It's that time of the year again.
As college hoops begins to enter the limelight in the upcoming weeks, the Bulls hope to be on top before Mid-American Conference play begins in January. The team, following its best season since 2002-2003, hopes to start out strong playing its first regular season game of the year later this week.
"We're more athletic than we've been," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We're certainly younger than we've been, too."
Hill-MacDonald speaks of the addition of five new freshmen to the team. The newcomers, Keshia Primo, Ephesia Holmes, Teresa Semalulu, Brittany Hedderson and Beth Christensen, all look to have an immediate impact on team play once the Bulls get used to the new bodies on the court.
"Any time you add five new players to the mix, it changes the dynamic," Hill-MacDonald said. "I like the work ethic of this team and I'm really enjoying this group of young ladies."
Last season, the team held a record of 15-15 overall, while 8-8 in the MAC. The team's improved record was due to the play of alumnae Stephanie Bennett and Heather Turner. The duo, both 1,000-point scorers, finished their careers as the second highest scoring duo in Buffalo history, falling only behind Tiffany Bell and Marie McClure, graduates in 2001.
"It's never easy replacing seniors," Hill-MacDonald said.
In order to fill the void left by Bennett and Turner, Hill-MacDonald looks at her upperclassmen to step up and lead the Bulls to victory.
"I think you have expectations of everyone within their roles," Hill-MacDonald said. "Those upperclassmen, they know what our expectations are and they know about the conference. You always look to them."
Seniors Jamie Schiebner and Dortae Freeman are two of those upperclassmen that Hill-MacDonald hopes her team will look up to. Schiebner, a forward for the Bulls, started 29 games last year, averaging 8.5 points per game. She is the leading returning scorer on the team and has been named a captain alongside junior guard Ashley Zuber. Freeman, a key bench player, averaged 3.4 points per game as a backup point guard.
"You always look to your seniors for leadership, and this year is no exception," Hill-MacDonald said.
Another key player returning for the Bulls is junior guard Rachelle Matthys. Matthys missed the entire 2007-08 season due to an ankle injury. In the 2006-07 campaign, Matthys was a lethal force on the court, scoring 8.9 points per game as well as 49 three-pointers on the year.
"Rachelle is another player we look at for leadership," Hill-MacDonald said.
Schiebner feels that the team will do great as the season gets underway.
"We have very high expectations," Schiebner said. "This team is capable of a lot. We set the bar high and we know we're going to get there. We know we have the talent to get there."
On Friday, the Bulls played an exhibition game against Holy Family, looking to get a feel for how the team was doing. The Bulls, dominated by the Tigers, losing the exhibition match 65-57.
"I knew that we were probably going to look a little ugly in our first exhibition game just because there are newcomers and because were instituting a new offense system, but the chemistry was really good," Hill-MacDonald said. "We just need to take better care of the basketball and we need to do a better job at rebounding."
Matthys feels that while the team lost, it has prepared them for the games that truly matter.
"Our young players bring a lot to the table," Matthys said. "They got their first game jitters out tonight, but there's definitely a lot of talent there."
As the season slowly sets to begin, Hill-MacDonald has only one thing on her mind, and that's a championship.
"Our ultimate goal is to get to the MAC Championships," she said. "Our expectation is that we play hard every game and we put on the floor as competitive a performance as we possibly can."
Matthys and her team also aim to win a conference championship as well.
"Our team goal is to become MAC champions for the year," Matthys said. "We've learned [over the] last year that we weren't really consistent and we had to dig ourselves out of a rut and we just can't do that. We can't come out of games flat or have as many turnovers. That's the only way we're going to get to that goal - if we continue with the consistency."
Buffalo's first regular season game will take place against local rival Canisius. The game begins at 7 p.m. at the Koesller Athletic Center.
Additional reporting by David Sanchirico, Sports Editor.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
