Compared to last season, the Bobcats are 34 days ahead of schedule.
Ohio won its seventh game last season Feb. 2. This season, the team notched its seventh victory much sooner with its most recent win against George Mason Dec. 29.
Head coach Semeka Randall said she sees differences between this year and seasons past.
“The players are committed, and they want to win basketball games,” Randall said. “They are able to lock in on game situations (and) to the details that I am giving them. They have been able to execute.”
Randall added that the Bobcats are beginning to play with more confidence because the players trust and believe in one another.
Junior guard Symone Lyles said the team is excited to play this season because of an attitude change.
“The last couple of years it’s been like, ‘Oh, we have another game.’ This season we are so much more excited and ready to go,” Lyles said.
Freshman guard Mariah Byard said that since the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, the team has a better flow.
Byard and other freshmen are another reason why the team has gotten a better start this season.
Byard has played for almost 15 minutes in every game. She also leads the team in free-throw percentage with 86 percent.
“They’re winners. They were the go-to players for their (high school and AAU) teams,” Randall said. “They were able to come in and make a smooth transition and are gaining more confidence every day.”
Randall highlighted junior forward Porsha Harris, who is in her first year with the Bobcats. She averages 11 points a game, the second highest on the team.
Buffalo is the first Mid-American Conference opponent on the schedule for Ohio. Although the team does not have Kourtney Brown, the Bulls’ best player from last season, another offensive threat has emerged.
“They have an unbelievable go-to player: Their point guard, Brittany Hedderson, averages almost 20 points for them,” Randall said. “She’s going to take a lot of shots; we’re just going to have to contain and make her take tough shots over us.”
Hedderson also ranks second in the conference in scoring.
Lyles and Byard agreed that shutting her down is going to be an important factor for tonight’s game.
Randall said that, with all attention given to covering Hedderson, the defense also has to make sure that no other player takes advantage and has a career night.
Lyles said she expects the game to be a 40-minute battle, a game in which each team will have its respective point runs.
nr225008@ohiou.edu
