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Sports Recap
B.J. Walker averaged 16 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games for the men's basketball team. Walker posted his second double-double of the year with 21 points and 10 rebounds in UB's 90-66 win over Eastern Michigan. He became the first UB freshman to achieve a double-double since Robert Harris on Feb. 10, 1996. He also shot 75 percent (15-of-20) from the floor for the week.
Jessica Kochendorfer scored 25 points to lead the women's basketball team past Bowling Green, 72-60. In UB's wins against Bowling Green and Western Michigan, the junior forward averaged 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor. Her 11 field goals made against the Falcons tied her season-best performance set earlier in the month against Akron.
Basketball
MEN'S
UB 90, Eastern Michigan 66
Ball State 80, UB 62
It was just a matter of time. The Bulls had been working too hard for too long for a victory to elude them on this night. UB brought an end to a 12-game losing streak in a big way on Feb. 11 with a 90-66 thrashing of Eastern Michigan in Alumni Arena. It also was UB's first Mid American Conference win of the year.
The game was a back-and-forth affair in the early stages of the first half. But sparked by a Calvin Cage jumper and capped by a Turner Battle three-pointer, the Bulls closed out the first stanza on a feverish 21-5 scoring run to take control of the contest. Buffalo saw its lead balloon to 29 points in the second half before coasting to the victory.
Even more impressive than the 24-point victory was the way in which UB achieved it. The Bulls shot a school record 67.2 percent (39-58) from the field, including 57.1 percent (4-7) from beyond the arc. In the second half alone, the Bulls only missed seven shots (23-30) en route to a 76.7 shooting percentage. UB did a masterful job of scoring inside as 58 of its points were in the paint. The Bulls' 90 points tied their highest scoring total ever in a MAC game.
UB had four players finish in double-figures, led by B.J. Walker, who scored 21 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, after riding the high of the win, the Bulls hit the low point when Battle fractured and dislocated his left middle finger in practice on Feb. 13. The injury required surgery and the sophomore point guard will miss the remainder of the season. Prior to the injury, Battle led the Bulls in scoring (12.7 ppg.), assists (4.5 apg.) and steals (1.9 spg.). He had started every game of his career (50).
Playing its first game without Battle, UB fought valiantly, but fell to Ball State, 80-68, in Alumni Arena on Saturday night. The Bulls shot a solid 51 percent (25-49) from the floor, but 21 turnovers and nine missed free throws spelled UB's demise.
WOMEN'S
UB 72, Bowling Green 60
UB 73, Western Michigan 70
Junior Jessica Kochendorfer scored a game-high 25 points and UB outscored the visiting Bowling Green Falcons by a 44-31 margin in the second half en route to a 72-60 win in front of 707 fans in Alumni Arena. The Bulls scored 38 points in the paint in the game and shot 57.6 percent from the floor in the second half (19-for-33).
On Sunday, visiting Western Michigan led by 11 points with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game and by 10 points with seven minutes to go, but the Bulls would not give up and ended the game with a 21-8 run, getting clutch free throws down the stretch to secure a 73-70 win in front of 802 fans in Alumni Arena.
Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Kim Kilpela (15 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles in the game, and Hollie Cook dished a career-high 12 assists to help the Bulls improve to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the MAC.
Indoor Track and Field
Bulls put in final tune-ups before MACs
UB's top men's and women's indoor track-and-field athletes participated at the highly competitive Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City. The large-scale meet that included top college programs from throughout country, as well as Olympic-caliber athletes, spurred the Bulls to some of their best performances of the season. For collegiate programs, the meet was divided into two sections, the University Division, in which UB competed, and the Championship Division that included top-notch programs such as LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Bulls posted two new school records in the competition. Senior Biaunca McFarland broke her own record and established a new meet record with her victory in the triple jump. McFarland cleared a distance of 41-10 (12.75m) to break her old mark of 41-7.75 (12.69m) set two weeks ago. Her winning jump was nearly two feet better than the previous meet record and bettered the second-place finisher by more than 10 inches.
For the men, UB's Jerimie Slick broke his own mark in the 5,000-meters. Slick finished fifth overall and third among runners from the University Division with his 14:29.76 clocking. The time shaved eight seconds off his previous school record set in 2001.
Meanwhile, the Bulls also fielded a team at the Robert J. Kane Invitational at Cornell University's Barton Hall on Saturday. There was no team scoring in the meet that included teams from throughout New York and Ontario.
Freshman thrower Sarah Vance led the Bulls' efforts. Vance won the women's shot put competition with a throw of 40-1.50 (12.23m), the only entrant to clear the 40-foot mark. Sophomore Beverly Weyer finished fourth in the event at 39-3.75 (11.98m). Vance also turned in a fourth-place finish in the weight throw at 45-3.50 (13.80m).
In the men's meet, Dan Simpson took second in the pole vault at 15-5.50 (4.71m). Onile White finished second in the 1,000 meters in 2:33.7. Rick Stewart placed third in the 5,000 meters in 15:18.2, while Joel Beatty was fourth in 15:37.1.
Mark Hajnos reached the finals of the 60-meter high hurdles, finishing eighth in 8.5 seconds. The event was won by current UB assistant coach Ron Andrews, racing unattached, in a Barton Hall record of 7.7 seconds.
The squads now head for the MAC Championships, Feb. 28 and March 1 at Kent State University.
Swimming
WOMEN'S
Cornell 156, UB 135
In its final meet before the MAC Championships, UB fell to Cornell, 156-135, in Teagle Hall. The Bulls conclude the regular season with a 4-8 record as they take a two-week break to train for the upcoming league meet.
The Bulls picked up seven victories in the 16-event meet with sophomore Jennefer Brankovsky winning three races and junior Jolie Pun and senior Trina Sinclair taking a pair apiece.
Brankovsky swept the breaststroke events. She won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.39 and returned later to claim the 200 breaststroke in 2:25.83. She finished the day cruising to a win in the 200 individual medley in a season-best 2:07.67 to cut more than a full second off her previous best and touch the wall more than five seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Pun, meanwhile, took a pair of middle-distance freestyle races. The junior finished first in the 200 freestyle in a season-best 1:55.43 and then scored a victory in the 500 freestyle in 5:10.74.
Sinclair, in the final regular-season meet of her career, showed freestyle versatility by winning the longest and shortest races of the day. Sinclair led the Bulls to the top three spots in the 1000 freestyle in a 10:43.66 clocking. Janet Reynolds and Melissa Schafer took the next two spots in 10:53.16 and 10:55.77, respectively. Sinclair then posted a win in the 50 freestyle in 25.14.
The MAC Championships will be held in Bowling Green, OH, Feb. 27-March 1. The Bulls scored their best finish in the MAC with last year's fifth-place showing.