Women's hoops earns home playoff bid

Brooke Meunier wasn't going to let the end of the regular season mark the last of her playing days in Alumni Arena.

As the Bulls' only senior, Meunier had a career-high 28 points during Saturday's Senior Day celebration, where she led Buffalo to a 72-62 victory over Akron and helped the team earn its first home playoff game in three years.

The win also clinched the third-place spot for the Bulls in the Mid-American Conference East. The last time Buffalo finished this high in the standings was in the 2002-2003 season.

"It was a goal and it was important to reach that goal," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We controlled our own destiny and as long as we keep winning we control it."

Meunier's scoring onslaught highlighted the conference win. It was also an individual season-high performance for the Bulls.

"We had talked about last year and how we lost on Senior Day," Meunier said. "There was not as much pressure. It was not just about winning the game, it was about not letting any moment go and fighting to the end."

Hill-MacDonald said she was impressed by the senior guard's ability to step it up when it mattered.

"I thought Brooke's play today was one of the best performances I have seen from a player in all my years of coaching," Hill-MacDonald said. "It was quite a way to have a Senior Day."

The senior celebration started out rocky for the Bulls when Akron (5-21, 2-13 MAC) jumped out to an early12-2 lead.

"Akron does that," Hill-MacDonald said. "As we watched on film they jump out early, typically. It's a kind of pattern for them to come out fast and furiously."

The Bulls (11-16, 5-10 MAC) fought back and took the lead at the 5:37 mark to make the score 25-23. Then, four minutes later, Buffalo scored five consecutive points in the last minute and a half to increase their lead to 34-30 at halftime.

Buffalo would not trail the Zips at all in the second half. The Bulls outscored the Zips 38-32 in the period. Although Akron cut the lead down to three on several occasions, a 9-2 run at the end allowed the Bulls to put an end to any comeback possibilities for the Zips.

Along with her 28 points, Meunier also pitched in six rebounds, four assists, and two steals in her 35 minutes of action.

Sophomore forward Heather Turner commended Meunier for her leadership.

"I'm real happy for her," Turner said. "Over the last two years I've seen her fighting hard and I've seen her leadership."

Turner had a career night of her own as she recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She also recorded the team's only block of the game.

Junior guard Belinda Gibb led the team in assists with five. She also led the Bulls in steals with three, while putting in a six-points effort. Sophomore guard Stephanie Bennett logged the most minutes, playing the entire game. She recorded 11 points, and had four assists, three rebounds and one steal.

There was no scoring from the bench for the Bulls, though freshman Jamie Schiebner did see five minutes of playing time. Saturday was the first time Schiebner has played since she suffered a head injury on Feb. 8 in a Bulls' loss to Central Michigan.

Akron was led by forward Jessie Crooks with 19 points, forward Niki McCoy who netted 17 points and guard Courtney Stewart who finished the day with 11 points.

The Bulls are now on a two-game winning streak and have won three of their last four games.

Buffalo also swept the series this year against the Zips, with the previous win coming on the road on Jan. 18 in a 68-63 contest. The last time the Bulls swept Akron was in 2003. The Bulls have now won four of the last five games against the Zips, and hold a 14-7 record all-time against Akron.

Buffalo's last game of the regular season will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it hosts the Kent State Golden Flashes (18-8, 11-4 MAC). The last time the two teams faced each other the Bulls lost 73-56. Buffalo will then host Toledo (9-16, 4-11 MAC) on March 4 at 2 p.m. in the first round of the MAC Tournament.