckets to close out the quarter with the Bulls trailing 68-52.
The two squads traded baskets to start the fourth quarter as Purdue maintained a demanding 75-60 lead heading into the media timeout. The Bulls’ attempted to stage a late comeback as senior guard Hanna Hall sank both of her free throws followed by 5-0 solo run by McEvans. The run brought UB within 12 points but the Bulls efforts fell short.
The Bulls will look to rebound as they head home to Alumni Arena to face the Akron Zips (3-0) on Sunday afternoon.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
