Women’s basketball (12-8, 6-4 MAC) won 75-63 over Eastern Michigan (5-15, 2-8 MAC) at Alumni Arena on Saturday, giving the Bulls back-to-back wins in Mid-American conference (MAC) play after winning earlier this week on Jan. 31 over Ohio (7-13, 4-6 MAC).
The victory gave UB their ninth home win of the season and has kept them in fourth place in the MAC standings. The Bulls are now tied with division leaders Ball State (20-2, 10-0 MAC) for most home wins in the conference this season.
The Bulls managed to secure the victory by taking advantage of their visits to the free-throw line and by dominating the Eagles in fast-break points. UB ended the game with an 80% accuracy rate from the charity stripe and scored 19 points off fast-breaks to Eastern Michigan’s 6.
The game was closely contested in the first quarter. Both teams attacked the rim, getting to the free throw line as the quarter ended with the score knotted at 14. Senior guard Rana Elhusseini scored 5 straight points to open the second frame as the Bulls peeled off a 24-5 scoring run for the second straight game. Elhusseini played all 40 minutes and assisted freshman guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams for the final basket of the scoring burst.
Eastern Michigan clawed back in the third quarter to come within 11 points to start the final period. The Eagles scored the first basket of the fourth to come within nine, but that was as close as they got. UB avoided some late pressure, and the Bulls made some clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Lewis-Williams was named player of the game after her stellar performance. She finished the game with 21 points and led the game in total assists with eight. Along with that, the senior guard and 3-time MAC player of the week Chellia Watson also scored 21 points and secured a double-double as she finished the match with a game high 12 rebounds.
The Bulls will next face the Miami (OH) RedHawks (5-14, 2-7 MAC) away at Millett Hall on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at henry.daley@ubspectrum.com
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. His work has featured on other platforms such as Medium and Last Word on Sports. Outside of the newspaper, he enjoys running and watching sports (when he’s not writing about them).
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
