I think it’s fair to say that Bowling Green needs a bye week.

Unfortunately, those virtually never occur.

Down Lexi Fleming, Jasmine Fearne, Jasmine Clerkley, Abbie Riddle and Keiryn McGuff due to injuries/undisclosed reasons, the Falcons are down to nine available players heading into Wednesday morning’s contest in New York against the Buffalo Bulls.

BG is coming off a 56-47 loss to the Miami RedHawks in Oxford, and now with another road battle on deck, the importance of this game could be huge in the race for the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the calendar is close to changing to February.

A preview now of the Bulls:

BUFFALO BULLS

Current Record: 9-7 OVR, 3-3 MAC

Head Coach: Becky Burke (2nd season)

Notable Burke Facts:

• In her first season in Buffalo, Burke led the Bulls to a 12-16 overall record, including becoming the eight seed in the 2023 MAC Tournament, where they nearly upset the one-seed Toledo Rockets, the eventual MAC champions, but fell 75-74 in overtime.
• Prior to being named the head coach at Buffalo, Burke spent two seasons as the head coach at USC-Upstate.
• Burke had a standout playing career at the University of Louisville where she spent four years as a Cardinal helping lead her team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the championship game in 2009 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2011.

Notable Names:

• Chellia Watson (Sr.)- Watson had to sit out the 2022-23 season due to NCAA transfer portal rules. However, the senior coming from USC Upstate is bringing plenty of fire to the Buffalo offense, as Watson is leading the MAC and ranks sixth in the nation in scoring at 22.9 points per game to go with 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.

• Kirsten Lewis-Williams (Fr.)-  Lewis-Williams is a true freshman out of Mooresville, North Carolina who is bringing toughness and scoring to the Buffalo offense. This season, the freshman is averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds a game for Buffalo. In Saturday’s loss to Western Michigan, Lewis-Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds.

• Alexis Davis (Fr.)- Davis brings size to a Buffalo team that lacked it last season. At six foot, the freshman from New Jersey averaging six rebounds a night for the Bulls, and on Saturday, she registered 12 points in the loss to the Broncos. So far this season, Davis is averaging 7.4 points per game.

Notable Numbers:

• This is the 51^st overall meeting between Buffalo and Bowling Green with the Falcons owning a 28-22 series advantage.
• As a team, Buffalo is ranked in the top three in the MAC in scoring defense (63.4), field goal percentage (.426), field goal defense (.382), three-point field goal percentage (.333) and three-point field goa defense (.295).
• The Bulls are averaging 32.9 points per game in the paint.

Tip-off between the Bulls and Falcons is set for 11 a.m. Join Falcon Media Sports Network’s Brandon Loe on the call on 88.1 FM WBGU beginning at 10:45.