Bulls to Host Kent State Wednesday at Alumni Arena
2/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team will host Mid-American Conference opponent Kent State Wednesday evening. The Bulls (14-9, 7-5 MAC) and the Golden Flashes (4-19, 2-10 MAC) will meet for the 35th time with a 7 pm contest in Alumni Arena.
Kent State dominates the all-time series against UB, 26-8, dating back to the 1998-99 season. Though UB has won the most recent five matchups, KSU won 19 unanswered to tip-off the series. The Bulls last claimed a 64-51 victory in their regular-season finale on March 8, 2014 at Alumni Arena.
Having won five of their last six, the Bulls have a field goal percentage of 36.8 and a free throw percentage of 66.0. UB, who leads the MAC in league-game offensive rebounds (16.8), rebounding offense (42.9) and steals per game (10.6), is averaging 64.0 points and 42.9 boards per game. Senior Kristen Sharkey paces UB with 15.0 points per outing to go with 8.0 boards and 40 steals, while shooting a team-best 78.8 percent at the line. Junior Mackenzie Loesing is averaging 12.9 points per game and has 32 threes on the year. Sophomore Alexus Malone is posting 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a contest. She has seven double-doubles and chips in 38 assists and a Bull-best 42 steals. Senior Christa Baccas is contributing 8.1 points per game to help guide the balanced UB offense. She pulls down a Bull-best 8.4 boards per contest, highlighted by a MAC-high 4.2 offensive boards per game. Ranking second all-time at UB and 13th nationally among active Division I student-athletes with 227 blocks, Baccas has 39 to sit second in the conference this season. Junior Karin Moss has dished out a Bull-best 39 assists.
The Golden Flashes snapped an eight-game MAC losing skid on Saturday with a 54-52 victory over Northern Illinois. Kent State's first conference win of the season came against Bowling Green, 55-48, on Jan. 10. The squad also picked up non-conference victories over Belmont and Colgate. Just 1-11 on the road, Kent State leads the league in rebound defense allowing opponents to grab just 34.0 rebounds per game. The Golden Flashes are shooting 40.7 percent from field goal range, 30.2 percent from beyond the arc and 59.6 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents are outscoring them, 66.7-55.0, though KSU owns a 36.0-34.0 edge in rebounds per game.
The game will air on ESPN 1520 AM with Sloane Martin on the call, while a live ESPN3 broadcast will be available. Fans can also follow along with live stats or live tweets.
ESPN3 is available at no additional cost to fans who receive ESPN as part of their TV subscription through participating TV providers. ESPN3 is also available at no cost to US college students and US-based military personnel on computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.
