Bulls End Losing Streak In Dramatic Fashion

Three Bulls score in double figures as Meunier goes over the 1,000 point mark
BUFFALO, NY- The University at Buffalo women's basketball team saw its seven-game losing skid come to an end as junior Viorica Badinici (Turku, Finland/Central Florida CC) hit a jumper from the baseline with five seconds remaining in the game to put the Bulls up by one. The visiting RedHawks got a three-point look as time expired, but UB walked away with a 62-61 victory Tuesday night at Alumni Arena. With the victory the Bulls swept the season series with Miami for the first time since joining the MAC.

Viorica Badinici

The Bulls (8-15, 3-9 MAC) got off to a quick start as they took a 5-0 lead to start the contest. Senior Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) drained a three-pointer at the 18:50 mark of the first half, which made her just the 15th player in the program's history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. However, the RedHawks did not go quietly and charged back to take their biggest lead of the game, 27-18, at the 7:55 mark of the first half. The Bulls got it down to two in the first half, before Miami took control and a six-point lead into the intermission.

UB began the second half on a 12-2 run, taking a four-point lead, its largest of the half. Miami then started hitting its shots as it went up by six points with 4:12 remaining in the game. The Bulls would begin to chip away as Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) hit a layup and after a RedHawk turnover, Badinici drained her second trey of the game to cut the Miami lead to one. Miami wasn't able to convert on its possession and Meunier came back to hit a jumper for UB. The RedHawks broke the 7-0 UB run with a Jenna Schone jumper at the 2:04 mark.

Brooke Meunier

The two teams traded a couple possessions before the stage was set for Badinici. Out of a UB timeout, the Bulls worked the clock and Badinici took a Belinda Gibb (Denmark, Western Australia, Willeton) pass and drained it to give the Bulls the lead and ultimately the victory.

"I thought we gave a great team effort tonight," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We got a lot of contribution off the bench and received quality minutes from everyone who saw action in the game."

UB was led by a game-high 18 points from Turner, who fell just short of a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Meunier finished with 17 points to give her 1,015 points in her UB career. Badinici recorded a season-high 10 points, five of those coming in the final five minutes of play.

The Bulls shared the basketball very well in the game as is shown in their 17 assists to just 15 turnovers. Leading UB in that category was sophomore Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) who recorded a career-high 10 dimes.

Buffalo shot the ball well tonight, hitting 42.1 percent of its shots, the first game it has shot over 40 percent since a loss to Kent State on Jan. 21. Helping the cause was an 8-of-14 performance from the field for Turner.

Heather Turner

The RedHawks (7-16, 2-10 MAC) relied on a balanced scoring effort as nine different Miami players recorded points, but Schone was the only one to reach double figures with 10. Three different players finished with nine.

The victory was the first time since the 1999-2000 season that the Bulls won a game at home on a shot in the final five seconds of the game. UB won its home opener against Rhode Island on Nov. 28, 1999 on a shot by Tiffany Bell with 1.7 seconds left in regulation.

The Bulls will hit the road now as they travel to MAC East leader Bowling Green. The Falcons recently cracked into the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, debuting at 25. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.

02/14/2006