Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe

BUFFALO, NY - Junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/University of Hawaii) tied her career high with 26 points and sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) had 18 points to create a formidable inside-outside combination that sent the University at Buffalo women's basketball team to a 64-50 win over visiting Akron in front of 1,826 fans at Alumni Arena. The win evens the Bulls' Mid-American Conference record at 4-4 and improves their overall record to 9-10 while Akron falls to 1-18 on the year and 0-8 in the MAC.

The Zips came out looking to avenge a 73-47 Buffalo win from earlier in the season, and they opened the scoring with three straight three-pointers to take a 9-0 lead before the Bulls got on the board. Akron held the lead for the majority of the first half until a layup by McMeeken-Ruscoe put Buffalo ahead 24-23 with 2:16 left on the clock. McMeeken-Ruscoe scored six of the Bulls' points during an 8-0 run to close the half and allow Buffalo to take a 28-23 lead into the lockerroom. A layup by Akron's Lindsay Hemmelgarn got the Zips within four, 44-40, with 8:50 remaining in the game, and a three-pointer by Raegan Johnson got them within six, 54-48, with 3:42 on the clock, but the Bulls answered every Akron threat to quickly regain control of the game. The Bulls outscored the Zips in the paint by a 32-23 margin, and they shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22-for-51) compared to Akron's 35.4 percent (17-for-48).

"Our defense led the way again," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "It was sort of an ugly win, but sometimes you need those and we'll take it any way we can. Kate and Jessica really carried us offensively, and hopefully this will give us momentum going into Wednesday's game against Kent State."

Freshman Erin Lawrenson (Elkland, PA/Elkland) led the Bulls with a game-high seven rebounds, and Kochendorfer added six boards and three blocks. The Zips were led by Cassandra Martin with 10 points and five rebounds and Hemmelgarn with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Bulls next host Kent State on Wednesday, January 30 at 7 pm at Alumni Arena.