Seven proves unlucky as Bulls lose again

Numbers don't always tell the whole story and statistics sometimes lie, but no matter how the box score is spun, the fact remains that Buffalo was dismantled Saturday afternoon.

The women's basketball team dropped its seventh game in a row due to trouble with turnovers, and a stiff defense held the Bulls to 30.8 percent shooting from the field. The 86-42 loss at Western Michigan leaves the Bulls tied for 11th in the Mid-American Conference.

"We played as poorly as we could play and made them look a whole lot better," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We turned the ball over seven times in the first few minutes. There's no excuse for that."

It took the Bulls more than six minutes to register their first field goal. Junior guard Belinda Gibb finally put the Bulls on the board at the 13:50 mark as she drained her only field goal of the night for two points. Buffalo's inability to score was just part of a dismal first half in which the Bulls shot just 22 percent from the field, including 1-of-9 three-point shooting.

As bad as the Bulls offense was in the first frame, the Broncos attack was just the opposite. Western Michigan shot over 50 percent from three-point land in the first half, hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Broncos senior guard Maria Jillian led her team's first-half assault, shooting 4-of-5 from the field, only one shy of Buffalo's team total for the same time frame.

Backed by a 16-0 run that lasted over six minutes, Western Michigan climbed to a 37-12 lead by the three-minute mark in the first half, leaving Buffalo trailing 40-15 heading into the break.

Buffalo seemed to come out a bit stronger in the second half, as the Bulls and Broncos traded points in the opening minutes. Then Western Michigan shut out the Bulls again, stringing together a 10-0 run to increase the lead to 70-34.

"We knew coming in that they were a good team," Hill-MacDonald said. "They outplayed us in every aspect."

Western Michigan swiped the ball from Buffalo 13 times, accounting for more than half of Buffalo's 23 turnovers. The number of giveaways far outweighed the Bulls' 10 assists, creating a mirror opposite of the Broncos assist-to-turnover ratio. Jillian had 10 of the team's 25 assists, as opposed to only 12 Broncos turnovers.

Hill-MacDonald seemed to believe the failure to execute landed largely on an inability to prepare in the days before the game.

"I haven't liked our preparation in practice. Our concentration hasn't been there," Hill-MacDonald said. "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail."

Stephanie Bennett was the lone Bull to score in the double digits on the night. The sophomore guard finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-7 three-pointers. Sophomore guard Flynn Pyykkonen registered a game-high 10 rebounds and sophomore forward Heather Turner turned in an average game with seven points and seven rebounds.

Junior guard Carrie Moore led the Broncos in scoring with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. All 10 Broncos that reached the court registered at least one point.

"We've got to get back to playing our brand of basketball," Hill-MacDonald said. "The character we're trying to develop as a team is not showing."

With the loss, Buffalo dropped its final opportunity to win against a MAC West division team this season. This is the second straight year the Bulls have failed to notch a win against a West division opponent.

Buffalo now returns home to Alumni Arena to face Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday night. Senior guard Cindi Merrill leads the RedHawks (7-15, 2-9 MAC). Merrill leads Miami in scoring with 15.6 points per game. The last time the two teams met, the Bulls scratched out a 78-75 win, thanks to three late free throws from freshman forward Jamie Schiebner.

Schiebner was absent from Saturday's game after sustaining an injury during the team's last home game on Wednesday. The freshman forward averages 7.5 rebounds and 8.2 points per game. Schiebner's status is day-to-day and she may be ready for Tuesday's game.

Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.