WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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BUFFALO, NY ­ The University at Buffalo women's basketball team fell to 1-4 on the season with a 57-47 loss to the visiting St. John's Red Storm tonight in front of 587 fans in Alumni Arena. The Bulls led the majority of the first half and through the first four minutes of the second half before the Red Storm (4-3) used an 11-1 run to take control of the game.

Kim Kilpela

Buffalo senior Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) led the Bulls with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The Bulls opened up a six-point lead, 17-11, with 7:58 to play in the first half, but St. John's stormed back to tie the score at 20-20 with just over three minutes to play. A three-pointer by SJU's Kim MacMillan put the Red Storm up 25-24 with 11 seconds on the clock, but Buffalo sophomore Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) hit a jumper just before the buzzer to send the Bulls to the lockerroom with a 26-25 lead, Buffalo's first halftime lead of the season.

With the Bulls ahead 31-29 with 16:17 on the clock, a layup by Angie Clark tied the score and a jumper by Secrett Stubblefield gave the Red Storm a 33-31 lead with 15:44 to play in the game. The Bulls would never regain the lead, although they came back to tie the score at 37-37 with 10:16 on the clock. From there, St. John's embarked on an 11-1 run, keyed by six points from Clark, to open up a 10-point lead, 48-38, with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Junior Allison Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) hit a three-pointer with 1:20 on the clock that cut the Red Storm's lead to six, 53-47, and gave the Bulls a chance, but they missed all five of their field goal attempts in the final minute before time expired.

"We've got to be able to knock down open shots and take care of the basketball," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We need to do a better job of communicating so everyone knows what we're running on the floor. We have a very young backcourt right now, and we've just got to fight through this rough start. We're just going through some bumps right now, but we'll be fine. We have 21 more games left in the regular season and we need to keep preparing for conference play."

Bennett (13 points) and Meunier (10 points) also reached double digits in scoring for the Bulls, and senior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) and freshman Kelly Calderone (Freedom, PA/Ambridge) each grabbed eight rebounds. The Bulls shot 32.2 percent from the floor (19-for-59) in the game, and they scored 32 points in the paint, 20 of those in the first half.

St. John's was led by Clark with 17 points and 14 boards and Stubblefield with 18 points and nine rebounds. MacMillan also finished in double figures with 12 points. The Red Storm shot 36.7 percent from the floor (22-for-60).

The Bulls are next at Niagara on Saturday, December 13 at 5 pm. The game is a doubleheader with the UB men, who will take on the Purple Eagles following the women's game.