BUFFALO, NY - A three-pointer by Cheryl Bowles at the buzzer sent the Akron Zips to a 65-64 win over the University at Buffalo women's basketball team in Mid-American Conference Tournament first-round action at Alumni Arena. The 12th-seeded Zips (6-22) advance to the quarterfinal round where they will meet fourth-seeded Northern Illinois, a 57-35 winner over No. 13 Central Michigan.

The Bulls (19-9) entered the game as the tournament's fifth seed, but were challenged by the Zips throughout a first half where there were nine lead changes. Akron held a 24-23 lead with just under a minute remaining in the half before senior Mari McClure (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester Adams) and freshman Virginia Jennings (Nashville, MI/Hastings) hit back-to-back layups to send the Bulls to the lockerroom with a 27-24 edge. The Bulls started the second half with a 10-2 run to take a 37-26 lead with 16:43 left in the game, but the Zips turned around and strung together a 13-2 run to tie the score at 39-39 with 11:38 on the clock. A three-pointer by Jennings gave the Bulls the lead back, and they held it right up until the final buzzer. Buffalo led by as many as seven points in the closing minutes of the game, but the Zips kept things tight thanks to clutch three-point shooting. Of the Zips' final 19 points of the game, 15 of them came off of five three-point shots, three by Jamie Krivak and two by Bowles. Krivak's final three of the game with 1:57 left on the clock got Akron within one, 60-59, but Buffalo answered with four straight points to extend its lead to five, 64-59 with 46 seconds remaining. Senior Tiffany Bell (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) converted a three-point play after drawing a foul on a layup, and freshman Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) missed her first free throw and made her second after being fouled while grabbing a rebound of a missed three-point shot by Akron's Erica Caranfa. Bowles then hit her second three-pointer of the game with 35 seconds on the clock to close the gap to two, 64-62, and Buffalo turned the ball over on its next possession. Akron's Julie McDivitt inbounded the ball to Bowles from in front of the Akron bench with two seconds left in the game, and Bowles dribbled to her right and threw up a shot from well behind the three-point arc that bounced off the rim as time expired and then went up and through the net for the gamewinner.

"We obviously didn't shoot the ball very well tonight,," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We were 5-of-17 from three-point range, and when teams zone you, you have to knock down more of those shots. I give a lot of credit to Akron. It's hard to beat a team three times in one season, and they really came ready to go tonight."

Jennings led all scorers with a career-high 20 points, including a career-high five three-pointers. Senior Sonia Ortega (Chihuahua, Mexico/Cobach) recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and McClure added 17 points to the Bulls' effort. Bell finished the night with 14 points en route to setting a school record for single-season scoring with 517 points. Bowles and Krivak both finished with 19 points to lead the Zips' attack, while Sandy Martin scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The Zips hit eight three-pointers in the game, seven in the second half, and they shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor compared to Buffalo's 37.5 percent (24-for-64).