KENT, OH - The Kent State Golden Flashes played a fast-paced, aggressive game and ran away with an 81-54 win over the University at Buffalo women's basketball team in front of 1,015 fans at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, OH. The loss was Buffalo's seventh straight and dropped its record to 9-17 overall and 4-11 in the Mid-American Conference. The Golden Flashes improved to 15-10 overall and 11-3 in the conference, putting them one win away from securing the East Division regular season title.

Erin Lawrenson

Buffalo freshman Erin Lawrenson (Elkland, PA/Elkland Area) led the Bulls with a career-high 18 points on six three-pointers, including four in the second half.

The Bulls opened the scoring on their first possession with a jumper by freshman Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge), but the Golden Flashes quickly responded with an 8-0 run and they used a 14-2 run later in the half to go ahead by 17, 26-9, and take control of the game. The Flashes led by 21 at halftime, 46-25, and they held the Bulls scoreless for the first four minutes and 42 seconds of the second half to increase their lead to 30, 55-25, before a three-pointer by Lawrenson got Buffalo going again. The Bulls got good looks at the basket but hurt themselves with turnovers throughout the game, committing 29 which Kent State converted into 37 points. The Golden Flashes also dominated the Bulls inside, outscoring them by a 32-10 margin in the paint. They were led by Andrea Csaszar, a 6-6 center who finished with a game-high 22 points.

"There's really only one stat line that hurt us tonight and that was turnovers," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "Kent State did a good job inside and the matchup with Csaszar is one that's a problem for every team in the MAC. They're a good team and when they're healthy, they can beat anyone in the league. I thought Erin Lawrenson had a great shooting game for us, and that's definitely a positive that we'll take to get some momentum going in to the MAC Tournament."

Buffalo outrebounded Kent State by a 37-32 margin and finished with a 42.0 shooting percentage (21-for-50), including 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-for-13). Sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) also finished in double figures for the Bulls with 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Kent State outscored the Bulls at the foul line by a 23-6 margin, and Kate Miller (17 points, five three-pointers) and Valerie Zona (14 points) also finished the game in double digits in addition to Csaszar.

The Bulls are now off until next Tuesday, February 26 when they host Miami (OH) in the regular season finale at 7 pm at Alumni Arena.