Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe

BUFFALO, NY - A career-high 26 points by junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/University of Hawaii) were spoiled by a balanced scoring attack and hot three-point shooting by the Eastern Michigan Eagles, who defeated the University at Buffalo by a 78-66 score in Mid-American Conference women's basketball action at Alumni Arena. The Eagles (9-7, 2-3 MAC) finished with five players in double figures, including Stephanie Smiley with 15 points, six rebounds and a season-high nine assists. Smiley grabbed an offensive rebound at the 11:44 mark of the second half to make her the first player in MAC basketball history - men's or women's - to score 1,200 points (1,234), grab 700 rebounds (701) and dish 500 assists (511) in a career.

McMeeken-Ruscoe, who had 17 of her game-high 26 points in the first half, opened the scoring with a three-pointer and gave the Bulls what would be their last lead of the game, 12-10, with a jumper at the 13:55 mark. The Eagles then went on a 12-2 run to go up by eight, 22-14 with 8:21 left in the half, and they took a 36-32 lead into the lockerroom at intermission. Buffalo sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) hit a three-pointer and a layup to tie the score at 41-41 and at 43-43 early in the second half, but the Eagles hit seven three-pointers in the final 20 minutes of play and led by as many as 14 points on two different occasions.

"We finally put the ball in the basket on the offensive end," said head coach Cheryl Dozier, "But then we couldn't get the job done on the defensive end of the floor. They really hurt us from three-point range, especially in the second half, and we can't give up 78 points, especially on our home floor. We need to find the passion for defense that we had earlier in the season."

The Eagles finished 11-of-32 from three-point range in the game (34.4 percent), and they shot 45.9 percent from the floor (28-for-61). Their 78 points are the most given up by the Bulls this season, and they were led by Abby Wiseman and Kris Kachaturoff with team-highs of 18 points apiece. The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor (30-for-60) and they outscored EMU in the paint by a 40-26 margin. Kochendorfer finished with a double-double, her fourth of the season, with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and sophomore Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) added 14 points, eight boards and two blocks. In addition to her 26 points, McMeeken-Ruscoe tied her career high with eight assists.

Buffalo (7-10, 2-4 MAC) now takes to the road for a game at Northern Illinois on Wednesday, January 23 at 8:05 pm EST before returning home for a 5 pm contest against Akron on Saturday, January 26. The game against the Zips is a doubleheader with the UB men's team which takes on Northwestern at 7 pm.