Bulls open season looking to redeem 2012 loss

Binghamton's women's basketball team entered Alumni Arena last season with a winless record. Buffalo was struggling as well, at 1-8.

The Bulls lost 65-60, but finished the season going 11-11. Now, 335 days later, they travel to Binghamton with a new confidence following a long offseason.

"This is honestly what I live for," said second-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "The kids really get excited about getting out there and showing all their hard work, so I get excited for them. It's exciting for me through the eyes of them."

Buffalo's season ended 239 days ago in an 83-79 defeat to Akron in the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals. After an offseason filled with sprints, intersquad scrimmages and a few exhibitions, the Bulls open up the 2013-14 regular season on Friday night at Binghamton.

The Bulls looked impressive in their two exhibition games last week, winning by a combined 170-104 in preparation for the upcoming season.

Buffalo was outrebounded, 43-29, by Binghamton in 2012. The team struggled again on the boards (outrebounded 35-23) in the first half of its second exhibition, against Buffalo State.

Legette-Jack has emphasized the importance of rebounding for the Bulls.

"They thought they would just jump over people and I'm like: 'Guys, we are not a very tall team, so jumping over people is not an option,'" Legette-Jack said. "Boxing out is something we really need to do."

Binghamton is coming off a 64-58 exhibition victory over Rochester, which Legette-Jack described as a "great DII team that runs the court hard." Junior forward Sherae Swinson led the Bobcats with 16 points and recorded eight rebounds.

Swinson led Binghamton with 9.9 points per game last season and totaled 11 points and seven rebounds in last year's contest against the Bulls.

Buffalo senior point guard Margeaux Gupilan had a career-high seven steals and 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting last season against the Bobcats, and junior forward Christa Baccas recorded one of her four double-doubles with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Mackenzie Loesing played only 10 minutes for Buffalo against Binghamton last season and senior forward Cherridy Thornton was still inactive due to NCAA transfer rules. Both of them look to have major contributions for Buffalo Friday.

The Bulls' bench scored only 12 points last season against Binghamton and their improved depth should pay dividends.

Despite their slow start last season, Legette-Jack doesn't want to put too much pressure on the team in this game. She wants to make sure her team understands this is just the first of many games.

"You got to take that first step and you can't look at it like, 'Oh, God, look at what we were last year and let's change this now,'" Legette-Jack said.

The Bulls have won three of their last four opening games and look to continue the success on Friday night at Binghamton. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.

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