It’s time to start thinking tournament.
The fight for seeding in the Mid-American Conference is heating up as teams begin to look toward the tournament, which is less than a month away. Women’s basketball coach Curt Miller knows that there will be a struggle for position as the tournament draws closer.
“I think there is going to be a mad rush for the seven, eight, nine and 10 seeds,” Miller said. “I think everyone still has hopes to go host the first round of the tournament.”
With this in mind Miller and the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team will head to Buffalo, NY tonight to take on the University of Buffalo Bulls. The Falcons are coming off an upset victory over archrival Toledo on Saturday. Miller hopes to avoid a letdown after a big win.
“The kids have such good character that we did not hang our heads after the Central Michigan game and now we have to show character that we are able to prepare and stay motivated to play against a talented inside Buffalo team,” Miller said.
Saturday’s victory ended the team’s longest losing streak of the season at four games. Tonight the Falcons will look to snap another losing streak. They have dropped their first five conference road games of the season.
“If we can steal a road win we put ourselves in the position that we set our ultimate goal in the beginning of the year and that was to host the first round of the MAC,” Miller said.
Tonight’s game features two teams with very contrasting styles. The Falcons are a perimeter oriented team that relies heavily on the outside shot. The Bulls are very post oriented and will most likely look to beat the Falcons down low. Miller stressed the importance of his team playing their type of game.
“The tempo and the style the game turns out to be will be very, very important because their strengths are our weaknesses but our strengths are their weaknesses,” Miller said.
The Bulls come into tonight’s game with an overall record of 11-9 and a conference record of 3-6. They are currently in third place in the MAC East. Last week they lost on the road to Kent State 71-56 on Feb.5 and at home to Northern Illinois, 76-64, on Sunday.
The Bulls have been led this season by guard Kate
McMeeken-Ruscoe, who scored 21 points against Northern Illinois on Sunday, her fourth 20-plus scoring effort of the season. She is averaging 14.1 points per game. McMeeken-Ruscoe is complimented by forward/guard Jessica Kochendorfer, who is second on the team in scoring with 11 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 rebounds per game. Guards Erin Lawrenson and Allison Bennett both pose a threat from the outside, shooting 39.1 percent, (27-69), and 42.9 percent, (9-21), respectively.
The Falcons enter tonight’s game at 10-10 overall and 3-6 in the MAC. They are currently in sixth place in the MAC West. They have benefited recently from the emergence of guard Tene Lewis. “Tene brings a different type of athleticism to our team, she really sparks us defensively, Miller said. She’s playing her role to a tee and because of that she’s an added dimension that we haven’t always had since I’ve been here with her defense, athleticism and ability to create plays for other people.”
Action is set to begin at 7p.m.
