Beating a team that is on a six-game winning is no easy task.
Overcoming three straight losses to defeat a team with an overall record of 16-6 and a 9-3 Mid-American Conference mark makes it that much tougher.
When the UB women's basketball team (5-16, 3-8 MAC) takes the court tonight against a strong, well-skilled Eastern Michigan (16-6, 9-3 MAC) team they will be facing this exact challenge.
Tonight's game gives the Bulls a great opportunity to knock off a Western division MAC powerhouse, and earn a chance for a big momentum boost with just a few games left before the MAC tournament.
Easier said than done, but UB's head coach Cheryl Dozier recognizes the opportunity and hopes that her players can seize the chance to get something going before the tournament.
"I'll give our kids a speech about opportunity," said Dozier. "Now you're going to face a division leader in the West and you've got a great opportunity to send a message down the stretch."
The UB women are coming off a disappointing loss to Akron Saturday in front of the Alumni Arena faithful. They will have to step their play up on both sides of the ball if they hope to have a shot against the division-leading Eagles.
Buffalo will have to face EMU without senior Jessica Kochendorfer, who will miss her third straight game due to a concussion. Kochendorfer is the team's leader in most statistical categories, including points per game, rebounds and blocks.
Starting in Kochendorfer's place will be 6-foot 2-inch sophomore Lauren Burd. She played her first game for the Bulls this season against Akron and had an impressive performance while trying to fill the void left by Kochendorfer's injury.
Burd was recruited by UB to play basketball but switched over to volleyball following last season. In last year's freshman campaign, Burd averaged 1.1 points and 1.5 rebounds a game. But, on Saturday she had a big impact, scoring eight points and pulling down eight rebounds.
The Eagles will hit the court trying to make UB the seventh straight victim to their high-scoring squad. An EMU victory tonight would match the longest winning streak in team history.
What are the UB women planning in defense of this?
Defense, naturally.
"I think we are definitely going to have to come in here and keep the score down," said Dozier. "The score has got to be below 60 for them offensively."
That won't be an easy task, as the Eagles are led by four players who are averaging double digits in points during MAC play. This includes defending MAC West Player of the Week, Marion Crandall, who is averaging 10 points per game in the conference.
Ryan Coleman, Nikki Knapp and Sarah Vanmetre are the other three double-digit scorers. Coleman leads the team with 14 points per game; Knapp is averaging 12 and Vanmetre is contributing just over 11.
Even if the Bulls keep the score down, they will have to hit their open shots and keep the Eagles off the boards, on the defensive side and offensive side of the court.
"We're going to have to rebound," said Dozier. "We're going to need all of our kids to get on the glass and make sure that we do the job rebounding,"
If the blue and white can control the glass, success is possible. Otherwise, it could be a long night for the Bulls, who have been out-rebounded in their last three games, which consequentially were all losses.
With the MAC tournament five games away, the women are coming to a vital part of their season to gain momentum in preparation for the tournament.
The Eagles also will need this game badly in order to keep them in the fight to sit atop the MAC West division.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. tonight in Alumni Arena.
