Jessica Kochendorfer

MUNCIE, IN - A deep Ball State bench and too many turnovers by the Bulls resulted in a 72-59 loss in front of 1,307 fans at Worthen Arena in Mid-American Conference women's basketball action this afternoon. Sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) posted her sixth double-double of the season with game-highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls. The 27 points are a career best for Kochendorfer, who also tied her career high with 11 free throws in the game, all in the second half. The loss drops Buffalo's record to 9-14 overall and 4-8 in the MAC, while Ball State upped its league-leading record to 10-1 and improved to 18-4 overall.

After a fast-break layup by Kochendorfer tied the score at 22-22 with 6:06 to go in the first half, the Cardinals embarked on an 11-0 run, and they took a 39-28 lead into the lockerroom at halftime after consecutive three-pointers by Jessica Reiter and Johna Goff with under a minute to go. The Bulls scored the first five points of the second half and outscored BSU by a 10-5 margin to open the half and cut the Cardinals' lead to six, 44-38, with 16:23 to play. The Cardinals put things out of reach, however, by going on a 26-7 run from that point on to give them their largest lead of the game, 70-45, with 7:17 left on the clock. Ball State held the Bulls to just four field goals in the final 16 minutes of play and without a field goal for a span of 12 minutes and six seconds. During that time, the Bulls scored 10 points on free throws, and they finished the game 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.

"I didn't think we did a bad job defensively," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "There wasn't any one player who hurt us. But, when you turn the ball over 26 times, you don't give yourself very many offensive opportunities. I'm really proud of Jessica Kochendorfer and the way she's been playing for us. We just have to get someone else to step up offensively in addition to her."

Kochendorfer was the only player to score in double figures for the Bulls, who outshot the Cardinals 45.8 percent (22-for-48) to 41.2 percent (28-for-68) in the game. Junior Rachel Martin (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) added eight points and junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/University of Hawaii) and sophomore Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield), in her first game back after spraining an ankle last Saturday, finished with seven points apiece.

The Bulls outrebounded the Cardinals by a 37-29 margin, but they committed 26 turnovers in the game which Ball State converted into 26 points. The Cardinals had three players finish in double figures, led by freshman Kate Endress with 15, and they got 23 points from their bench compared to Buffalo's nine points.

The Bulls, who are now looking to snap their longest losing streak of the season at four games, return home to host Marshall on Wednesday, February 13 at 7 pm.