Head Coach Cheryl Dozier

BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo women's basketball head coach Cheryl Dozier's 70th career victory came in impressive fashion as the Bulls cruised to a 61-35 win over visiting Cornell at Alumni Arena. The 26-point win was Buffalo's largest margin of victory since a 73-47 win over Akron on January 5, 2002, and the 35 points are the fewest the Bulls have allowed since a 68-27 win over Oral Roberts during the 1997-98 season. The win improved the Bulls' record to 9-5 overall and ended their 2002-03 non-conference slate at 8-3. Buffalo was led by junior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy), who posted her fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Erin Lawrenson (Elkland, PA/Elkland Area), who finished with 12 points on four three-pointers.

The Bulls jumped out to an 8-0 lead and kept the Big Red off the board until the 14:39 mark of the first half. A jumper by Cornell's Hillary Seidel then started a 9-0 run for the Big Red, giving them a 9-8 lead at the 10:27 mark. Buffalo sophomore Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) followed with a three-pointer on the Bulls' next possession, and Buffalo never trailed in the game from that point on. Bennett's three-pointer began a 16-7 run by the Bulls that ended with a three-pointer by freshman Hollie Cook (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) to send Buffalo to the lockerroom with a 24-16 lead at halftime.

The Bulls led by as many as 31 points in the second half, and they held the Big Red without a point until the 15:31 mark, a free throw by Karen Force, and without a field goal until the 9:01 mark, a jumper by Lauren Kilduff. The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half (13-for-26) and finished the game with a 42.6 shooting percentage from the floor (23-for-54), including a 6-of-8 performance from three-point range. Buffalo also outrebounded the Big Red by a 44-34 margin.

Senior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/Hawaii) finished the night with eight points, snapping a 12-game double-figures scoring streak, and Cook added seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

"It's always tough to play a non-conference game in the middle of the conference season, but I was very pleased with our effort and with our focus," said Dozier. "I was glad to see Jessica get back to her double-double form and see Erin knock down some threes for us. We're going to need both of them to be on track as we go down the stretch. If we can continue to be balanced, we should be OK."

The Bulls (9-5, 1-2 MAC) get back to Mid-American Conference play with a 7 pm game at Toledo on Wednesday, January 22 before returning home to host Miami (OH) on Saturday, January 25 at 7 pm in Alumni Arena.