BUFFALO, NY - The visiting Kent State Golden Flashes overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and scored 25 points at the free throw line, including six in the final minute of the game, to earn a 78-72 win over the University at Buffalo in the women's basketball regular season finale for both teams in front of 1,328 fans in Alumni Arena. With the loss, the Bulls end the regular season with a 17-10 overall record and a 9-7 conference mark, good for third place in the East Division and the sixth seed in the 2003 Kraft MAC Tournament. Kent State improved to 15-12 overall and 10-6 in the MAC to earn the No. 5 seed. The Bulls will host No. 11 Central Michigan while the Golden Flashes will meet No. 12 Ohio in the first round on Saturday.

Brooke Meunier

Junior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) opened the scoring for the Bulls with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, and freshman Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) later came off the bench and scored seven points to key a 16-4 Buffalo run midway through the half to get the Bulls out to a 12-point lead, their largest of the game, 31-19 with 7:06 on the clock. The Golden Flashes, however, rattled off the next 11 points to cut the Bulls' lead to one, 31-30, at the 4:51 mark. Buffalo took a 40-37 lead in to the lockerroom at halftime following a steal by freshman Hollie Cook (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) that led to a layup by senior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/Hawaii) with 24 seconds left in the half.

The Golden Flashes kept threatening and finally tied the score at 49-49 with 12:57 to play on a three-pointer by Valerie Zona. Buffalo went back on top, but another three-pointer, this time by Morgan O'Hara, broke a 53-53 tie and gave Kent State its first lead of the game, 56-53, with 9:50 to play. Buffalo junior Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) hit a jumper on the Bulls' next possession and later hit one of two free throws to tie the score at 56-56, but a layup by Tiffanie Hager gave the Golden Flashes a 58-56 lead that they never relinquished. Kent State led by as many as 10 points down the stretch, 70-60 with 3:13 left in the game. The Bulls got within four late in the contest, but the Golden Flashes hit their free throws when they needed to to keep the game out of reach.

"We didn't win this game tonight because we gave up 18 offensive rebounds and allowed them to take 30 free throws," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier. "But, we did a lot of things well offensively, and we can take that as a positive going into the conference tournament. We accomplished so much during the regular season, more that anyone expected, and that's really a credit to our kids and what they've been doing all year long. We just need to refocus and get ready to play Central Michigan on Saturday. This tournament is really up for grabs for anyone to win."

McMeeken-Ruscoe led the Bulls with 22 points for her sixth-straight 20+ scoring performance. Kochendorfer added 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Cook added seven points, a career-high nine rebounds and nine assists. Meunier tied her career high with 13 points, and Kilpela finished with 12 points and six rebounds. The Golden Flashes were led by Katalin Kollat who posted a double-double with 23 points and 18 rebounds. KSU was 25-of-30 from the foul line in the game while the Bulls were 11-for-15.

Buffalo's first-round MAC Tournament game against Central Michigan is at 7 pm in Alumni Arena on Saturday, March 8. The winner will advance to the quarterfinal round to face No. 3 Ball State at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, March 12 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH. Buffalo defeated CMU during the regular season by a 64-54 score on February 22 in Mount Pleasant, MI.