Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe

BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo senior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/Nelson College for Girls) has been named to the 2003 Academic All-MAC Women's Basketball Team, as announced today by the Mid-American Conference office. The Academic All-MAC team was voted on by the league's faculty athletic representatives, and a tie in the voting resulted in six members being named to the team instead of five. McMeeken-Ruscoe is joined on the team by Ball State's Kate Endress, Bowling Green's Stefanie Wenzel, Kent State's Christi Shibata, Miami's Heather Cusick and Toledo's Kelly Walker.

McMeeken-Ruscoe enjoyed the best season of her collegiate career in 2002-03, finishing as the Bulls' leading scorer with 15.5 points per game. She also added 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game and shot 48.1 percent from the floor. McMeeken-Ruscoe started all 29 games on the season and averaged a team-high 36.9 minutes per contest while leading the Bulls to an 18-11 record and a 9-7 conference mark. The 18 wins doubled the Bulls' win total from one year ago, and they reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament for the first time in three years. McMeeken-Ruscoe was named MAC Player of the Week twice during the year, and she earned All-MAC second-team honors at the conclusion of the regular season, as voted on by the league's head coaches. McMeeken-Ruscoe holds a 3.32 cumulative grade point average and is in her first year of UB's MBA program. She completed her undergraduate degree in business administration last spring.

To qualify for the Academic All-MAC Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments from the current season only were considered in the voting.