WBB 2022 Non-Conference Season Review

[dj_paige]

Head coach Becky Burke. Photo credit: ubbulls.com

It was a rough start for the UB Women's Basketball team, but as December comes to an end, there's a lot to like and there's also pieces missing.

With eleven new players and an entirely new coaching staff led by head coach Becky Burke, a period of adjustment and learning for the UB Women's Basketball team would be a reasonable expectation. But the first three games left you with a sinking feeling. A last second loss to Canisius, and narrow win over Stonehill (a former Division 2 team making its first Division 1 appearance) and another last second loss against Division 2 Mercyhurst did not inspire confidence. Follow that up with double-digit losses against Drexel (in which Buffalo only scored 35 points) and Rhode Island, and you could be forgiven if you thought the season was going to be very bad indeed.

Teams should, and do, improve as the season progresses. And so it was for the UB Women's basketball team, credit to the coaches and players for their hard work and improvement. At Niagara, UB ran out to a 17 point lead before eventually winning by 5. Then, they blew out Long Island and defeated Bucknell and St. Bonaventure, a four game winning streak, and Buffalo closed the non-Conference with a winning record, 5–4. But to give a more complete picture, the losses to Drexel and Rhode Island were against teams with just one loss at the time, and the four game winning streak came against teams all with records below 0.500. So, Buffalo has, since the loss to Mercyhurst, defeated teams with worse records, and lost to teams with better records.

The strength of the team is clearly their three guards, Jazmine Young, Re'Shawna Stone and Zakiyah Winfield. Each has shown the ability to get open off the dribble and score. Each plays pressure defense and can then turn defense into offense. Winfield, in particular, has shined brightly, leading the team in scoring at 15.1 per game, shooting nearly 50%, and leading the team with 11.3 rebounds per game (and to paraphrase a former UB coach, someone forgot to tell Winfield she's only 5-7). Get this: Winfield right now leads the MAC in rebounds per game. Winfield is also right now tied for 8th in the MAC in assists per game at 3.6 (tied with Stone), and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.6. Young is second on the team in scoring (12.7), while Stone is third (11.3).

The team lost a major piece in the middle when 6–2 Kiara Johnson's season ended because of a torn achilles tendon, after she had scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and had 2 blocks in just 23 minutes of playing time against Long Island. The Bull's other front line players haven't come close to this in productivity, although 6–3 center Kayla Salmons has had two double-digit rebound games so far this season and is shooting 58%. 6–2 freshman Hattie Ogden has played only sparingly so far and hasn't put up big numbers. 6–0 Emerita Mashaire had her first double-digit scoring game against St. Bonaventure. Add in UB volleyball player Olivia Debortoli, who stands 6–2, and Buffalo has the front-line size to compete in the MAC, but so far no breakout game by any front line player except Johnson.

The other thing missing is a more diverse offense. Most of the Bulls offense comes from the guards, dribbling into the paint and then hitting short jumpers or layups. The talent at guard is good enough so that they score in the paint often, and if they don't score the guards also find a cutting player for an easy layup. But there is no outside shooting threat, which would help the guards drive and score. There is only rarely a drive into the paint, kick the ball out to an outside shooting threat to make the easy jumper or wide open three-pointer. There are only rare moments where someone sets a screen to help the guards penetrate. There are only rare pick-and-roll plays. There are only rare moments when Salmons posts up down low to use her height to score, or to play the inside-out game.

So with a four-game winning streak, the Bulls head into the MAC schedule, the question marks remain. Will the talent at guard carry the team? Will other players step up? Will the offense diversify? We shall see. #GoBulls

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by dj_paige

[UBinMD]

59 minutes ago, dj_paige said:

Head coach Becky Burke. Photo credit: ubbulls.com

It was a rough start for the UB Women's Basketball team, but as December comes to an end, there's a lot to like and there's also pieces missing.

With eleven new players and an entirely new coaching staff led by head coach Becky Burke, a period of adjustment and learning for the UB Women's Basketball team would be a reasonable expectation. But the first three games left you with a sinking feeling. A last second loss to Canisius, and narrow win over Stonehill (a former Division 2 team making its first Division 1 appearance) and another last second loss against Division 2 Mercyhurst did not inspire confidence. Follow that up with double-digit losses against Drexel (in which Buffalo only scored 35 points) and Rhode Island, and you could be forgiven if you thought the season was going to be very bad indeed.

Teams should, and do, improve as the season progresses. And so it was for the UB Women's basketball team, credit to the coaches and players for their hard work and improvement. At Niagara, UB ran out to a 17 point lead before eventually winning by 5. Then, they blew out Long Island and defeated Bucknell and St. Bonaventure, a four game winning streak, and Buffalo closed the non-Conference with a winning record, 5–4. But to give a more complete picture, the losses to Drexel and Rhode Island were against teams with just one loss at the time, and the four game winning streak came against teams all with records below 0.500. So, Buffalo has, since the loss to Mercyhurst, defeated teams with worse records, and lost to teams with better records.

