As the 2002-03 season winds down for the UB women's basketball team, they find themselves in a position to choose their own destiny as far as how their season will end this year.
Buffalo currently stands in third place in the Mid-American Conference East Division standings behind Miami of Ohio (10-8 overall, 5-2 MAC), and Kent State (10-8, 5-2). Despite a better winning percentage overall in the East, their MAC record of 2-4 is just one win more than 1-4 Marshall, 1-5 Ohio, and 1-7 Akron. With these three nipping at the hells of the Bulls, Buffalo is looking to step up their intensity in their final games of the season.
UB begins a run down the MAC gauntlet beginning Saturday at 7 p.m. in Alumni Arena against the Ohio Bobcats (5-12, 1-5 MAC). Bulls head coach Cheryl Dozier is looking forward to the rivalry game, which Ohio won last year.
"It's going to be a very competitive game ... they're a very physical team and they're going to get on us early defensively and we're going to have to handle that kind of pressure," Dozier said. "We have got to win with our turnovers ... we're last in the MAC in scoring because we're first in the MAC in turnovers."
After the Ohio game, the Bulls continue the marathon of ten games, all in the MAC - the most critical games being an away game at Kent State, one against MAC West Division leader Western Michigan at home, and the final two games of the season against Miami away and Kent State at home.
The Bobcats come into Buffalo looking to pull out of a 1-7 slump. They have the MAC's worst defense, but with three players averaging double-digit scoring figures, led by junior Latreece Bagley (13.7 points per game), Ohio can easily turn around and depart on a winning streak. Sophomore Andrea Johnson and Candace Bates are poised as scoring threats and sophomore Erin Isabell leads the Bobcats with 7.1 rebounds per game, which ranks her ninth in the MAC.
The Bulls enter Saturday's game already in the groove, coming off a thrilling 48-45 overtime victory at Akron. Junior Jessica Kochendorfer scored a career-high 28 points in that game, and will be looking to put up another high-scoring performance. Kochendorfer is also ranked fifth in the MAC in rebounds per game with 8.3 and is ranked third in blocks per game with 1.59. Senior teammate Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe is ranked 12th in the MAC in scoring with 13.8 points per game, and will be looking to record a fourth game this year in which she scores more than 20 points.
Dozier acknowledges the standout performances put up by Kochendorfer and McMeeken-Ruscoe, but still expects the rest of her team to step up their game as well.
"We need to get back to what we were doing in the beginning of the year when we used a balanced scoring attack ... I think we are depending too much on Jessica and Kate right now," she said.
This should not be a problem as freshman upstart Hollie Cook has only played in 12 games so far this season but still ranks fifth in the MAC in assists per game with 4.82 and steals per game with 2.35. Her freshman classmate Lauren Burd has been starting at forward and recently scored a career-high four points and four rebounds against Miami on January 25. Sophomore guard Allison Bennett is averaging 6.8 PPG and 3 RPG.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on WWKB-AM 1520.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
