Jessica Kochendorfer

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team picked up its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season in impressive fashion tonight, earning a 79-60 win over the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd in front of 1,309 fans in Alumni Arena. Senior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) posted her second consecutive double-double with game highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists and junior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) scored a career-high 17 points.

With the score tied at 23-23 with 4:30 to play in the first half, Meunier hit her third three-pointer of the half to start a 14-4 Buffalo run that sent the Bulls to the lockerroom with a 10-point lead, 37-27. The Bulls shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the half (16-for-31) and 71.4 percent from three-point range (5-for-7), getting 16 points from Kochendorfer and 15 points from Meunier to take control of the game. Marshall shot just 33.3 percent from the floor (11-for-33) and 22.2 percent from three-point range (4-for-18) in the half.

The Bulls scored the first nine points in the second half to go up 46-27 with 16:28 remaining in the game, and Meunier's fourth three-pointer of the game ended that 9-0 run. Marshall cut the lead to 10, 48-38, with 13:18 on the clock, but the Bulls' got a spark off the bench from freshman Kelly Calderone (Freedom, PA/Ambridge), who scored all eight of her points in a snap of four minutes and 16 seconds from that point on, including a three-pointer, two free throws and a three-point play on a driving layup down the lane that put the Bulls up by 14, 61-47, with 8:40 to play. Marshall got within nine, 66-57, with 3:47 on the clock, but the Thundering Herd ended the game by shooting 1-for-11 from the floor, including 0-for-9 from three-point range, before time ran out.

Allison Bennett

The Bulls shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the game (30-for-55) and 80.0 percent from three-point range (8-for-10), compared to Marshall's 37.3 percent from the floor (25-for-67) and 19.4 percent from three-point range (7-for-36). Buffalo outrebounded Marshall by a 39-32 margin. Marshall (10-5 overall, 2-3 MAC) was led by Mary Pat Statler with 19 points and Kim Griffin with 10 points and eight assists.

"We executed our game plan to a tee tonight, and we took good shots and did a nice job rebounding," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We've had a lot of adversity this season and things haven't always gone our way, but our team has continued to work hard and it was nice to see it all come together. I'm really proud of the entire team effort tonight."

The Bulls (3-9 overall, 1-2 MAC) will put their two-game winning streak on the line when they close out the non-conference portion of the 2003-04 schedule on Monday, January 19 against Holy Cross. Game time is 7 pm in Alumni Arena. Buffalo then hosts Central Michigan on Wednesday, January 21, also at 7 pm.