Will she or won't she?
That question had to be heard echoing through Alumni Arena Wednesday night. The possible return of Jessica Kochendorfer was on the minds of everyone, including Eastern Michigan University's head coach, Suzy Merchant.
"I usually don't sit on the sidelines and wait to watch players for the other team to come out," said Merchant. "But tonight I graciously waited, and waited, and waited and when I saw her come out, I got up and left. My stomach kind of curdled a little bit. She makes a huge impact."
Even with Kochendorfer in the starting lineup, however, the Bulls did not put up a strong enough effort to beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Buffalo (5-17 overall, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) lost 80-62 to EMU (17-6, 10-3 MAC), giving Eastern Michigan their seventh straight win and 10th overall MAC win.
After coming off a concussion, which sidelined her for two games, Kochendorfer had a huge night. She scored a career-high 29 points and brought down 14 rebounds for her eighth double double this season.
"I knew I was knocking down a lot of shots, especially in the second half, but I didn't know I had that many until after the game," said Kochendorfer.
Kochendorfer also displaced Caroline Hofer on the UB career charts. Kochendorfer now has the seventh highest number of field goals attempted (1,050) and the fourth highest number of field goals (477), just above Hofer and Lynette Bubel, who are tied with 473.
EMU took the lead from the beginning and never looked back, leading Buffalo by 29 at one point of the game.
Dozier could not deny the great skill EMU displayed against her team.
"I want to give Eastern Michigan a lot of credit," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier. "They are a very well-oiled machine right now."
Buffalo, on the other hand, lacked the all-important defensive mentality and were unable to stop shots along the perimeter. While UB had 11 missed three-point shots, EMU sunk eight of 23, six of which were shot by Marion Crandall.
Crandall left the court having scored 23 points for the Eagles. She was one of three players from EMU that posted more than 10 points.
UB had 17 personal fouls and one technical foul, which Dozier earned for prominently stating her opinion of a referee's call that Talia Merlino had committed a charge.
The Eagles were able to obtain 18 points off free throws alone, 10 more than UB acquired.
Kim Kilpela had a big game for the Bulls after being ripped by Dozier last week. After two games with combined results of five rebounds and seven points, Kilpela showed up Wednesday night in front of 478 fans. She snagged six rebounds and put 15 points on the board.
"I was absolutely proud of how she came out and played tonight," said Dozier when asked about Kilpela's performance.
Dozier looks to get her team's defense as strong as possible before making the trip to Akron on Saturday, where the Bulls will play the Zips (7-15 overall, 2-9 MAC) at noon.
The ball has not been in the women's basketball team's court all season, like the preseason advertising campaign so proudly promised.
A season that began holding so much hope and prosperity has been a disappointment for the players, students and fans alike.
Dozier expressed her concerns about UB's defense, and said her team hasn't been playing up to par.
"We're playing on our heels," said Dozier. "It's frustrating to see that we lack a killer instinct."
In addition to capitalizing on every possession, the Bulls will have to contain the Zips' junior shooting Guard, Jae Conn, who is also coming off a career-high performance where she chipped in 22 points in an overtime loss to Central Michigan Wednesday evening.
Akron, who has struggled to produce in the win column as well, may be able to take advantage of Buffalo's poor defense unless adjustments are enforced.
"We're going to start practice early and focus on defense," said Dozier. "We can put the ball in the hoop, but we need to learn how to play defense and defend penetration in the paint."
The game is set to begin at noon on Saturday in Akron, Ohio.
