After losing their first two games of the season, the UB women's basketball team has a chance to even their record at 2 before even playing a home game in Alumni Arena.
The Bulls (1-2 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) will travel to Boston to take on the Northeastern University Huskies (1-3 overall, 0-0 America East), a team coming off a recent 10-point victory over IUPUI.
"(Northeastern) is going to put a lot of defensive pressure on us, they are a very good rebounding team, they put a lot of pressure on the boards," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier. "They are very good in the post, we are going to have our hands full."
UB is also coming off its first victory of the year, a 54-45 triumph over Lafayette. Following their first three games on the young season, the team has been led by a duo of newcomers in sophomore transfer Viorica Badinici and freshman Stephanie Bennett.
Bairiki scored a team-high 13 points and had seven rebounds in UB's win over Lafayette last Saturday while Stephanie Bennett was the Bulls' next highest scorer with nine points.
The freshman grabbed five rebounds and ran away with four steals. Dozier knows that the Bulls will need to step up the overall offensive production to keep the game close against the Huskies.
"We're looking to create more offensive opportunities off the glass," said Dozier. "Everyone needs to step up and take responsibility, give us a little more."
After tipping off the season with a 67-point loss to Connecticut on Nov. 20, the Bulls have been improving in many aspects of the game. UB has given up fewer second-chance opportunities, grabbing 67 boards in the last two games. The Bulls only pulled down 26 total rebounds against UConn.
Additionally, the 67-point-spanking from Connecticut marked the first time the Bulls were held to under 45 points since a Dec. 7 loss to Auburn last year. The Bulls lost that contest by a score of 82-32. Since then, the Bulls have been able to muster together a decent scoring attack: UB had three players score over 10 points against Holy Cross while Badinici exploded for 13 points against Layfayette.
Northeastern maintains its own group of newcomers that have been lighting up its offense this season. Shaleyse Smallwood recently received co-rookie of the week honors from the America East conference.
Off the bench for the Huskies, the freshman is averaging 14.3 points per game this season. She has also scored in double digits in all four contests that the Huskies have competed in this season.
The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. tonight at Solomon Court in Boston. The Bulls will return to Buffalo to play their home-opener at Alumni Arena against Maine on Saturday. That game will have a 5 p.m. tip-off time.
