East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team faced a challenging game against the University at Buffalo, resulting in a 71-54 loss on Saturday, March 1, at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. Olivia Smith led the Eagles with a season-high of 17 points and achieved a career-high five three-pointers. This performance was notable for EMU (2-25, 1-15 Mid-American Conference) as they competed against the Bulls (23-5, 12-4 MAC).

In the first quarter, the Eagles fell behind early as Buffalo took a commanding 12-2 lead before ending the quarter ahead by eight points. Sisi Eleko contributed six of her eight points during this period while Smith and Kyndal Lewis each added one three-pointer.

The second quarter saw Eastern Michigan score only 11 points compared to Buffalo's growing lead of 45-23 by halftime. Smith accounted for eight of those points with two three-pointers and one layup. Dara Capaldi also made a late three-pointer in this period.

After halftime, both teams exchanged baskets with Eastern managing to reduce the deficit slightly to 59-39. The Eagles scored several three-pointers from players like Smith, Brooklyn Trash, and Capaldi while others including Lewis, Mackenzie Amalia, and Olivia Westphal added to the scoreline.

Buffalo maintained their advantage through the final quarter despite efforts from EMU's Amalia and Lewis who contributed additional points. Smith continued her strong performance with another three-pointer while Eleko and Westphal closed out scoring for EMU.

Game notes highlighted that Olivia Smith not only achieved a personal best but tied with teammate Olivia Westphal for most single-game three-pointers this year at EMU. Additionally, Kyndal Lewis and Sisi Eleko were noted for their contributions in rebounds and scoring.

With this defeat against Buffalo marking their overall record at 2-25 and conference standing at 1-15, Eastern Michigan is set to face Akron next on March 5 in Ohio.