Jessica Kochendorfer

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team got back on the winning track with a 57-52 win over visiting Central Michigan tonight in Alumni Arena. The Bulls got 18 points apiece from senior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) and sophomore Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) to lead the offense, and Kochendorfer added 11 rebounds for her third double-double in the last four games. With the win, the Bulls evened their Mid-American Conference record at 2-2 on the season and moved to 4-10 overall. The Chippewas fell to 4-12 overall and 0-5 in the MAC.

The Bulls' largest lead of the game, and their only double-digit lead at 11 points, came at the 12:29 mark of the first half, 19-8, following a layup by freshman Belinda Gibb (Denmark, Western Australia/Willetton). Meunier scored 10 of her 14 first-half points in the first six minutes of the game, including two three-pointers, to help the Bulls take the early lead. Central Michigan battled back with a 15-4 run to tie the score at 23-23 with 3:30 remaining in the half, but Kochendorfer scored seven straight points for a 7-0 Buffalo run that got the Bulls out to a 30-23 lead with just over two minutes to play. Three free throws by the Chippewas in the final minute of the half sent the Bulls to the lockerroom up by a 30-26 margin.

Allison Bennett

An 8-2 Central Michigan run to open the second half, culminated by a three-pointer by Lindy Hatfield, gave the Chippewas their first lead of the game, 34-32, with 15:12 left on the clock. Freshman Dina Atanas (Brantford, Ontario/St. John's College) was then fouled on a three-point attempt, and she hit two of her free throws to tie the game at 34-34. The score was tied three more times over the next five minutes of play before the Bulls went on an 8-0 run to go up 47-39 with just over five minutes remaining. Junior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) hit a jumper at the end of the 8-0 run, and she made three layups after that for eight straight points that kept the Bulls' lead intact. A three-pointer by CMU's Erin Kuhl with 23 seconds left in the game got the Chippewas within three, 55-52, but junior Talia Merlino (Newtown, PA/Notre Dame (NJ) HS) and Bennett each made one foul shot in the closing seconds to put the game out of reach.

The Bulls shot 42.9 percent from the floor (18-for-42), and they hit 4-of-7 three-point shots in the game, all in the first half. The Chippewas shot just 29.6 percent from the floor (16-for-54), but they outrebounded the Bulls by a 39-28 margin, including 24 offensive boards. CMU was led by Ann Skufca with 11 points and four rebounds and Amanda Elwer with eight points, a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists.

"We knew Central Michigan was going to be hungry for a win, and they gave us everything they had," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier. "I thought we were patient in our offense and we stayed out of foul trouble early. Rebounding is still a concern, and that needs to be our focus in practice going into the weekend road trip."

The Bulls now hit the road for the next three games, beginning with a 2 pm contest at Ball State on Saturday, January 24. They are then at Northern Illinois on Monday, January 26 for an 8:05 ET contest.