Bulls Clinch Home Tournament Game With Win

Brooke Meunier scores a career high 28 points on Senior Day
BUFFALO, NY- The University at Buffalo women's basketball team clinched a home game next Saturday in the first round of the Kraft MAC Tournament, defeating Akron, 72-62, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. On Senior Day, the lone senior Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) didn't disappoint setting a career-high in scoring with 28 points.

Brooke Meunier

The Zips came in to the game looking for an upset and got off to a fast start, taking a 12-2 lead in the game. However, the Bulls rattled off eight straight points and finally took the lead on a layup by Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) at the 5:37 mark of the first half. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, but five straight UB points in the final 1:20 of the first half gave the Bulls the lead for good. Sophomore Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) capped off the mini run with a long three-pointer with two second remaining on the shot clock, sending the Bulls into the half up by four.

Heather Turner

Meunier and Turner both came out strong in the second half as Meunier scored 20 after the break and Turner recorded 13 in the final 20 minutes of action. In addition to the 21 points from Turner, she also recorded a game-high 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

The victory did not come easy as the Zips kept fighting back and cut the UB lead down to three on a few occasions. The Bulls then went on a 9-2 run and hit their free throws at the end to claim the victory.

"I thought Brooke's play today was one of the best performances I have seen from a player in all of my years of coaching," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "I am very proud of this team and I think we gave the fans a good show today."

Junior Belinda Gibb (Denmark, Western Australia/Willetton) showed why she is one of the top defenders in the MAC, recording a game-high three steals and providing constant pressure through out her 34 minutes of action. Gibb also finished with a game-high five assists.

UB got all 72 points from their starters, but got some good minutes from the bench. Freshman Jamie Schiebner (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) saw her first action since suffering a head injury on Feb. 8 against Central Michigan.

For the second straight game the Bulls managed to find success from behind the arc, converting on 9-of-16 from three-point range. Meunier drained a career high six treys and Bennett, the MAC's leading three-point shooter, finished 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

UB shot 65 percent from the charity stripe, including perfect games from Meunier and Bennett at the line. Meunier has now hit 24 foul shots in a row, dating back to a miss against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 28.

The Zips (5-21, 2-13 MAC) were led by three players in double digits. Jessie Crooks finished with 19 points, while Niki McCoy and Courtney Stewart finished with 17 and 11 points, respectively.

The Bulls have clinched third place in the MAC East, their highest finish since the 2002-03 season, the last time UB hosted a first round tournament game. The Bulls will host the sixth-seed from the MAC West, Toledo, on Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m.

However, before the Bulls can worry about the MAC Tournament they will host Kent State on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. The Golden Flashes defeated Buffalo earlier this season.

02/25/2006