# 2018–19 Buffalo Bulls women's basketball team

The 2018–19 Buffalo Bulls women's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bulls, led by seventh-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, played their home games at Alumni Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 24–10, 12–6 in MAC play to win MAC East Division. Buffalo won the MAC conference tournament championship game over Ohio, 77–61. Cierra Dillard was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. With that win they earn an automatic trip to the NCAA women's tournament, where they upset Rutgers in the first round before losing to Connecticut in the second round.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2017–18 season 29–6, 16–2 in MAC play to win the MAC East Division. They advanced to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament where they lost to Central Michigan. They received an at-large to the NCAA women's tournament where they upset South Florida in the first round to win their first NCAA tournament win in school history. They then defeated Florida State in the second round to advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time in school history. They lost to South Carolina. With 29 wins, they finished with the most wins in school history.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Stephanie Reid | 1 | G | 5'6" | Senior | Melbourne, Australia | Graduated |
| Liisa Ups | 3 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Wollongong, Australia | Graduated |
| Katherine Ups | 5 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Wollongong, Australia | Graduated |
| Mariah Suchan | 21 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Wichita, KS | Graduated |
| Cassie Oursler | 31 | G | 6'3" | Senior | Grand Island, NY | Graduated |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bloomsburg | W 94–53 | – | 27 – C. Dillard | 9 – K. Walters | 7 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 11, 2018* 1:00 p.m. | | at UMES | W 69–63 | 1–0 | 23 – C. Dillard | 6 – B. Morrison | 4 – C. Dillard | Hytche Athletic Center (1,147) Princess Anne, MD |
| November 11, 2018* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Niagara | W 88–61 | 2–0 | 25 – C. Dillard | 7 – C. Wilkins | 5 – H. Hall | Alumni Arena (1,636) Buffalo, NY |
| November 18, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | at No. 3 Oregon | L 82–102 | 2–1 | 32 – C. Dillard | 7 – K. Walters | 7 – H. Hall | Matthew Knight Arena (5,205) Eugene, OR |
| November 23, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Georgetown South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 73–64 | 3–1 | 33 – C. Dillard | 6 – Tied | 8 – C. Dillard | South Point Events Center Las Vegas, NV |
| November 24, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. South Dakota State South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 61–55 | 4–1 | 20 – C. Dillard | 9 – C. Dillard | 10 – H. Hall | South Point Events Center (477) Las Vegas, NV |
| December 1, 2018* 1:00 p.m. | | at Central Connecticut | W 82–69 | 5–1 | 27 – C. Dillard | 16 – B. Morrison | 2 – Tied | William H. Detrick Gymnasium New Britain, CT |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Canisius | W 84–66 | 6–1 | 25 – C. Dillard | 5 – M. Hamilton | 10 – C. Dillard | Koessler Athletic Center (826) Buffalo, NY |
| December 7, 2018* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Dayton | L 59–72 | 6–2 | 21 – C. Dillard | 9 – A. Adeyeye | 5 – C. Dillard | UD Arena (1,279) Dayton, OH |
| December 18, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Dartmouth | W 75–69 | 7–2 | 26 – C. Dillard | 14 – S. Hemphill | 5 – C. Dillard | Leede Arena (383) Hanover, NH |
| December 21, 2018* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 8 Stanford | L 55–62 | 7–3 | 21 – C. Dillard | 13 – T. Onwuka | 3 – Tied | Alumni Arena (3,412) Buffalo, NY |
| December 23, 2018* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 90–43 | 8–3 | 26 – C. Dillard | 8 – A. Adeyeye | 6 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (1,994) Buffalo, NY |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 5, 2019 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Ohio | L 71–74 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 (0–1) | 15 – C. Dillard | 10 – S. Hemphill | 7 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (2,116) Buffalo, NY |
