Bulls Fall Short at Eastern Michigan, 69-56

Stephanie Bennett leads four players in double figures with 17 points

Stephanie Bennett

YPSILANTI, MI – The host Eastern Michigan Eagles went on an 11-0 run over the final minute of play, taking a two-point advantage and turning it into a 13-point victory over the University at Buffalo, Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. It was the second time this season that UB was unable to hold a halftime lead. With the loss the Bulls drop to 6-13 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. Eastern Michigan improves to 11-7 and 6-1 in the MAC with the victory.

The Bulls and Eagles played a tight first half of basketball with UB shooting 57.7 percent from the field in the half. Kourtney Brown (Solon, OH/Solon) scored the first 12 points for UB as the first 24 points were scored by three players. After the 12 from Brown, Jamie Schiebner (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) knocked in the next four, before junior Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) added the next eight, converting on two threes. Junior Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) then capped off a 7-0 UB run to give the Bulls their largest lead of the game, leading by six with 5:22 remaining in the first half. The Eagles would cut into the lead and UB went into the half up, 33-31.

Eastern Michigan came out in the second half and took the lead back before the Bulls went on another 7-0 run to lead by four in the early minutes of the half. Over the next 15 minutes neither team would lead by more than four points as the game was tied a total of eight times. Schiebner’s jumper with 1:18 remaining cut the Eastern Michigan lead to just two points, but UB was unable to get any closer as the Eagles hit their foul shots down the stretch, scoring 11 straight points after the Schiebner make.

Bennett led the way for the Bulls, scoring 17 points on five made three-point field goals. Going up against the MAC’s top three-point shooter, Alyssa Pittman, Bennett was able to get the better of Pittman as she hit just two of her eight attempts.

Kourtney Brown

After scoring the first 12 points, Brown converted on just one more basket, finishing with 14 points on the evening, shooting 7-of-8 from the field. Schiebner had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Turner had her second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

Schiebner continued her dominance on the defensive side of the ball, finishing with a team-high four steals.

Eastern Michigan was led by a game-high 30 points from Patrice McKinney, who converted on 12-of-20 from the floor. McKinney also recorded 11 rebounds, five blocks and four steals. Sarah VanMetre had 13 points, while Pittman added 10.

The Bulls will return home for their longest homestand of conference play, hosting the next three games. The first is coming this Saturday against Northern Illinois. The Bulls and the Huskies will tip off at 2:00 pm.

01/24/2007