Masters of every domain but their own

If only the women's basketball team had the same winning percentage at home as it does on the road, the Bulls would be 13-2. In reality, the team is 7-8, but there is no denying the success Buffalo has had away from the unfriendly confines of Alumni Arena.

Buffalo raised its road record to 5-1 on Wednesday, beating the Akron Zips 68-63 at the welcoming Rhodes Arena. In defeating Akron (3-12 overall, 0-4 Mid-American Conference), Buffalo evened its conference record at 2-2.

"It's kind of a dilemma to me," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald of her team's success. "I don't quite understand why we play better on the road than we do at home."

Whatever the reason, this is the Bulls' best mark on the road after six games since the 2002-2003 season, when they last had a MAC tournament game at home.

Hill-MacDonald said in a press release that the Bulls didn't do the little things as well as she would have liked to win the game, including rebounding on the offensive end, but later recanted.

"We did do the little things well enough that we won the game," she told The Spectrum. "We took care of the basketball very well, that's why we won the game. And we shot very well in the second half."

The Bulls, in that second half, shot 52.4 percent from the field, including 66.7 percent from long range. This was a stark contrast to their first half shooting which was a poor 36.4 percent, including 3-of-10 from three-point range.

Though their marksman-like shooting in the second half was a big reason for their victory, Hill-MacDonald attributes Buffalo's victory to winning the turnover battle.

"Well, when you look at the statistics, they out-rebounded us. They had more second-chance points, they scored more points in the paint, but we were able to score more points off turnovers than they did because we held onto the basketball better," she said. "The reason we took that game over was because we held onto the ball better."

The Bulls had just 11 turnovers, compared to the Zips' 17. UB was also better able to capitalize off the turnovers it caused, with 18 points to Akron's 10.

UB's biggest spark came from sophomore guard Stephanie Bennett, who sank five three-pointers, all in the second half, and ended the game with 17 points. Three of her five three-balls came during a UB 17-7 run which gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the game at 15 points.

"I think we had a better focus," Hill-MacDonald said. "We had some open looks in the first half, and we were missing some shots we should have made."

Senior guard Brooke Meunier led the team with 20 points. Bennett had 17, freshman forward Jamie Schiebner had 15 and sophomore forward Heather Turner had 10, rounding out the four Bulls in double figures for the second straight game.

Schiebner's 15 points marked a new career high for her. This is the fifth game out of the last seven in which she has scored double-digit points.

"She's a great player," Hill-MacDonald. "She's doing a very nice job for us. She's playing as an upperclassman would play."

The Bulls' frontcourt of Schiebner and Turner have been a lethal combination for opposing defenses this year, because of the way their playing styles compliment each other.

"When your post players are complimenting each other well, it's important," Hill-MacDonald said. "Because (Schiebner) is a good perimeter, and she can put the ball on the floor a little bit, that relieves the pressure on (Turner)."

The frontcourt duo has combined for at least 20 points in four of the Bulls' seven wins this year, including twice when they combined for 30 points, once at home against Northeastern, and once on the road at Texas-San Antonio.

Hill-MacDonald said that distractions at home have been the largest factor in the difference between her team's home and road records.

"When we're at home, we're in our rooms, but when we're on the road we don't have that luxury," she said. "We have many distractions, classes, families visiting. It's a lot harder to go over your routine at home."

She added that the isolation of the road helps the Bulls focus on game plans.

"You have an itinerary on the road. There's a certain time when you get up and have breakfast, then you have your scout and you have your shoot-around," said Hill-MacDonald. "It has kind of a clockwork to it."

The Bulls hope to continue their clockwork-style of play as they visit Kent State on Saturday and wrap up their two-game road trip. After that, the Bulls will return to Alumni Arena to face Toledo on Wednesday.