| January 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 91–84 $^{OT}$ | 9–4 (1–1) | 43 – C. Dillard | 9 – Tied | 5 – C. Dillard | Convocation Center (1,114) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 12, 2019 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 66–59 | 10–4 (2–1) | 26 – C. Dillard | 11 – T. Onwuka | 10 – C. Dillard | Millett Hall (315) Oxford, OH |
| January 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 77–65 | 11–4 (3–1) | 21 – C. Dillard | 10 – S. Hemphill | 7 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (1,615) Buffalo, NY |
| January 19, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 61–59 | 12–4 (4–1) | 19 – S. Hemphill | 11 – S. Hemphill | 3 – Tied | University Arena (730) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | W 91–72 | 13–4 (5–1) | 25 – C. Dillard | 12 – S. Hemphill | 7 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (1,492) Buffalo, NY |
| January 26, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 93–64 | 14–4 (6–1) | 26 – C. Dillard | 14 – S. Hemphill | 11 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (2,174) Buffalo, NY |
| February 2, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 65–76 | 14–5 (6–2) | 25 – C. Dillard | 7 – S. Hemphill | 2 – 3 tied | McGuirk Arena (2,228) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 73–63 | 15–5 (7–2) | 19 – S. Hemphill | 7 – S. Hemphill | 9 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (1,507) Buffalo, NY |
| February 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | W 75–66 | 16–5 (8–2) | 31 – C. Dillard | 12 – S. Hemphill | 11 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (2,385) Buffalo, NY |
| February 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | L 72–78 | 16–6 (8–3) | 26 – C. Dillard | 11 – S. Hemphill | 6 – C. Dillard | Stroh Center (1,154) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | L 95–100 | 16–7 (8–4) | 29 – C. Dillard | 9 – Tied | 7 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (3,369) Buffalo, NY |
| February 20, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State Rescheduled from January 30 | W 97–58 | 17–7 (9–4) | 24 – S. Hemphill | 10 – S. Hemphill | 6 – C. Dillard | Worthen Arena (1,036) Muncie, IN |
| February 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron | L 59–70 | 17–8 (9–5) | 23 – C. Dillard | 11 – C. Dillard | 3 – C. Dillard | James A. Rhodes Arena (479) Akron, OH |
| February 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | W 73–43 | 18–8 (10–5) | 35 – C. Dillard | 18 – S. Hemphill | 5 – H. Hall | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| March 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 86–61 | 19–8 (11–5) | 31 – C. Dillard | 15 – S. Hemphill | 8 – C. Dillard | Alumni Arena (3,509) Buffalo, NY |
| March 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 75–61 | 20–8 (12–5) | 27 – C. Dillard | 16 – S. Hemphill | 5 – F. Dickson | Alumni Arena (1,764) Buffalo, NY |
| March 9, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kent State | L 53–62 | 20–9 (12–6) | 18 – 2 tied | 8 – 2 tied | 2 – C. Dillard | MAC Center (1,731) Kent, OH |
| MAC Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2019 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Kent State Quarterfinals | W 85–52 | 21–9 | 22 – C. Dillard | 9 – S. Hemphill | 5 – H. Hall | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH |
| March 15, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (1) Central Michigan Semifinals | W 82–77 | 22–9 | 30 – C. Dillard | 9 – S. Hemphill | 7 – C. Dillard | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH |
| March 16, 2019 11:00 am, CBSSN | (4) | vs. (2) Ohio Championship Game | W 77–61 | 23–9 | 22 – C. Dillard | 21 – S. Hemphill | 7 – H. Hall | Quicken Loans Arena (2,765) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA Women's Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 22, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | (10 A) | vs. (7 A) Rutgers First Round | W 82–71 | 24–9 | 23 – S. Hemphill | 7 – S. Hemphill | 8 – H. Hall | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| Mar 24, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (10 A) | at (2 A) No. 2 Connecticut Second Round | L 72–84 | 24–10 | 29 – C. Dillard | 10 – B. Morrison | 7 – C. Dillard | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (6,390) Storrs, CT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A=Albany Regional. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |