YPSILANTI, MI - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team saw its 2004-05 season come to an end with a first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament loss at Eastern Michigan this afternoon, 79-46. The Bulls, the 13th seed in the tournament, end the year with a 4-24 overall record while the fourth-seeded Eagles (22-6) advance to face No. 5 Ball State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH.

Heather Turner

The Eagles came out with something to prove after giving up a lead in a loss to Toledo in their regular season finale on Tuesday which prevented them from getting one of the top three seeds in the tournament and a first-round bye. Leading 14-8 just under eight minutes into the first half, the Eagles embarked on a 25-2 run over a nine-minute stretch to take control of the game. Freshman Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) hit a layup at the 10:27 mark, and the Bulls were then held scoreless until another layup by Turner with 3:43 on the clock that made the score 39-12. The Eagles led by 29 at halftime, 46-17, and by as many as 42 points in the second half en route to the 79-46 final.

"Eastern Michigan came out with a defensive intensity we expected because of what happened against Toledo on Tuesday," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "Their press really gave us trouble and we couldn't get much going. We couldn't get the ball inside to Heather and we couldn't get any perimeter scoring. Their defensive pressure really took away any good offensive opportunities for us."

EMU shot 52.5 percent (32-for-61) from the floor in the game, including 63.0 percent (17-for-27) in the first half. Nikki Knapp led all scorers with 26 points, 17 in the first half, on 11-for-14 shooting from the floor. Ryan Coleman added 17 points, 13 in the first half, and Kristen Kilgore (12) and Sarah VanMetre (10) also reached double digits in scoring. The Eagles scored 52 points in the paint and 16 fast-break points. They outrebounded the Bulls by a 46-23 margin.

Turner led the Bulls with team highs of 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) and junior Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) finished with nine points apiece, and sophomore Belinda Gibb (Denmark, Western Australia/Willetton) added six points. The Bulls shot just 35.2 percent (19-for-54) in the game.