Bulls shoot the lights out in Michigan

Everyone likes to score. Offense is just more fun to play than defense. Buffalo and Central Michigan couldn't agree more.

Precise shooting carried the Bulls (8-15, 3-8 Mid-American Conference) to a 90-80 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas (10-14, 2-9 MAC) Saturday afternoon in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Buffalo's 90 points were the most scored since Nov. 17, 2000 when Buffalo defeated North Carolina, 95-89.

"Unbelievable shooting, the teamwork was great," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "Our passing was setting people up for success, putting the ball into our shooters' hands. 63 percent is pretty remarkable."

Great offense allowed the Bulls to take a 10-point lead at halftime. Buffalo was able to shoot 63 percent, connecting on 17 of its 27 shots compared to Central Michigan, who shot just 34 percent on 11-32 from the field.

Buffalo finished the contest shooting 59 percent compared to the Chippewas 44 percent. In addition to the great shooting from the field, the Bulls also shot 16-20 from the free throw line.

"You learn through your mistakes and when you can improve upon them like today," Hill-MacDonald said. "You can dictate the result you want."

Midway through the first half, the Chippewas found themselves down 11 points, until a 14-3 run brought the game to a tie with six minutes remaining in the period. Buffalo followed with a run 17-7 run to finish the half in front 41-31.

Central Michigan opened the second half with a 9-0 run to make it a one-point game. However, the Chippewas were never able to take the lead from the Bulls down the stretch.

Central Michigan would come within a point once again with just under nine minutes remaining. Yet a 12-1 run by the Bulls with five minutes remaining put the Bulls up 78-66, ending the Chippewas' hopes of a comeback. Eight points would be the closest Central Michigan would get the rest of the way.

"We have to continue to play as a team," Hill-MacDonald said. "It was a great team game and that's what it takes. It takes teamwork and focus. It takes taking care of the ball."

Buffalo's starters dominated the teams scoring. Of the Bulls' 90 points, 77 came from starters and the other 13 off the bench came from freshman forward Kourtney Brown.

Freshman guard and Michigan native Rachelle Matthys led the team in scoring and set a new career-high with 22 points. Junior guard Stephanie Bennett complimented Matthys on the perimeter, tying her career-high of 20 points while shooting an impressive 6-7 from the field and 4-5 from three-point land.

Inside play also helped the Bulls as they out rebounded the Chippewas, 40-28. Junior forward Heather Turner and freshman forward Jamie Schiebner combined for 21 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. Turner finished with 15 points going along with 11 rebounds, despite playing only 22 minutes.

Belinda Gibb led the team with seven assists and filled in the rest of the stat sheet, scoring eight points and pulling down six rebounds.

"We had five people in double figures, almost six people," Hill-MacDonald said. "Belinda was only a field goal away but she had seven assists, so she accounted for 14 more points."

Central Michigan was led by Ann Skufca and Sharonda Hurd who combined for 38 of their teams 80 points

Despite the great shooting, Buffalo committed 15 turnovers compared to just 10 by Central Michigan, allowing the Chippewas to turn those mistakes into 20 points.

"There are always things you can improve upon," Hill-MacDonald said. "There were some turnovers we could have avoided. We scored a lot of points, but we gave up a lot of points."

Until today the Bulls had not won back-to-back games since Dec. 6. Last Wednesday Buffalo defeated Western Michigan, 61-48. Saturday's victory was just the fourth win in the Bulls' last 14 games.

"There's no time for letdowns," Hill-MacDonald said. "Monday we'll come back and work hard, understanding it has taken us a long time to get to this point. We've gone through quite a bit of adversity."

Wednesday night the Bulls will attempt to continue their winning streak as they travel west again, this time to dual with Miami (Ohio). Tip off is at 7 p.m.