"Buffalo Snaps Slide, Blows Out Northern Illinois"

It wasn't pretty, but the women's basketball team finally got its elusive first Mid-American Conference win and it was a win that that was desperately needed.

Despite turning the ball over 28 times, Buffalo (6-14, 1-5 MAC) rode the hot hand of senior guard Brittney Hedderson. The team also played lock down defense and brought its season-high six game losing streak to an end. The Bulls topped Northern Illinois (7-11, 1-5 MAC) in a 62-46 rout.

Buffalo dominated for a vast majority of the game, with the Bulls leading by as much as 24 points in the late stages of the first half. A 1-0 Huskies lead with 17:44 in the first half was the best that Northern Illinois could do, as Buffalo raced out to a 22-8 lead to put the game away early.

Hedderson was nothing short of spectacular, as she racked up 29 points on the afternoon. She was deadly from three, as she hit 5-of-7 attempts from long range. She also added eight rebounds and three steals.

Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald loves the offensive might that Hedderson brings to the team.

"[The offense] always runs through Brittany, even if we don't plan for it to be run through her," Hill-MacDonald said. "She's really a very complete player. They were denying her the ball, and she still shot with people in her face. They had no answer for her today, and she continues to get better."

Other players stepped up in a myriad of ways. Despite her lack of scoring (three points), senior forward Beth Christenson was tremendous on the boards, pulling down a career-high 16 rebounds.

Redshirt sophomore forward Nytor Longar was the only other Bull in double figures, as she added 10 points. The team as a whole shot 45 percent from the field, including a 9-of-15 performance from three.

The shooting of the Bulls was great, but this game was won on the defensive prowess of the visitors. The Bulls forced the Huskies to take bad shots, as they finished with an abysmal 27 percent from the field on 15-of-55 shooting. The poor shooting, combined with a 43-33 edge on the boards for the Bulls was a recipe for success.

Claire Jakubicek was one of the few bright spots for Northern Illinois, as she finished with 14 points, making all of her shots both from three and the free throw line. Teammate Courtney Shelton added 11 points, although it took her 10 shots to do so, and she finished shooting 30 percent overall.

Hill-MacDonald was very impressed with the defensive effort her Bulls displayed.

"That's what we've been working on in practice," Hill-MacDonald said. "We stopped what they like to do [offensively], they like to penetrate and shoot threes, and I thought we did a really good job stopping both."

It was a near flawless game – except for the alarming number of turnovers the Huskies were able to force. The Bulls gave up 28 turnovers, a stat that was not pleasing to the head coach.

"That's a real disappointment, because in a game that was a pretty decent game to have a flaw like that is just ridiculous," Hill-MacDonald said. "They came out and pressured, they played passing lanes and most of those turnovers were bad passes. It's unfortunate, because other than that it was a really sound game."

The Bulls now look to start a winning streak when they take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Alumni Arena. Tipoff for the game on Wednesday is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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