BUFFALO, NY - The visiting Ball State Cardinals had two players record double-doubles and capitalized on second chances and on UB turnovers to defeat the University at Buffalo women's basketball team by a 75-55 score tonight in front of 1,118 fans in Alumni Arena. The loss drops Buffalo's record to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in the Mid-American Conference while Ball State improved to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in the MAC.

Stephanie Bennett

A three-pointer by freshman Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) opened the scoring and the Bulls jumped out to a 5-0 lead while Ball State missed its first six shots from the floor in the first two minutes of the game. A 10-5 Ball State spurt tied the score at 10-10 at the 12:21 mark, and a three-pointer by Kate Endress then put the Cardinals ahead for good. Endress scored 11 of the Cardinals' first 20 points on her way to a game-high 21. A 10-1 Ball State run late in the first half gave the Cardinals a double-digit lead, 30-18, with 3:42 on the clock, but the Bulls closed the half on an 8-1 run to cut their deficit to five at the break, 31-26. Ball State shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the half (12-for-36) while the Bulls shot 35.7 percent (10-for-28).

Ball State quickly upped its lead to double figures again with a 6-0 run to start the half, making the score 37-26 with 18:19 to play. The Cardinals extended the run to 12-4 to go up 43-30 at the 15:09 mark while the Bulls went 0-for-3 from the floor and committed four turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half. Ball State shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes of the game (15-for-28) while Buffalo shot 42.3 percent (11-for-26).

Endress finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Julie DeMuth posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Kelsey Corbin added 14 points and seven assists. The Cardinals outrebounded the Bulls by a 42-33 margin, and they scored 15 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds. They also scored 13 points off of Buffalo's 19 turnovers.

Stephanie Bennett and freshman Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) led the Bulls with 11 points apiece while Turner also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) reached double figures with 10 points, and junior Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) finished with nine points and five assists. Freshman Flynn Pyykkonen (Clarkston, MI/Birmingham Marian) had a season-high eight points and three rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

"We were too tentative on offense tonight and didn't take our open looks," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We also needed to do a better job on the glass and of taking care of the basketball. This is a disappointing loss because we wanted to take something out of our win over Miami on Wednesday. I know the kids are just as disappointed as I am. It's not going to get easier going on the road, but hopefully we can rebound at Akron."

The Bulls travel to Akron for a 7 pm tip on Wednesday, January 19.