A lot of things changed in Buffalo during winter break.
The sobering reality of winter in Buffalo has finally hit, UB has a new president and the women's basketball team has made a few surprising changes to its roster.
One of the few things unchanged is the Bulls' Mid-American Conference standing. UB is tied for second to last place in the Eastern Division at 0-2 (2-9 overall) with Ohio, standing still as if they were shooting free throws.
The Bulls' situation is not, however, as bad as the record sounds. The Bulls have played some of the toughest competition in the country, and they feel it has made them a better team.
"We played St. Johns, Colorado and Auburn," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier. "Our kids continued to work hard, because they know we were playing some of the top teams in the country. These were learning processes."
And even though they have a poor record now, a win Saturday against Marshall (10-3, 2-1 MAC) could potentially catapult the Bulls into third place, bridging the gap against conference leaders Miami and Marshall before the MAC tournament.
Senior Jessica Kochendorfer comes off a monster game against Cornell last Monday, looking like a professional at amateur hour in registering 11 points, 10 rebounds, and a new school record nine blocks.
But Kochendorfer and fellow low post player Kim Kilpela, who had 17 points in that game, should not expect the same results they had at Cornell. Dozier warns that Marshall is a much different team than the Big Red.
"We're going to have to be really patient, and we're going to have to pick and choose where we enter the ball," said Dozier. "Marshall is very athletic, they're scrappy, and they do have a big 6'3" kid (forward Catie Knable)."
Knable has been on fire of late, averaging 13 points and 13.5 boards in the last week, including a 22-point, 18-rebound assault on Ohio.
The Bulls could be walking on hot coals if they drop this one, digging themselves into a 0-3 hole with 13 MAC games remaining.
They will have to compete without the likes of forward Tahcahrah Owens (academically ineligible), point guard Hollie Cook (suspended indefinitely) and Amy Kucheran and Erin Lawrenson as well. Kucheran and Lawrenson's services will be missing because both players are on the injured reserve list and it is not known when they will return.
"We've got some concerns that we didn't have at the beginning of the season because we don't have a lot of depth," said Dozier. " We've had to switch up our defenses because (of that)."
The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday in Alumni Arena, kicking off a three-game home stand that concludes Wednesday with Central Michigan coming to town for another MAC showdown.
