Jan. 3, 2003

Final Stats

FT. WORTH, Texas-Doomed by dismal starts in each half, Miami University's women's basketball team was unable to derail a red-hot Texas Christian University squad Friday night at the Lady Frogs' Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, falling 83-58 to finish a difficult non-conference schedule at 5-6.

Miami started on a positive note, striking paydirt on its first possession and grabbing a 2-0 lead on a Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) layup at 19:37. Butler's field goal would be Miami's last for nearly nine minutes, however, as TCU erupted on a 17-2 run and held a 25-5 lead when Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) finally ended Miami's drought with a driving basket at 10:35.

TCU, which shot a blistering 56 percent from the field in the half, continued to roll and pushed its lead as high as 35-11 following a 3-pointer, steal and layup by TCU's Kim Ortega. Miami finally settled down following a timeout and chipped away at the Lady Frogs' lead to close to 49-27. Miami shot just 27 percent from the field in the half while TCU freshmen All-American Sandora Irvin swatted six RedHaw shots.

The second half continued along the same line as the first, with TCU quickly finding its stride and Miami continuing to struggle. While Miami was held without a field goal for the first six minutes, TCU netted 13 unanswered points and built a 62-27 advantage. Butler finally ended the RedHawk drought with a pair of buckets that keyed a 9-2 Miami run and closed the deficit to 64-36 by 11:40.

Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) helped Miami continue its run by scoring nine points over the next three minutes and the RedHawks were able to keep the Lady Frogs off the scoreboard for another three minutes as the Red and White rallied back to within 25 with under eight minutes to play. Miami continued to press for the remainder of the contest but never got closer than 22 points in its worst loss of the season.

Leading the RedHawks was Lancaster, who poured in a season-high 18 points. Butler added 14 point and Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) contributed 10 as Miami shot 33 percent from the field. TCU, which won its fourth consecutive, was paced by Irvin's 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine blocks.

Miami returns home Tuesday when it opens Mid-American Conference play versus the University of Akron. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. as the RedHawks look to extend an 11-game home winning streak versus MAC East Division foes.

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