HUNTINGTON, WV - University at Buffalo women's basketball coach Cheryl Dozier will most likely be sporting a new hairdo come Saturday afternoon.

Dozier promised to sport pigtails on Saturday if her team could come up with their second straight road Mid-American Conference victory. That's exactly what the Bulls (15-4, 5-3 in the MAC) did, scoring a crucial 54-49 win at Marshall on Thursday night. The victory kept Buffalo in second place in the Eastern Division of the MAC with a 5-3 record and was Buffalo's third straight win. The Bulls host Miami (OH), with a 4-3 MAC record, on Saturday at 2:00 pm at Alumni Arena.

Once again junior Tiffany Bell (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) came up big for the Bulls, but she was just one of the stars for Buffalo. Bell, playing the full 40 minutes for the first time since returning from a sprained ankle, scored a game-high 21 points.

Buffalo also got another big performance from MAC Freshman-of-the-Year candidate Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield). Kilpela, who had a career-high 18 points at Akron on Saturday, had another double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Senior guard Sonia Ortega (Chihuahua, Mexico/Cobach), who ranks in the top 25 in the nation in assists per game, had 10 helpers in the game.

The Bulls led 30-22 at halftime, but the Thundering Herd rallied in the second half. Marshall tied the score, 41-41, with 9:43 left before the Bulls went on a crucial 9-1 run over the next 3¹/₂ minutes to take a 50-42 lead with 6:16 left. Kilpela scored four of her 12 points during that stretch.

Marshall pulled within, 52-49, with :28 left but junior Mari McClure (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester Hills) hit two free throws with :17 left to clinch the win.

"We played a great first half," said Dozier afterwards, "and we took care of the ball in the second half. We were very patient on offense again. Any win on the road is an important one and you have to do what you have to do to get it."