BUFFALO, NY - Buffalo used a 15-2 run and 58 percent second half shooting to defeat Akron 72-55 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Alumni Arena.

The Bulls (18-10) will travel to Cleveland's Public Hall to face top-seeded Kent (22-5) in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament Thursday at 1:00 pm. The win also broke a five-game losing streak as well as a streak of five consecutive home losses.

The run, which took five and half minutes early in the second half increased a 31-30 UB lead into a 46-32 cushion from which the Bulls never were threatened. Mari McClure (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester Adams) scored seven of her game-high 22 points, including a pair of three-pointers, during the run. McClure shot 50 percent (5-of-10) and scored 17 points in the second half. The 22 points was also a season-best for McClure.

After giving up the first points of the game, the Bulls scored the next six points to take a 6-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. Senior Sonia Ortega (Chihuahua, Mexico/Cobach) scored four points during the stretch and finished with 11 in the contest.

Akron (11-17) cut a 28-20 UB lead in the first half to 28-26 at halftime and moved to within one, 31-30 at 17:44 before the Buffalo run to decide the contest started.

The Bulls placed four players, McClure, Ortega, Tiffany Bell (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) and Tara Perrier (Aurora, ONT/Aurora) in double figures. Bell, the Mid-American Conference regular season scoring champion, tallied 13 points and led the Bulls with nine rebounds, while Perrier came off the bench to score 13 including three clutch three-pointers. Cheryl Bowles led the Zips with 20 points and seven rebounds while former Western New York Player of the Year Angela Tylec scored 12 off the bench. Abby Hoy also added seven rebounds for Akron.

"Tonight was 'do-or-die,'" said UB coach Cheryl Dozier. "We had great balance between the post and perimeter and we did a better job on the boards in the second half." UB outrebounded Akron 20-17 in the final twenty minutes.

"Everyone was really hungry coming into tonight," added McClure. "Our zone was working. Bowles got her points but no one else did."