Road Woes

It was the same old equation for the UB women's basketball team on Saturday in Athens, Ohio.

Poor defense plus lackluster rebounding equaled a thorough dismantling.

The Ohio Bobcats (9-11, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) jacked up the Bulls (5-14, 3-6 MAC) by a score of 85-65 in a game that they led in by as many as 33 points. A hot shooting percentage of 47.3 with the added touch of 11 destructive 3-pointers was too much to handle for Buffalo, who now return home for a three-game stand.

"You can't win in this league if you don't play defense," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "It's as simple as that. We gave up 11 threes and 19 offensive rebounds. You can't afford to go on the road and let that happen if you expect to win."

Saturday's game was never really in UB's reach, as Ohio scored on their first possession and essentially never looked back.

Candace Bates provided a plethora of daggers, as she dropped in six three-pointers on the way to her game-high 20 point performance.

Second chance Bobcat opportunities set back the Bulls all night long. To say that Ohio dominated the offensive glass would be a complete and utter understatement. The numbers do it justice however, as OU held a distinct 19-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

Buffalo freshman Kelly Calderone scored a career-high 15 points, leading the Bulls.

Senior Jessica Kochendorfer, who had scored double figures in the last eight games, only had seven points and five rebounds against the Bobcats.

Brooke Meunier, a sophomore who has stepped up for the Bulls this season and led them in scoring during Tuesday's win against Toledo, left the Convocation Center having put only six points on the board off of a dreadful 1-11 performance from the field.

The upcoming three-game home stand could resurrect Buffalo's MAC record, bringing it even at 6-6, which in turn would give them a shot at a home MAC playoff game. With that said however, an 0-3 run at home would send them to the abyss of the MAC with the likes of the hapless, and winless in conference, Akron Zips and Central Michigan Chippewas.

Buffalo's next contest tips off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Alumni Arena when they take on Kent State as a part of UB's 14th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration.

Dominique Dawes, who was a part of 1996's Olympic gold-medal winning gymnastic team, will be on hand for the festivities.