Jan. 3, 2002

Stats

OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team rode a roller coaster to its first Mid-American Conference win Thursday night in Millett Hall, earning a 66-60 league-opening win over the University at Buffalo.

Scoring on its first eight possessions, the Red and White stormed out of the gates and led 19-6 by the 14:23. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), who drained her first five shots of the game, netted her third 3-point bucket of the half to push the lead to its highest point, 22-6, less than a minute later.

Buffalo responded with an inspired rally, outscoring Miami 14-2 over the next five minutes to close within four points until a Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) 3-pointer pushed Miami's lead back to 27-20. The Bulls continued to chip away as Miami, which hit eight of its first 10 shots, hit just 5-of-19 field goals over the final 11 minutes of the half. Another Kozlowski trey with time running out lifted Miami to a 34-28 halftime advantage.

Miami started the second half much like the first half, outscoring the Bulls 9-2 out of the gates to claim a 43-30 lead by the 14:30 mark. Buffalo once again responded with a rally of its own, outscoring Miami 14-3 over the next four minutes to pull within 46-44. After going back and forth over the next two minutes, Buffalo tallied a Virginia Jennings bucket at 6:32 to give the Bulls their first tie, 51-51, since the beginning of the game.

The RedHawks regained the lead over the next four minutes, surging to a 62-54 advantage with another Cusick trey, but the Bulls rallied once again with back-to-back 3-point buckets of their own to close to 62-60. The Bulls were unable to come any closer, as Miami notched a Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio) field goal and two Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) free throws to put the game out of reach.

Cusick led Miami on the night with a season-high 24 points and five assists. Day contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on her fifth double-double, while Kozlowski tallied 11 points and 3-of-4 3-point field goals.

Buffalo, which dropped to 5-7, was led by Kim Kilpela, who poured in 16 points. Jennings finished with 12 points and six assists.

Miami plays its second game in three days at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Western Michigan University in Millett Hall.

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