BUFFALO, NY - A strong shooting performance by the Akron Zips and a slow first half start by the University at Buffalo women's basketball team ended in a 71-59 Akron win this afternoon in front of 1,014 fans in Alumni Arena. The Zips (7-14 overall, 2-8 MAC) shot 54.5 percent from the floor (24-for-44) compared to the Bulls' 38.6 percent (22-for-57), and they withstood a 16-2 Buffalo run late in the second half to hold on for their second straight Mid-American Conference victory of the season. With the loss, Buffalo's record drops to 5-16 overall and 3-8 in the MAC.

A three-pointer by freshman Kelly Calderone (Freedom, PA/Ambridge) at the 10:12 mark of the first half gave the Bulls what would be their final lead of the game, 15-14, before Akron embarked on a 10-0 run to go ahead 24-15 en route to a 33-19 halftime lead.

Brooke Meunier

The Zips shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the half (12-for-22) while the Bulls shot just 28.6 percent (8-for-28).

The Zips' offense did not quiet down in the second half as they hit three three-pointers in the first four minutes and 30 seconds of the half to give them over a 20-point advantage. Another three, by Jessie Crooks at the 9:40 mark, gave Akron its biggest lead of the game at 25 points, 58-33. A three-pointer by freshman Dina Atanas (Brantford, Ontario/St. John's College) then started a 16-2 Buffalo run that would get the Bulls within 11, 60-49, with 5:08 on the clock, but that was as close as Akron would allow. Akron's Lori Krezeczowski hit two free throws and a three-pointer -as the shot clock expired -and Jae Conn made two key layups in the final five minutes of the game to keep the Zips ahead. Buffalo outscored the Zips by a 40-38 margin in the second half and shot an improved 48.3 percent from the floor (14-for-29), but the Zips again shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) to hold on for the win.

"We didn't come prepared to play in the first 20 minutes of the game today," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "Our players know that and they know that you can't afford to do that in this league, even when you're playing a team that only has one conference win coming into the game. I thought we had a nice spurt in the second half to climb back in it, and we have to just continue to keep battling like that. The rest of the regular season is now about fine tuning for our first round MAC Tournament game."

The Bulls were led by sophomore Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) who fell just short of her second consecutive double-double with team highs of 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) added 12 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Lauren Burd (York, PA/Central York), in her first game of the season, contributed eight points and eight rebounds.

Krezeczowski led all scorers with 21 points, including four three-pointers, and Cydney Overton finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for the Zips.

Buffalo completes its three-game homestand with a 7 pm contest on Wednesday, February 18 against Eastern Michigan in Alumni Arena.