The strength of the team is clearly their three guards, Jazmine Young, Re'Shawna Stone and Zakiyah Winfield. Each has shown the ability to get open off the dribble and score. Each plays pressure defense and can then turn defense into offense. Winfield, in particular, has shined brightly, leading the team in scoring at 15.1 per game, shooting nearly 50%, and leading the team with 11.3 rebounds per game (and to paraphrase a former UB coach, someone forgot to tell Winfield she's only 5-7). Get this: Winfield right now leads the MAC in rebounds per game. Winfield is also right now tied for 8th in the MAC in assists per game at 3.6 (tied with Stone), and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.6. Young is second on the team in scoring (12.7), while Stone is third (11.3).

The team lost a major piece in the middle when 6–2 Kiara Johnson's season ended because of a torn achilles tendon, after she had scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and had 2 blocks in just 23 minutes of playing time against Long Island. The Bull's other front line players haven't come close to this in productivity, although 6–3 center Kayla Salmons has had two double-digit rebound games so far this season and is shooting 58%. 6–2 freshman Hattie Ogden has played only sparingly so far and hasn't put up big numbers. 6–0 Emerita Mashaire had her first double-digit scoring game against St. Bonaventure. Add in UB volleyball player Olivia Debortoli, who stands 6–2, and Buffalo has the front-line size to compete in the MAC, but so far no breakout game by any front line player except Johnson.

The other thing missing is a more diverse offense. Most of the Bulls offense comes from the guards, dribbling into the paint and then hitting short jumpers or layups. The talent at guard is good enough so that they score in the paint often, and if they don't score the guards also find a cutting player for an easy layup. But there is no outside shooting threat, which would help the guards drive and score. There is only rarely a drive into the paint, kick the ball out to an outside shooting threat to make the easy jumper or wide open three-pointer. There are only rare moments where someone sets a screen to help the guards penetrate. There are only rare pick-and-roll plays. There are only rare moments when Salmons posts up down low to use her height to score, or to play the inside-out game.

So with a four-game winning streak, the Bulls head into the MAC schedule, the question marks remain. Will the talent at guard carry the team? Will other players step up? Will the offense diversify? We shall see. #GoBulls

 

Their best chance to win in the MAC is the lockdown Defense. Their goal needs to be to keep their opponents between 50-60 points. Any more than that and our offense will struggle to keep up. Our shooting is not good, so fast break points will be essential. I am hopeful that Mashaire and Ogden step forward as more regular contributors. Perkins could also be a factor, she has shown some glimpses, but got a late start to her season. Ellis has shown some promise as a shooter, so we will see. Young, Winfield and Stone will need to score 45-50 a night and hope for the rest of the group to get 15-20. This is a stopgap season and a 0.500 record in the MAC would be a reasonable expectation, hopefully enough to make it to Cleveland. Burke and Co. have shown they can coach and adapt to what talent their team has, which I find encouraging. I find them to be fun to watch, play with a lot of energy and they are well conditioned to say the least. We will see where this goes, but I'm not sure anyone should underestimate this group, regardless of their deficiencies.

Several of the incoming recruits have been doing good things in the HS finales so that is encouraging too. Go Bulls!!🤘🤘

[John]

Two  very good comprehensive analysis of the team. Probably wishful thinking that our three main players in Winfield, Stone and Young will have great games all year. As stated before the key will be to get positive contributions from one or a combination of other players like Salmons, Mashaire, Perkins among others. It showed in the Bona game where Young had a tough game but Salmons with 10 rebounds and Mashaire had two crucial buckets in the last couple minutes of the game. Very impressed with Winfield with not only a scoring threat but with her rebounding which will be crucial for us to win some games. Am impressed with Coach Burke who does seem to have the pulse of this team with an entire new lineup. Looking forward to Mac play and see how the other teams look with many new players. Go Bulls!!!

[promotherobot]

They really recovered from rock bottom when they lost to Mercyhurst. They looked great vs SBU.

[John]

15 hours ago, promotherobot said:

They really recovered from rock bottom when they lost to Mercyhurst. They looked great vs SBU.

Do agree. They seem to have a better understanding offensively on their ball movement and they seem to be better defensively. 

[skrabukes]

This team is playing super right now, leading Kent. They're like night and day from the start of the season. Credit to Coach Burke and her staff, along with the short-handed roster. Hang on!

