While students were sleeping in and enjoying their winter break, the women's basketball team was hard at work, moving into a tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division.
The team went 4-3 over the winter holiday, highlighted by the final two games, conference victories on the road against Miami (OH) and Akron. The two wins improved the Bulls record to 9-6 and a perfect 2-0 in the MAC.
"Any time you can get a win on the road is huge," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "It's good for confidence. It's good to make a statement to the other teams in the league...I'm really proud that my players stepped up and really answered the challenge."
The women started off their vacation on Dec. 15 with a match against Cleveland State (8-7) of the Horizon League. Sophomore guard Ashley Zuber nailed a three point shot with 27 seconds left to the give the Bulls a 62-58 advantage. Buffalo was able to hang on for a 63-60 victory in front of their home fans. Senior forward Heather Turner led Buffalo with 11 rebounds.
"That three (point shot) really broke Cleveland State's back. They didn't seem to recover after that shot," Hill-MacDonald said. "You can play hard and play hard and play hard and when the game is close and someone hits a shot like that one, it can be pretty devastating...I think it propelled us to that win."
Three days later, the Jacksonville Dolphins (14-3) invaded Alumni Arena and were able to hold off a late Bulls rally and leave Buffalo with a 71-67 victory. Senior guard Stephanie Bennett led the Bulls with a career-high 24 points, including three treys and two free throws in the final minute of the game.
Buffalo then took the show on the road to New England to take on Massachusetts on Dec. 22. Despite 18 points and 9 rebounds from freshman guard Bridgette Kendricks, the Bulls could not make enough shots to steal a victory from the Minutewomen (8-7). In the first half, Buffalo shot just 24 percent from the floor, making only 10 of 42 attempts. They finished the game shooting 35 percent in the 68-60 loss.
The Bulls were without the services of Turner, who missed the game with a back injury.
The next stop on the Bulls' schedule was to the land of the Redhawks for a game against Southeast Missouri State. The Bulls were handed a 67-45 loss on Dec. 29 and suffered their third straight loss, the longest of the season.
The Redhawks used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to secure a 15-point lead they would not relinquish. Turner marked her return with a season-high 17 points for the Bulls while Missy Whitney led the way for SMSU with 21.
"It was really disappointing to lose those games (on the road)," Hill-MacDonald said. "But at that point we knew that there's still a lot of season in front us so we couldn't get preoccupied with the results of those games. What we needed to do was focus on what we needed to do to get the next one."
Opening up the New Year on Jan. 2, Buffalo returned home in time to snap their three game skid. A 78-65 win over the Patriot League's Bucknell Bisons (6-9) got the Bulls back up to .500 and back on the right track.
Freshman forward Jessica Fortman led the way for Buffalo with 21 points. Bennett scored 19 while Turner put home 16. Schiebner finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.
"It's always good to be in our own arena. It's like coming home and sleeping in your own bed," Hill-MacDonald said. "There's nothing like that feeling of comfort when you get in with the fans that you know and just familiar surroundings."
As conference play began, the Bulls found themselves out of their comfort zone and back on the road again against Miami (OH) on Jan. 9. Tiera Jackson of Miami (9-7, 1-1 MAC) the conference's leading scorer, scored 19 points but was held to 6 of 20 shooting from the floor.
It was that combination of defense and balanced scoring that led the Bulls to a 62-57 win. Three Bulls finished in double digits with Schiebner scoring 13, Fortman 12, and Turner 11. Fortman and Turner each also added 10 rebounds. The Bulls dominated the second half, scoring 41 points.
The Bulls started the second half of their match on Saturday against Akron (5-11, 0-2 MAC) much like the second half against Miami (OH). Down 30-22 at halftime, the Bulls went on an 11-0 run to open the second half. That run helped secure the victory by a score of 55-51.
"The game is about consistency," Hill-MacDonald said. "I think (coming back from slow starts) shows character and maturity on the part of our team. They didn't play so well against Akron in the first half but were able to go into the locker room, refocus, and come out and do what they had intended to do in the first half."
Following the win over Akron, the Bulls improved to 2-0 in the MAC East, placing them in a tie with Bowling Green for the division lead.
"It's a good start to the MAC season for sure," Hill-MacDonald said. "We've got a lot of games in front of us. So we'll enjoy this right now."
The Bulls next tip-off on Wednesday night from Alumni Arena as they host the Ohio Bobcats (7-9, 0-2 MAC) at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
