UB Women’s Basketball: Stanford will make a trip to Alumni Arena next season

It appears that UB Women’s Basketball’s historic Sweet Sixteen run in the NCAA Tournament is already yielding positive results for the program. On Wednesday, the university announced that Stanford will make a non-conference trip to Alumni Arena this upcoming season.

The Stanford Cardinal are one of the premier women’s basketball teams in the nation thanks to amazing leadership under longtime head coach Tara VanDerveer. The program owns a pair of national championships and advances to the NCAAT’s Elite Eight almost every year.

Last season, the Cardinal finished off their campaign with a 24-11 overall record and a no. 13 USA Today coaches poll ranking, eight spots ahead of the Bulls. Their season culminated with a Sweet Sixteen run that ended after an 86-59 loss to Louisville.

Stanford is expected to be in the championship conversation this year despite graduating two seniors, one of which was their leading scorer in Brittany McPhee. The team will rely heavily on Alanna Smith, a 6-4 forward, and Kiana Williams, who is poised to be one of the best guards in the conference next season.

The game, scheduled for December 21, is already a huge win for a mid-major program like Buffalo. Getting a Power-5 program to travel to Alumni Arena should only bolster fan interest and recruiting endeavors in the future. The matchup is also crucial for UB because of its quality. The Bulls graduated a ton of talent last season and playing against some of the best will help work out some problems that may arise this season.