For more than a week the women's basketball team had time to prepare for the man-to-man defense that Northern Illinois is known for. But now the Cardinals have less than 48 hours to prepare for another well-documented defense, only this time it is the University at Buffalo's zone defense that head coach Tracy Roller said she is worried about.
"They run about one or two types of zone defense," Roller said. "But we had nine days to prepare for Northern (Illinois) and its man defense, and we still had problems. We just have to be ready to play."
Surprisingly, the three-point oriented Cardinals (7-4, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) have struggled against teams that have played a 2-3 zone on them, which allows for easier looks at the basket from the perimeter.
Senior Tamara Bowie will once again be asked to step up and lead the team. She is averaging more than 21 points scored per game, which ranks her as No. 1 in the MAC. She is also second in the league in rebounding, averaging more than nine per contest. Against Northern Illinois on Wednesday, she registered her sixth double-double of the season with her 23 points and 10 boards.
Ever since the non-conference season ended with a win over Chicago State, Roller has said repeatedly that every game counts from this point in the season to the end, which are all league matches. And with Buffalo being a perennial doormat in the MAC, it would be easy for the Cardinals to overlook the Bulls.
Nonetheless, Roller said this is a game the Cardinals cannot afford to blow off as Buffalo is a much-improved team from last year as its 7-4 record indicates.
"They're having a great year," Roller said. "They really have four scorers who can hurt us at any time. All I know is we have to go out there and play some great defense."
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