Playing against a Tigers team that boasts only three players under six-feet tall, UB women's basketball was outsized and outmatched, falling 70-41 to Auburn the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break.
"We probably won't play that big of a team again," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "It's very uncommon to have to play against a team that runs 6'7", 6'5", 6'3" across their front line, and we just didn't match up with that team from a physical standpoint. They're coming off a loss. We couldn't have gotten them at a worse time."
The Bulls' starters had a hard time putting points on the board as they went just 13 of 53 from the field.
Auburn improved to 2-1 by handing the Bulls their third loss of the young season.
Forward Barbora Homolov?Ae? scored a career-high 10 points in just 20 minutes of play, coming off the bench.
"I was trying to do my best, and I was trying to play hard. I knew this was a really good opportunity to try to match up with the taller girls," said the 6-foot-3 sophomore out of the Czech Republic. "It's not usual that I play against girls taller then me."
With continued solid play, Homolov?Ae? is making a bid for extended playing time and beginning to reach her potential.
Senior Brooke Meunier did her best to keep the Bulls in the game early when she scored 12 of her team-high 13 points in the first half. The Bulls shot a disappointing 25 percent from the field against the overpowering Tigers. The team also registered a season low in turnovers as they lost the ball only 15 times.
"I'm awful proud of the way this team played," Hill-MacDonald said. "They played with a lot of heart. Unfortunately, we scored very poorly tonight. We only had seven fewer shots, but we did not score well."
The Tigers were unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball. Fifty percent shooting from downtown led Auburn's Nitasha Brown to a game-high 16 points. Marita Payne and DeWanna Bonner also pitched in with 15 points each. Payne, the Southeastern Conference's single-season record holder for blocks, added five to her total on Tuesday.
On top of her five blocks, Payne recorded her tenth career and second consecutive double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds against UB.
After taking a 33-18 lead into halftime, the Tigers came out gunning in the second, starting the half with a 19-6 run.
As good as the Auburn offense was, its defense was even better. The hulking Tigers squad held the Bulls scoreless for over seven minutes from 15:55 to 8:30 left in the second half.
Despite the 29-point defeat, the women in blue and white played each minute with intensity and vigor.
"I thought Buffalo was extremely scrappy," said Auburn's head coach Nell Fortner. "They worked the ball well. They were extremely scrappy, and our size can bother a lot of people, and it think that bothered them tonight."
As impressed as Fortner was with the Bulls, she was of course happier with her own team.
"I thought we played hard," Fortner said. "It wasn't always pretty, but they played hard. It is good to rebound from a loss like we did. Everyone contributed and it was a good all-around effort."
After playing three games in just five days, the Bulls got a break over the holiday. UB returns to the court Wednesday night at Lafayette at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
