BOWLING GREEN, OH - Bowling Green's Stefanie Wenzel scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Falcons to a 71-69 win over Buffalo in Mid-American Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Anderson Arena.

Wenzel helped Bowling Green overcome a quick Buffalo start by draining five three point field goals in the first half alone as the Falcons went to intermission with a 39-31 halftime lead. The Bulls (7-8, 2-2 in the MAC) would bounce back, however, behind the strong play of sophomore

Kim Kilpela

Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield). Kilpela would score 21 of her team-high 26 points in the second half and spark an 11-2 run to start the second half to give Buffalo a 42-41 lead with 15:41 remaining.

The Falcons, however, had an answer as BG went on a 10-3 run to go up 51-45 with 11:48 to go and Buffalo would not regain the lead again in the game. Bowling Green eventually led by as much as 10 points - 64-54 with 4:58 left - before the Bulls would make another run.

A layup and four free throws by Kilpela coupled with a corner jump shot by freshman Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) cut the Bowling Green lead to 64-62 with 2:29 left. However, Bowling Green (4-11, 1-3 in the MAC) would hit six-of-seven free throws in the final two minutes - four of them by Wenzel who finished 11-of-12 for the game - to hold off UB's charge.

The Bulls, meanwhile, struggled from the line throughout the game, connecting on just 17-of-31 for the contest and just 11-of-23 in the second half. The Bulls were also just 4-of-20 from three-point range for the contest.

Kilpela had her finest outing of the season, leading Buffalo with 26 points, 13 rebounds and a career-best five blocked shots. It was Kilpela's first double-double this season and the sixth of her career. Fellow sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) also had a double-double, the

Jessica Kochendorfer

fifth of her career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand) added 13 points for Buffalo.

"Bowling Green was hungry for a win," said UB coach Cheryl Dozier. "We allowed them to make a run after we got back in it early in the second half and that's not characteristic of our defense. "We're disappointed, no doubt about it, but we can't dwell on a loss for too long. We have to get a few things squared away defensively and get ready to play Toledo."

Buffalo will host Toledo, the defending MAC champions, on Wednesday at Alumni Arena at 7 p.m.