Bulls beat Dayton 67-59 for fourth straight win

AMHERST, N.Y. —  The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (8-2, 0-0 MAC) extended their winning streak to four games as they defeated the Dayton Flyers 67-59 at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night.

Buffalo was once again led by Dyaisha Fair who turned in another impressive performance with a game-high 27 points, five rebounds, two assists and five steals. Senior Theresa Onwuka added 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists and junior Hanna Hall broke through for 11 points while also adding five rebounds and three assists.

The Bulls started the game with a bang as Hall drained a triple off the opening tip. Dayton answered with a 5-0 run but a fastbreak layup by Onwuka and a Fair three gave UB a 9-7 lead at the first media timeout. After turnovers plagued both teams, the Flyers would knock down back-to-back three's to take a 13-11 lead but the Bulls responded with 7-0 run, capped by an acrobatic bucket by Onwuka, to give UB an 18-13 lead at the end of the first.

The Bulls would extend the run to 13-0 on back-to-back three's by Fair and Marissa Hamilton to start the second quarter to give UB a 24-13 lead and force an early Flyers timeout at the 8:10 mark. Dayton would put together a 6-0 run to cut the UB lead to 24-19 but the Bulls answered with a 7-0 run, bookended by a Hall triple and a Keowa Walters offensive rebound putback to give UB a 31-19 lead at the 1:59 mark. Dayton would battle back as the Flyers closed the half on a 9-2 run to cut the Buffalo lead to 33-28 at the half.

The Flyers would continue their hot shooting as they opened the third quarter on a 13-7 run to take a 41-40 lead at the media timeout. The Bulls responded with a 10-2 run out of the media, highlighted by a Fair fastbreak triple and an Onwuka and-one in transition to take a 50-46 lead, but the Flyers knocked down a three in the final seconds to cut the UB lead to 50-48 at the end of three quarters of play.

After the Flyers cut the UB lead to two early in the fourth quarter, Onwuka converted on a turnaround baseline jumper in mid-air and then Hall found Fair for a triple on the wing to give UB a 59-52 lead and they would lead 59-55 at the media timeout. Dayton hit a three on their second possession out of the media to cut the lead to four but that would be as close as the Flyers would get as Buffalo closed the game on a 7-4 run to seal the victory.

Buffalo won the battle on the glass 44-36 and turned 14 offensive boards into 15 second chance points, while also turning 18 Flyers turnovers into 21 points in on the other end and cashing in on 23 fastbreak points. This is the fourth straight game that the Bulls have held their opponents to 59 points or less, giving UB a perfect 45-0 record over the last three plus seasons when holding teams under the 59 point mark.

Walters gave UB key minutes as she scored eight points to go with six rebounds and a block, while freshman Elea Gaba scored three points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

"We are in the foxhole right now trying to figure out how to grow this team," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "This team has made me a believer that it's not about your age it's about your maturity. You can call this team young all you want but their maturity level has risen by leaps and bounds and I'm just really proud to be a part of this team."  

The Bulls return to action on Friday, December 20, as they host Ryerson University in an exhibition contest at 12pm.