If basketball were a sport that awarded points based on elegance, the women of UB would have had some major problems racking up style points in Saturday night's game against Akron. However, all that matters is what is on the scoreboard when the final buzzer sounds, and when it did UB was ahead of the Zips of Akron 64-50 in a shoddily executed game at Alumni Arena.
A win's a win and you'll take it, even if it is ugly," said Bulls Head Coach Sheryl Dozier. "But sometimes you need those, and we'll take them anyway we can."
The conference win improves Buffalo's record to 4-4 in the conference and 9-10 overall, while Akron's abysmal season continues at the bottom of the standings as they drop to 1-18 (0-8 in the MAC).
The Bulls were once again led by junior guard Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe who had another career outing in finishing with 26 points. She was complimented by sophomore forward Jessica Kochendorfer who scored 18 points and added 6 rebounds.
Buffalo's stifling defense has characteristically carried the team over the course of the season, and Saturday night was no exception. UB disrupted any scheme Akron came at them with, never allowing the Zips to find their rhythm. Akron shot 17-48 from the field, going 4-9 from behind the arc, while Buffalo hit on 22-51 shots, 43 percent for the game.
"[UB's defense is] doing a nice job of frustrating people," said Akron Head Coach Roxanne Allen. "We're just a young team, and we make young mistakes."
Buffalo's defense capitalized on these mistakes, scoring 10 points off of turnovers, including six fast-break points.
"If you play defense, you get offense from that," said Dozier. "If you can hold the opponent's scoring, you'll be able to walk away with some wins."
This theory has proven true thus far, as the Bulls have held opponents to under 50 points on seven different occasions this season, and have.
