The Buffalo Bulls women's basketball plays in Kent, Ohio, tonight looking for vengeance against the Kent State Golden Flashes after the 85-66 whooping they served up for the Bulls two weeks ago.
Kent State (16-8, 9-4 Mid-American Conference) handled Buffalo (6-17, 4-9 MAC) fairly easily using a very effective inside-out game, taking advantage of their size and accurate shooters on the perimeter.
The Golden Flashes have the luxury of rotating three post players that top the 6-foot mark. In the last contest, Andrea Csaszar (6-foot, 6-inches), Lindsay Shearer (6-foot, 1-inch) and Mallorie Griffith (6-foot, 6-inches) dominated the glass and gave the Bulls tons of trouble offensively.
UB must focus on controlling the boards and limiting the Flashes' touches in the paint. Kent State's super-sized trio combined for 29 points and 21 rebounds when KSU came into Alumni Arena. Shearer paced the three with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Bulls' head coach Cheryl Dozier will look to her two seniors to neutralize KSU's size advantage.
The return of Jessica Kochendorfer to the Bulls lineup will help Buffalo combat the Golden Flashes presence inside. A concussion sidelined Kochendorfer for the previous match up and she was sorely missed.
Not only does Kochendorfer bring much needed size and leadership; she brings 14 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. With Kochendorfer in the lineup it will be much tougher for KSU to score in the paint this time around.
Kim Kilpela will also play a big role in controlling the paint. In the last match up, Kilpela disappeared with only five points and four rebounds.
This performance led to Kilpela being buried on Dozier's bench for the following game against Akron and a thorough ripping in the post game press conference.
Since then, Kilpela has bounced back and responded to the coach's message.
In the last two games, the senior recorded 32 points and 15 rebounds.
If Kochendorfer and Kilpela are successful in clogging up the inside, Kent State will rely heavily on their 3-point shooting.
Complementing the KSU post players are sharpshooters Melissa DeGrate and Heather Harris. Degrate and Harris will roam the perimeter as the defense collapses on the ball in the post, looking for an open shot.
Degrate and Harris tickled the nylon a combined seven times from downtown the last time these two teams squared off. Degrate also led all scorers with 20 points while Harris chipped in with 13.
After recording five consecutive victories, the Golden Flashes find themselves among the MAC elite, as Kent State is securely in second place in the East division. Miami of Ohio leads the conference at 12-1, but their lone loss was at the hands of KSU.
UB will need to be firing on all cylinders if they plan on winning their second straight. With the season running down, the Bulls are fighting for position in the MAC tournament and need every conference win they can get.
They are currently in fifth place in the MAC east, but are only two games behind Marshall for third in the conference and one game back of Ohio for fourth.
Tip off is tonight at 7 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
