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With only three games remaining, it's not a large sample size, but tonight's 7:00 tip against Bowling Green is almost certainly the most important of the final stretch for UB Women's Basketball.
With both teams sitting 5-9 in-conference, and with no other team within two games of the pair, the Falcons and Bulls are almost certainly assured to occupy the #8 and #9 conference seeds when the regular season wraps up next week. That 8/9 divide, though, is the line that separates host schools from visitors in the MAC Tournament's opening round on campus sites.
UB already has a 1-0 head to head advantage on the Falcons thanks to a 63-50 win over just eleven days ago, and would likely win the tiebreaker on Bowling Green even with a loss tonight thanks to wins over top seeds Ohio and Central Michigan, but it's better to not rely on that.
Regardless, tonight's showdown is almost certainly round two of three on the season between the squads.
In the teams' earlier matchup Buffalo prevailed by 13 thanks in large part to a 31-19 second quarter and game-high 21 points from Stephanie Reid, as well as upwards of twenty productive minutes from freshman Mirte Scheper. Joanna Smith scores just 11 on 1-7 shooting from three, but Scheper's contributions gave the Bulls a needed third option.
Forward Lauren Tibbs scored 15 to lead BG in that one, and she figures to make a significant impact tonight as well, though UB won the first matchup thanks in large part to a 50-26 rebounding advantage. If Bowling Green once again cannot match the Bulls on the glass, things look good for UB fans, but otherwise there wasn't a while lot that separated these teams two weekends ago.
Tip off is at 7:00 tonight. Sloane will have the call, there will be an ESPN3 broadcast, and livestats are available through UBs website.