BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team announced its 2002-03 team awards at UB's annual Athletic Awards Banquet, held at Samuel's Grande Manor on Tuesday, April 29. Senior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/Hawaii) was named Most Valuable Player, freshman Hollie Cook (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) was tabbed as the team's Top Newcomer, sophomore Talia Merlino (Newtown, PA/Notre Dame (NJ) HS) received the Coach's Award and sophomore Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) was named Most Improved Player.

Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe

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, sixth in the Mid-American Conference. 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 was named MAC East Player of the Week twice during the year, and she was named to the All-MAC Second Team at the conclusion of the regular season, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Hollie Cook

Cook led the Bulls with 175 assists in her freshman campaign, the second-highest single-season total in UB women's basketball history. She led the MAC and ranked 21st in the nation in assists per game (6.03). Cook also led the Bulls with 77 steals (2.66 per game, fourth in the MAC), and she added 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest.

Talia Merlino

Merlino is a two-year letterwinner for the Bulls who served as a backup point guard in 2002-03 after coming off of off-season shoulder surgery. She appeared in 17 games during the season, and had four points, five rebounds, nine assists and two steals.

Allison Bennett

Bennett improved on her freshman season numbers of 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game with 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2002-03. She was one of only two players to start all 29 games during the season, and she added 2.0 assists per game and shot 43.6 percent from the floor. Bennett was the Bulls' Top Newcomer in 2001-02.

In addition to the individual award winners, the Bulls earned the Athletic Director's Team Award for their performance during the 2002-03 season. The Bulls doubled their win total with a nine-win improvement over last season, going 18-11 overall and 9-7 in the Mid-American Conference compared to 9-19 overall and 4-12 in the MAC in 2001-02. The Bulls won six straight games down the stretch to finish third in the East Division and tied for sixth overall in the MAC after being picked to finish fifth in the East and 10th overall in the preseason poll. They advanced to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in three years and ranked nationally in two offensive categories in the final NCAA Division I statistics report, 19th in assists per game (17.1) and 25th in field goal percentage (45.3).