There is always a period of small talk right before a reporter conducts an interview. A sort of, hey, how's it going period. The calm before the storm.
UB head women's basketball coach Cheryl Dozier sighed and said she has had better months.
After starting the season 7-1, Dozier's team has gone into a tailspin, losing four in a row to bring their record back down to earth at 7-5. While two games over .500 is not bad, 0-2 in conference is, and that is where the Bulls stand, sitting in next-to-last place in the Mid-American Conference's East Division.
"We need to get back to the way we were scoring in November and December, and we need to cut down on our turnovers," Dozier said. "Our turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds are what's hurting us right now."
"It's lack of focus on the court," said sophomore guard Erin Lawrenson. "Mentally we are all ready to play, we are getting hyped before the game. On the court sometimes if other teams pressure us a little bit we get into their style of play and we need to keep it UB style basketball."
One could make the case, however, that the Bulls' scoring problems of late have been a by-product of a harsh schedule. Buffalo has lost road games at Maine and Marshall, and had difficult home games against juggernaut Colorado - then ranked 25th in the country - and Ball State - picked to win the MAC title in the media pre-season poll and a runner-up to Kent State in the MAC Championship game last year.
However, the loss to BSU, Buffalo's most recent, has a silver lining. UB went toe-to-toe with the Cardinals for 35 minutes. Five bad minutes where Ball State cleaned up both the offensive and defensive boards cost the Bulls the game.
"These kids know that they have the talent to win a MAC Championship. If that's the pre-season number one ranked team in this conference, we know we can play with them," said Dozier. "I think that these kids know they have the talent level to beat any team in this conference."
"If we can play with them for 35, then we can play with them for 40 minutes, and then we can play with anyone in our conference," senior forward Jessica Kochendorfer said. "I think our whole team knows that."
Then there is the play of UB's cardiac kid, Lawrenson, who had a breakout game in the loss to Marshall Jan. 8, scoring a career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers. Lawrenson nailed a three with 28.3 seconds left to force overtime, the second time she's forced an extra session with a late three this season. She followed the Marshall game with a career-high 10 rebounds against Ball State.
"I had a talk with coach Dozier after one of our losses a week ago and it was all about confidence," Lawrenson said when asked what spurred the breakout performance. "I need to go out and play the way that I know that I am capable of playing instead of playing afraid."
Lawrenson's play has pushed her into the starting lineup, relegating freshman guard Hollie Cook, who leads the team in steals, to a subbing role. That is not the only lineup change nor will it be the last. Dozier has started Kim Kilpela at forward over Rachel Martin the past two games and hinted at more changes up front tonight against Eastern Michigan, citing that she is not "happy with our rebounding from our post players."
Rebounding troubles could open the door for 6'3" freshman center Trisha Hedges, who was mentioned most by the coach when asked what players need to step up if the Bulls wish to accomplish their goal of winning a MAC title.
"We need Trisha Hedges to help us in the block area," Dozier said. "Trisha has to be able to score for us, she is one of the biggest kids we have ever had here. She gets looks but sometimes has the tendency to kick it back out, so we need her to be a little more offensive minded."
Dozier needs her senior leaders, Kochendorfer and guard Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, who is the team's scoring leader averaging 15.2 points per game - the only Bull averaging double figures - to step things up as well.
"We need Jessica and Kate, every time they get the ball in their hands, they need to look at the basket," Dozier said. "The last couple of games they have gotten away from that a little bit because we had been talking about unselfish play and team basketball. That doesn't mean they have to shoot it, but they have to look at the basket."
If UB is going to snap their losing streak tonight they will have to be the first MAC team to beat Eastern Michigan at home this season. The Eagles, who were picked to finish fifth in the West Division, are 2-0 in conference after beating Toledo and Central Michigan in their first two games.
"They are a little smaller than the typical team you would play in this conference," Dozier said. "They are very aggressive, they try to dictate tempo, they're going to 2-3 zone us with a match-up and force us to shoot the ball from outside and we have to be patient and move the ball around and go inside on them."
If all goes well the Bulls will have the first conference win and their heads held high when they come home to play their last non-conference game, a tangle with Cornell on Monday, Jan. 20.
"It only takes one game to make you start feeling good about yourself, and that's what I tell the kids all the time."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
