Women’s basketball extends winning streak with win over Redhawks

Women’s basketball (13-8, 7-4 MAC) won 49-43 over the Miami (OH) Redhawks (5-16, 3-8 MAC) at Millett Hall on Wednesday. 

The Bulls dominated the first half, holding the Redhawks to only five complete field goals and scoring 11 fast break points to Miami’s 0. They relied on sophomore guard Hattie Ogden’s hot hand to outlast Miami’s late second half comeback. 

Senior guard Chellia Watson led the scoring with 19 points, 11 of them coming from the first half alone. Watson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and four steals to round out a tough victory, extending the Bulls’ winning streak to three. 

UB played their lowest scoring game of the season but won off their constricting defense. Miami only mustered 4 points in the paint in the first half, while UB dominated with 18 in the restricted area. It did not matter that UB was unable to convert a 3-point attempt in the first half, because the Bulls led by 9 going into half with a score of 24-15. 

The Redhawks came alive in the third quarter, matching their scoring total from the first half with 15 points. A couple missed layups from the Bulls allowed for a 5-0 and a 6-0 run to close out the third frame with UB’s lead melting to only 2. Miami relied on senior forward Jada Scott as she contributed 7 of their 15 points in the quarter. 

Fortunately for UB, Miami was ill-prepared for Hattie Ogden, who rained 3-pointers in the final quarter. Ogden extended the Bulls’ lead to 7 and  put the game away with a deep shot as the shot clock expired to re-extend the lead. A couple of sunken free throws from Watson and senior guard Rana Elhusseini sealed the win for the Bulls. 

UB faces Southern Mississippi (13-9, 6-6 SBC) this upcoming Saturday at 2 p.m. for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge in Alumni Arena. The game can be live streamed on ESPN+.

Evan Hilbert is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at evan.hilbert@ubspectrum.com 

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