After losing their first two games of the new season, the UB women's basketball team came home and found the HSBC Arena to be the change of scenery they so desperately needed.
UB (1-2) rode the hot hands of forward Viorica Badinici in a 54-45 victory over Lafayette (1-2) on Sat., Nov. 27. The sophomore transfer netted 13 points to lead the Bulls.
Plagued by turnovers through their first two games, the Bulls finished the contest against Lafayette with 21 turnovers on the night. While 21 may seem like a large number, it served as somewhat of an improvement, as UB gave up the ball 49 times against UConn and Holy Cross.
"We spent about four hours in film this week talking about our defense," said Bulls' head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We played the type of aggressive defensive game that I want us to play."
Both teams started the game sluggish, with several missed shots and turnovers. After the Leopards built up a 10-9 lead, UB went on an 8-0 run. A pair of free throws by Lindsay Meyers cut the UB lead to only three points, but that was the closest that Lafayette closed in on the Bulls for the remainder of the game.
Coming out of a 22-17 halftime lead, Badinici took control of the game with her strong offensive play. While on the defensive side of the ball, Belinda Gibb and Stephanie Bennett played a very tight game.
UB's swift transitions at both ends of the court eliminated most of Lafayette's fast break chances. This left the Bulls in control of the pace of the game and did not allow the Leopards to get back within reach.
Lafayette earned most of its points with shots in the paint. Badinici also converted her shots from within the paint while adding six points from beyond the arc.
"She wants to face up more than she wants to play with her back to the basket. ... I think the one thing I love about Vio (Badinici) is she's not afraid to shoot," said Dozier.
Dozier also believes that as the season progresses, Badinici will continue to develop into a strong force in the post for the Bulls, though she remains extremely pleased with Badinici's performance thus far.
"We've got to give her a little better developmental role, playing with her back to the basket and not allowing kids to push her off the block, and to her credit she's working with that every single day," said Dozier. "I think she has the potential to be a very good player in the program she's in but we have to continue to develop her every single day."
Offensively for the Bulls, Brooke Meunier came off the bench and contributed seven points in 15 minutes of limited action. UB almost handed the game away with a trio of turnovers early in the second half, but Gibb's offensive rebound after a missed free throw allowed the Bulls to press on.
Lafayette would get back within five points once again after Lafayette's Kristin Doherty drained a three-pointer with 6:30 to play. Doherty led the Leopards with 14 points on the night.
A lay-up by Amy Kucheran brought the lead back to seven for the Bulls. Vanessa Van DeVenter almost helped pull off the upset with a string of six points down the stretch, but a pair of free throws by Diana Orozco Gollaz would ice the game for Buffalo.
UB will be in action tonight when they face Northeastern in Boston at 7 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1999 when the Bulls defeated the Huskies, 59-52.
