All the motivation in the world could not have helped the Buffalo Bulls on Wednesday night against a Kent State team that had beaten them 11 consecutive times.
UB was forced to play with just seven players, and none of them were named Kochendorfer.
The Bulls fell to Kent State for a 12th consecutive time in Alumni Arena, despite shooting 51.2 percent to the Flashes 45.2. KSU took advantage of their significant size advantage and numerous turnovers to come out victorious 85-66.
Buffalo (5-15, 3-7 Mid-American Conference) came out of halftime trailing 37-26 and began clawing their way back from the eleven-point deficit bringing the game to within three, at 44-41. Guard Belinda Gibb sparked UB's comeback by connecting on two jumpers from the right side and adding a free throw for her only points of the game.
But midway through the second half, the game began to slip away from the Bulls.
"We got it all the way down to three, then we had a little mental lapse," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "That's going to happen when you have young kids out there."
Kent State (13-8, 6-4 MAC) caught fire from outside the 3-point stripe and outscored Buffalo 17-6 within a 3:43 span midway through the second half to put away UB for good.
KSU guard Melissa Degrate hit two 3-pointers and Heather Harris knocked down another during the stretch to pace the Golden Flashes. Degrate led all scorers with 20 points, shooting fifty percent from the field and from downtown (8-16, 4-8 respectively).
With only seven available players, Dozier played three freshmen in her rotation and was without the services of the steady Kochendorfer.
Kochendorfer was sidelined due to a concussion acquired during the Bulls' previous game in Ohio last Saturday. The bad news for UB is that she will be out for at least another week because she is not completely free of symptoms, according to Dozier, who spoke with doctors right before the press conference.
Her height and rebounding were sorely missed as size was definitely something the Bulls needed against KSU. The Golden Flashes start three girls over six feet, including a 6'6"center.
Brooke Meunier also was injured with a dislocated finger with torn ligaments but still managed to play well, scoring 13 points and bringing down 10 rebounds. Meunier's injury has been nagging her the entire year, but according to Dozier, Meunier is tough and will continue to play with it.
While Meunier stepped up, even with an injury, Kim Kilpela didn't even show up, according to Dozier.
"Kim needs to show up," said Dozier. "She needs to do something. She needs to care about the kids in that locker room rather than just about herself. That's really what it's all about."
Dozier continued by referring to her seven-woman squad as a six-person team.
"When you know a kid with a competitive nature and work ethic like Jessica Kochendorfer goes down, as a unit the kids around her should rally," said Dozier. "I think I had six kids rally tonight. I feel I had six kids come out."
The Bulls displayed a very balanced attack offensively, with four starters in double digits. Allison Bennett and Brook Meunier led the way with 13 points each. Talia Merlino and Dina Atanas each had twelve points.
"I was pleased with everybody from an offensive standpoint today except Kim," said Dozier, "We shot well but we need to rebound and take care of the ball."
Kent State's Mallorie Griffith (seven rebounds), Andrea Csaszar (five rebounds), and Lindsay Shearer (nine rebounds) dominated UB on the boards.
"I thought offensive rebounding is what killed us," said Dozier, "Twenty-three offensive rebounds tonight. That just can't happen."
Dozier puts a lot of that responsibility on Kilpela.
"Kim Kilpela plays 31 minutes and pulls in only four rebounds", said Dozier. "That can't happen if you're a team without a lot of size."
"You're telling me Brooke Meunier, who is 5-feet 10-inches can pull in ten rebounds boards and a kid who is 6-feet, 1-inch can only have four?"
UB will have to put all of this behind them as they prepare for Saturday's contest.
On Valentine's Day this year, the UB women's basketball team won't be worrying about Cupid, candy hearts, and romantic poems. Instead, they'll have the Akron Zips, team unity and tough defense on their mind.
Dozier's Bulls are going to have to face Akron (6-14, 1-8 MAC), who are coming off of their first MAC win of the season Wednesday against Northern Illinois. By winning, Akron also broke an eight-game losing streak, and won their first MAC game in 20 tries.
Akron's Lori Krezeczowski and Jae Conn both had great games against Northern Illinois. Both scored in double figures, above their points per game averages. Even with two players scoring high, the Zips only completed 30.8 percent of the shots they attempted.
Buffalo won both games last season, 48-45 and 67-51. Even without a high scorer like Kochendorfer, who was crucial in both games last year by scoring a total of 42 points, Dozier seemed optimistic about Wednesday night, when it comes to beating Akron.
But of course, Kilpela needs to show up.
"Kim's got to play," said Dozier of Kilpela's importance to the game. "She's got to want to put the ball in the damn basket. And if she doesn't, we can still beat them, but we're going to have to have a kid, Brooke, who is going to have to shoot the ball better than she did and her hand's bothering her."
Tip off is at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Alumni Arena.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
