Chippewas meet Buffalo in battle of MAC powerhouses
Central Michigan center Kyra Bussell looks to pass the ball against Toledo Jan. 25 at McGuirk Arena.
Last time Central Michigan and Buffalo met, the Bulls derailed the Chippewas' hopes at a Mid-American Conference Tournament championship repeat.
Buffalo, led by now-graduated Cierra Dillard's 30 points, defeated CMU, 82-77, on March 15 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Both teams bring back talented scorers and will introduce talented freshmen in this year's edition of a matchup that has become a cross-divisional rivalry within the MAC. Central Michigan will travel to Buffalo to take on the Bulls at 7 p.m. Wednesday inside Alumni Arena.
The Chippewas come into the game with an unblemished 7-0 record in the MAC while the Bulls hold a 4-3 mark. On the season, the Chippewas are 14-4 while the Bulls are 13-5.
"I'm expecting Buffalo to come out strong, as always," said redshirt sophomore guard Sophia Karasinski. "It's always a good game against them."
Central Michigan's junior guard Micaela Kelly remains tied for second place in the country with a scoring average of 23.9 points per game. However, Buffalo counters with the nation's seventh-leading scorer in freshman Dyaisha Fair, who averages 22.1 per game. In recent games, Fair has been coming off the bench for her squad.
The Chippewas have a talented freshman of their own in guard Molly Davis, who is coming off a career-high 28 points in Central Michigan's 73-66 win over Toledo on Saturday. Since conference play began, Davis is averaging 14.6 points per game.
"She is wise beyond her years," Chippewa coach Heather Oesterle said of Davis. "Her basketball IQ is off the charts."
While either Davis or Kelly will likely match up with Fair while the Chippewas are on defense, the Bulls deploy a matchup zone similar to the defensive set Central Florida used against the Chippewas.
Central Michigan lost to UCF on Dec. 30, its only loss since a Nov. 17 loss at Western Kentucky.
"Buffalo is really athletic, and they always give us fits with their zone," Oesterle said. "It's the same exact zone as Central Florida, so we have a little bit of a blueprint of what we need to do."
Buffalo ranks second in the MAC in scoring defense while the Chippewas are at the top of the conference in scoring offense. Though the stout defense of the Bulls poses a stiff challenge for Central Michigan's potent scoring offense, sophomore guard Kalle Martinez remains confident in her team's abilities.
"I'm sure the coaches have a good game plan for us," Martinez said.
Following the matchup with the Bulls, the Chippewas will return home to take on Ohio at 1 p.m. Saturday inside McGuirk Arena.
