Buffalo senior Cierra Dillard holds the No. 2 spot in the NCAA for points per game, and she proved her point in Wednesday’s game against Ball State (6-10, 1-4 MAC). The Bulls (11-4, 3-1 MAC) topped the Cardinals by a final score of 77-65.
Buffalo holds a 27-6 record at home over the course of its last two seasons with Dillard being a primary contributor. Averaging 25.9 points per game and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range, Dillard has been named Mid-American Conference East Player of the Week four times in the 2018-2019 season.
While many statistics showed a fairly equal playing field including rebounds, turnovers and points from turnovers. Dillard and junior Theresa Onwuka made the difference for the Bulls, posting 21 and 16 points, respectively.
“[Dillard] got loose on us in the first quarter, but we referred back to the game plan and followed it well,” head coach Brady Sallee said. “I thought we did a great job defending her, as good as she is. All in all, I was happy with that part of our game.”
It was a 3-point shootout in the first quarter. Freshman Thelma Dis Agustsdottir drained two threes while Dillard sunk three. Agustsdottir posted 13 first-half points for the second game in a row and continued to pose a threat throughout the game, ending the night with 21 points and six rebounds.
“I think early on in the season [Agustsdottir] was differing to some of the older players, which happens with a freshman,” Sallee said. “She’s really starting to understand her role and is getting more comfortable and confident.”
The Cardinals managed to quiet Dillard later in the first half where she tallied five turnovers with only three points in the second quarter. However, it didn’t take her long to bounce back in the third. She ended the night with 21.
Turnovers also hindered the Cardinals as they recorded 18 throughout the night.
“We did a better job in the second half, but we were playing on our heels,” Sallee said. “We’re getting more aggressive, and that’s part of it. It’s coming, and we’re getting better in that aspect.”
Free-throw percentage also hurt the Cardinal squad. While the Bulls only managed 57 percent from the line, the Cardinals went 10 for 21, amounting to 47 percent. The Cardinals also shot only 20 percent from three.
The secondary scorers also made a difference for the Bulls. Apart from Dillard and Onwuka, junior Summer Hemphill posted 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Agustsdottir led the Cardinals in points, redshirt junior Jasmin Samz posted 12 and sophomore Oshlynn Brown registered 10 along with 12 rebounds. Sophomore Maliah Howard-Bass had 10, six of which came from outside the arc.
“We didn’t have a quarter where we struggled to put the ball in the basket, and that was huge,” Sallee said. “That’s gotten us into trouble in previous games, and we did a good job in that department.”
Contact Gabi Glass with comments at grglass@bsu.edu or on Twitter @gabiglassbsu.
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