OXFORD, OH - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team battled for forty minutes, playing catchup basketball before time ran out on the Bulls' attempted comeback at Miami (OH) in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. The RedHawks (7-5 overall, 1-0 MAC) led by as many as 16 points in the first half and by as many as 13 points in the second half, and they were able to hold on for a 66-60 win after the Bulls tied the score at 51-51 with under seven minutes to play.

Kim Kilpela

Buffalo was led by sophomore Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) with a season-high 16 points and six rebounds and sophomore Virginia Jennings (Nashville, MI/Hastings) with 12 points and six assists.

The RedHawks came out on fire, hitting nine of their first 12 shots and taking a 22-6 lead with 13:26 left in the half, largely due to the efforts of Heather Cusick who had 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first 20 minutes of play. After falling behind by 16, the Bulls embarked on a 22-7 run, sparked by two three-pointers by freshman Erin Lawrenson (Elkland, PA/Elkland Area) off the bench, and Buffalo found itself within one, 29-28, with 2:04 left in the half. Miami scored the last five points of the first half and the first five points of the second half, and the RedHawks gradually increased their lead to 13 points, 45-32, with 13:47 remaining in the game. The Bulls then strung together a 19-6 run, tying the score at 51-51 on a jumper by freshman Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) with 6:35 to go. Three-pointers by Jennings put the Bulls within one, 55-54, with 3:55 left in the game and within two, 62-60, with 1:14 showing on the clock, but the Bulls were never able to take the lead. A jumper by Kim Lancaster and two free throws by Colleen Day with under a minute to play secured the Miami victory.

"We battled hard tonight, but we can't get out of the gate slow like we have been," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We exerted so much energy fighting back that we didn't have enough left at the end. I was happy that we shot almost 49 percent from the floor, but we have to take better care of the basketball. Now that the MAC season has started, we can't afford to have 22 turnovers on the road."

The RedHawks entered the game averaging 74.1 points per game and they shot 50 percent from the floor (26-for-52). The Bulls shot 48.9 percent from the floor (23-for-47) and they were outrebounded by a 27-24 margin. Junior Rachel Martin (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) chipped in four points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Lawrenson and junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/University of Hawaii) finished with nine points apiece for the Bulls.

The Bulls (5-7 overall, 0-1 MAC) now head to Akron for a 3:30 pm matchup with the Zips on Saturday, January 5.