[Bluebird96]

Ugh, thought they were going to pull off the upset with Winfield’s go-ahead layup with 0:04 left. Only to have Kent make a layup coming out of the timeout at 0:01 before UB got the timeout and one last chance. Coach Burke has to be proud of the effort, but I’m sure she’d like to see better than 6/12 on FTs next time out. Definitely one to build on, hanging with one of the top teams like that on their home court! 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bluebird96

[promotherobot]

45 minutes ago, Bluebird96 said:

Ugh, thought they were going to pull off the upset with Winfield’s go-ahead layup with 0:04 left. Only to have Kent make a layup coming out of the timeout at 0:01 before UB got the timeout and one last chance. Coach Burke has to be proud of the effort, but I’m sure she’d like to see better than 6/12 on FTs next time out. Definitely one to build on, hanging with one of the top teams like that on their home court! 

Blatant non-call on what should have been an offensive foul on KSU at the end. But that's MAC officiating for you. The old guard schools get (or don't get) the calls.

[Bluebird96]

2 minutes ago, promotherobot said:

Blatant non-call on what should have been an offensive foul on KSU at the end. But that's MAC officiating for you. The old guard schools get (or don't get) the calls.

Probably better off that I wasn’t able to watch the game with that kind of ending. To be honest, on the last 3-Pt shot by Ohio in last night’s men’s game I thought for sure we would be called for the foul with a chance for them to tie it up at the line. 

[UBinMD]

1 hour ago, Bluebird96 said:

Probably better off that I wasn’t able to watch the game with that kind of ending. To be honest, on the last 3-Pt shot by Ohio in last night’s men’s game I thought for sure we would be called for the foul with a chance for them to tie it up at the line. 

I also felt there should have been a T ON KSU when the girl elbowed our player off hall in the backcourt. That wasn’t even close to a basketball play. The UB women really got under their skin. Several push offs and non calls. Really proud that our ladies didn’t retaliate 

[dj_paige]

A frustrating one-point loss by UB at Kent State last night. Buffalo was unable to stop Kent's outside shooting, in fact most of the Kent State 3 pointers were from wide open. Buffalo rarely got pressure on the outside shooters, choosing to stay inside the arc defensively, where Kent State really didn't have a lot of threats. Add in Buffalo's lack of three point shooting.

It all came down to two last second plays. Buffalo had the ball with around 10 second left. HC Becky Burke chose not to put Kayla Salmons on the floor — Salmons had been effective earlier in the game getting open in the paint, shooting 3-for-3, and that would have given the Kent defense another effective shooter to have to guard. On this play, it didn't matter, Zakiyah Winfield scored a layup off of a pass (but it didn't look like a designed play and no assist was given) so Buffalo now had a 1 point lead with 4 seconds left. Kent then got the ball into the paint, and a somewhat wild running shot from about five feet in front of the basket by Clare Kelly, over one of the UB guards trying to defend, went in — Salmons presence would certainly have made that a much more difficult shot.

The good news, in my opinion, is that Kent is one of the better teams in the MAC (they're non-conference record was 8–3 if that's any indication). Buffalo played them even and I think this bodes well, and UB can be competitive in the MAC.

Edited January 5, 2023 by dj_paige

[WRUB]

I believe it came down to the last 3 plays.

The offensive possession before the layup w/ 4 seconds left was a really nicely designed play that got us a wide open 3 that we missed. If the team next year can find some shooters it really will do wonders for the squad.

The layup was a really nicely designed play w/ the option to use the screen but choose not to and got the nice layup.

I don't think it was offensive on KSU on that last play. However, if we flop perhaps we get the call.

Really impressive last few games for both hoops programs. Neither team shoots the ball terribly well but both play some really solid D that could make some noise in Cleveland. But man alive could we use a Jeremy Harris.

[John]

17 minutes ago, WRUB said:

I believe it came down to the last 3 plays.

The offensive possession before the layup w/ 4 seconds left was a really nicely designed play that got us a wide open 3 that we missed. If the team next year can find some shooters it really will do wonders for the squad.

The layup was a really nicely designed play w/ the option to use the screen but choose not to and got the nice layup.

I don't think it was offensive on KSU on that last play. However, if we flop perhaps we get the call.

Really impressive last few games for both hoops programs. Neither team shoots the ball terribly well but both play some really solid D that could make some noise in Cleveland. But man alive could we use a Jeremy Harris.

Don’t agree with you on the last shot. Seen it on replay and looked like the UB player was standing there and established position but that is the beauty of our different views. Do agree it looks like we will be hurt in many games with not having any pure 3 point shooters and the few we do have are all young players with very little experience. Looking forward to the CMU game on Saturday with looked like a not very good team who won their first MAC game after a terrible OC season. Go Bullls!!

[dj_paige]

17 hours ago, WRUB said:

The layup was a really nicely designed play w/ the option to use the screen but choose not to and got the nice layup.

I don't think it was offensive on KSU on that last play. However, if we flop perhaps we get the call.

If it was a designed play for UB, I have never seen such a play before. It relied on a 5-7 guard getting the ball, driving into the paint and around a defender for a layup. Maybe that's the play you call for Zakiyah Winfield and almost no one else, but I remain skeptical on that point.

I still think not having Salmons on the court was a mistake, especially on the last play when KSU scored.