Junior guard Dyaisha Fair scored 38 points to lead women’s basketball (16-7, 10-3 MAC) to a 93-68 victory over Eastern Michigan (5-14, 2-10 MAC) Wednesday night at Alumni Arena.
Fair — the nation’s eighth-leading scorer heading into Wednesday’s contest — scored at will against the struggling Eagles. The Rochester native shot 5-of-6 from three while also dishing five assists and grabbing five rebounds in a dazzling performance.
“I don’t get used to that, I’m always surprised by how well Dyaisha plays,” UB head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said after the game. “Because if you expect certain things, you get disappointed. These ladies have been really well but there’s still so much room at the top for them to get to.”
Freshman guard Georgia Wolley and junior guard Dominique Camp also shined in the backcourt for UB. Wolley recorded 21 points and a game-high five steals while Camp scored 16 points and had a game-high six assists.
As if the showings of Fair, Wolley and Camp weren’t enough, redshirt senior forward Summer Hemphill grabbed career rebound 1,000 Wednesday night. The sixth-year Bull wore a towel to the postgame press conference after she was doused in water by teammates in honor of her historic milestone.
“I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to play this game of basketball at the Division I level,” Hemphill said. “Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to achieve all of these milestones without all of my teammates from the past and the present.”
The Bulls shot a scorching 11-of-18 from deep and pushed the tempo with 24 fastbreak points. UB’s aggressiveness also paid dividends as the Bulls attempted 19 free throws compared to Eastern Michigan’s six.
A back-and-forth first half unraveled into a scoring frenzy for the Bulls when a 13-0 UB run put the Bulls up by 20 and put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
UB made multiple halftime adjustments and played with an extra sense of urgency in the second half to put the game away early.
“Coach Jack in the locker room told us they’re [Eastern Michigan] a second half team,” Fair said. “Knowing that we usually have slow starts in the second half, we tried to do what we could to not have a slow start and just come out and beat them in the first five minutes [of the third quarter].”
Redshirt sophomore forward Ce’Nara Skanes led EMU with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Head coach Fred Castro received a technical foul as the Eagles were overwhelmed and dominated in the second half.
The win positioned the Bulls firmly in second place in the Mid-American Conference and helped them claw to within two games of No. 1 Toledo. The Bulls have now won five straight.
“We made a choice as individuals and as a collective team to go out there and just play this game as free as we can,” Legette-Jack said. “I thought the young ladies on my left and right [Fair and Hemphill] understood the message and they grabbed the players to understand what we’re trying to do. As a team we dominated and I’m really proud of this team.”
The Bulls will return to action when they hit the road to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (9-11, 6-6 MAC) Saturday at 2 p.m. at NIU Convocation Center.
Anthony DeCicco is the senior sports editor and can be reached at anthony.decicco@ubspectrum.com and @DeCicco42 on Twitter
Jack Porcari is a senior news/features editor and can be reached at jack.porcari@ubspectrum.com
Anthony DeCicco is the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectrum. His words have appeared in outlets such as SLAM Magazine andSyracuse.com. In 2020, he was awarded First Prize for Sports Column Writing at the Society of Professional Journalists' Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. In his free time, he can be found watching ‘90s Knicks games and reading NFL Mock Drafts at 3 a.m.
Jack Porcari is a senior news/features editor at The Spectrum. He is a political science major with a minor in journalism. Aside from writing and editing, he enjoys playing piano, flow arts, reptiles and activism.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
