Bulls Drop Final Regular Season Contest, 62-47

Freshman Kourtney Brown scores a team-high 16 points

Kourtney Brown

KENT, OH – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team dropped its final game before the 2007 MAC Tournament, losing to Kent State, 62-47, Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The Bulls finish the regular season with a 10-18 record and a 5-11 mark in conference play. Kent State improves to 15-12 and 11-5 in the MAC. UB ended the season as the fifth seed in the MAC East and will meet Toledo for the second straight season in the first round of the MAC Tournament.

The Golden Flashes used a 9-0 run in the first half to take a 13-point advantage. The Bulls would cut the lead to seven in the first half on a layup from Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy), but went into halftime trailing by 11.

The Bulls tried to make a run in the second half, but Kent State had an answer for each of them. UB got to within seven with 12:32 remaining in the game on a layup by freshman Kourtney Brown (Solon, OH/Solon), but Kent State would regain a double-digit lead at the 9:19 mark and the Bulls were never able to cut the lead to under 10 from there.

Stephanie Bennett

Playing in front of family and friends, Brown had a team-high 16 points, with 12 of those coming in the second half. Brown also pulled in eight rebounds, tying two other players for game-high honors. The first-year forward finished her night with a game-high three blocks. Turner also had eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end. Junior Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) finished the night with nine points and three assists.

Eight different UB players recorded points as the Bulls shot 35.8 percent from the field. The Golden Flashes finished 40.7 percent from the floor, including 55.6 percent from behind the arc.

Kent State was led by 18 points from Kristin Peoples and 12 points each from La’kia Stewart and Tiffany LaFleur. LaFleur also recorded eight rebounds in the game. With the victory, Kent State locked up the second seed in the MAC East and a bye in the first round of the MAC Tournament.

The Bulls will return to action on Sunday for their first round match with Toledo. The winner of that game will meet top-seeded Bowling Green on Tuesday in the Quarterfinals. The Bulls and Rockets will tip off at approximately 5:00 pm on Sunday at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.

02/28/2007