WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

Virginia Jennings

GREENVILLE, NC ­ The University at Buffalo women's basketball team picked up its first road win of the season with a 49-40 victory at East Carolina behind a 17-point performance from sophomore Virginia Jennings (Nashville, MI/Hastings). The Bulls played a strong defensive game and hit clutch free throws down the stretch to earn the win and improve their record to 3-5 overall. With the loss, East Carolina falls to 1-8 on the year.

After a three-pointer by East Carolina opened the scoring, the Bulls embarked on a 12-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 14:40 to go in the first half. Sophomore Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield), playing in her first game of the season, scored nine of her 11 points in the first half to get the Bulls out to a 24-18 lead at halftime. The Pirates scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 25-24 lead at the 18:18 mark, and they led by two, 36-34, with 6:35 remaining in the game. A layup by Kilpela tied the score at 36-36 and a three-pointer by Jennings less than a minute later put the Bulls back on top for good. The Bulls held the Pirates to just two field goals in the final six and a half minutes of the game while late free throw shooting secured the win. The Bulls' last 10 points in the game were scored on free throws, including eight by Jennings and two by sophomore Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy). The Bulls were 15-of-20 from the charity stripe in the game while East Carolina was 0-for-2. The Bulls shot 42.9 percent (15-for-35) from the floor in the game and outrebounded the Pirates by a slim 29-27 margin.

"I'm very excited about the win on the road," said head coach Cheryl Dozier. "For this young team, it's important to get that first road victory. We had balanced scoring and a strong defensive effort and Virginia Jennings had a great game for us, especially hitting her free throws down the stretch."

Jennings finished with a game-high 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and junior Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (Nelson, New Zealand/Hawaii) contributed eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Bulls host Seton Hall on Saturday, December 22 at 7 pm at Alumni Arena.