LEWISTON — This is what Kourtney Brown does.

She rebounds. She scores. She gets steals.

And she can get teams so fixated on her that it opens up room for other players.

Brown opened up the season for the University at Buffalo women's basketball team with a

career game as the Bulls outlasted Niagara, 87-79 in overtime, in front of 548 at the

Gallagher Center Friday night.

Brown set her career high in points with 33 on 11-for-13 shooting while her 22 rebounds set

a school record. She added six steals to her stat line.

"I think it was physical inside and I thought they got very physical with Kourtney. She

kept her composure and worked hard to maintain her position," UB coach Linda Hill-MacDonald

said. "She created a lot of those 33 points off 11 offensive rebounds. She amazes me every

day."

Brown has always had a strong inside presence, but with more consistent play from the

guards, she not only has more freedom to work, but other players had the opportunity to spot

up for three-pointers or jump shots as the Niagara defense collapsed on the junior forward.

"The play was physical and they were doubling me and trying to bump me off my position,"

Brown said. "[Coaches] were telling me to stay low and my teammates were finding me. On the

rebounds, I didn't know I had that many. I just kept going for the ball.

"There were a lot of times when they would double me and Nicki [Hopkins] and Abby [Dowd]

and Brittany [Hedderson] did a good job calling out. I knew where they were and that made it

really easy."

Among the beneficiaries was Hopkins, who scored 14 points, including going 4 of 8 from

three-point range, in her first collegiate game.

"It's a very good thing to have Kourtney inside," Hopkins said. "I know if they double down

I'll be open. It's definitely a benefit for shooters to have her inside."

It took a while for the shooters to get their groove. Niagara threw everything at the Bulls

in the season opener, leading by as many as nine, 53-44, after a pair of free throws by

Jennifer McNamee with 15:15 left to play. The Bulls chipped away at the lead, thanks in large

part to Brown's overall play. A layup by Brown with 10:03 left tied the game, 56-56.

The teams battled back and forth with neither getting off a good shot in the final minute

of regulation. Tied at 71-71, the game went into overtime. Hedderson opened with a

three-pointer and the Bulls held the lead for the win.

"We have a small rotation," Niagara coach Kendra Faustin said. "We use seven players and in

a 40 minute game that's OK but in a 45 minute game it hurt us. I think fatigue was a big

issue."

But before the team wore down from fatigue and foul trouble, the Purple Eagles had

impressive stretches. Hustling after the ball and playing a pesky defensive game, Niagara

converted 28 UB turnovers into 34 points while its 24 offensive rebounds yielded 27

second-chance points.

"I felt like at times we showed glimpses of how good we can be," Faustin said. "I thought

that we really made a big change in what we do defensively and our kids bought into it. I'm

pleased with the defensive effort."

I'd like us not to foul so much, but we forced a million turnovers in the first half which

I thought was what we wanted."

The Bulls play at Hofstra on Monday while Niagara remains at home to host Duquesne at 2

p.m. Sunday.