Loads of turnovers limit Bulls' success in loss

Despite Heather Turner's 24 points, the UB women's basketball team lost its sixth game in a row on Wednesday night on the road at Miami (Ohio), 68-50, failing to turn the page on a season that has been nothing short of a struggle.

The Bulls' 21 turnovers, 14 in the first half, proved fatal for a UB team that had previously defeated the RedHawks in Buffalo just over a month ago. Conversely, the RedHawks committed a season-low four turnovers that were converted into just three UB points.

"It's the same old thing, we have to take better care of the basketball," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier in a press release. They scored 22 points off of our 21 turnovers. That's the game right there."

Following the loss, the Bulls fell to 4-21 overall and 2-12 in the Mid-American Conference, while the RedHawks have won six out of their last seven games. Miami improved its record to 14-11 overall and 8-6 in the MAC.

UB scored the first basket of the game and grasped an early 10-7 lead over the RedHawks with 12:03 left to play in the first half. The Bulls' lead was quickly dissembled, however, as Miami sophomore Amanda Jackson single-handedly brought the RedHawks back, scoring seven points in a two-minute stretch that the Bulls were unable to answer.

To close the first half, Miami posted a 15-4 scoring run, spurred by six of Buffalo's 14 first half turnovers that occurred in the closing seven minutes of the first stanza. At the half, the Bulls entered the locker room down by 12, with the score set at 29-17.

Miami connected on a quick basket to open the second half, but the Bulls charged back to close the gap. Brooke Meunier's jumper sparked the commencement of a 12-6 UB scoring run and enabled the Bulls to bring the game within reach, closing the scoring deficit to six points with 13:48 left to play.

On fire from long range, the RedHawks lengthened their lead by way of back-to-back 3-pointers from Nicki Motto. Miami gained one of its largest leads of the contest, holding an 18-point advantage over the Bulls with 8:31 left to play.

In addition to her game-high 24 points, Turner also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds en route to posting her sixth double-double of the season. The freshman forward shot 9-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe.

"Heather Turner obviously had another great game for us, I just can't say enough about her," said Dozier. "But we need to find some other scoring."

Production from players not in the starting line-up has been a hindrance for the Bulls throughout the season, and this contest was no different. Aside from Turner's 24-point effort, Buffalo got eight points apiece from both Meunier and Allison Bennett, while Belinda Gibb added six points and four assists while going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Buffalo's five starters played the brunt of the game, while UB's bench discharged just four players, with Talia Merlino seeing the most game time, banking six minutes on the night, without scoring.

"We didn't get much scoring from anybody (aside from Turner) tonight and we need to be more balanced in order to be successful," said Dozier.

Both teams had rough shooting nights, as the Bulls shot 20-for-49 from the floor to put them at just over 40 percent from the field. Meanwhile, the RedHawks also had an extremely poor night from the field, going 24-for-70 from the floor, good for a 34.3 shooting percentage.

Miami was led offensively by Nicki Motto's team-high 19 points and six assists and Jackson's 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and three assists.

The Bulls return home to play host to the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. In addition to being the final home game of the 2004-2005 season for the Bulls, it will honor UB's three seniors, Allison Bennett, Talia Merlino and Erin Lawrenson. The contest will be broadcast live on Adelphia 13 in Buffalo.