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Jan. 11, 2003

Final Stats

KALAMAZOO, Mich.-It was a battle of two halves Saturday afternoon at Western Michigan University, but the damage caused by a dismal first-half was too much for Miami University's women's basketball team to overcome in a 75-60 loss to the Broncos.

Western Michigan (8-4, 2-0 MAC) , which led from the start off a Casey Rost 3-point field goal at 19:29, raced out to an 11-2 lead by the 15:50 mark and continued a torrid pace from which Miami could not recover. The Broncos, who shot 49 percent from the field in the first half restricted Miami to a season-low five first-half field goals while snaring a devastating 48-15 halftime advantage. Miami went without a field goal for the final 7:19 of the half.

The RedHawks, who hit just 16 percent from the field and were 0-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, were led by Kim Lancaster's seven first-half points. Western Michigan, which out-rebounded Miami by a commanding 32-15 edge in the first half, was led by Kristin Koetsier, who tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

Facing its largest deficit of the season, Miami went to work in the second half out-scoring the Broncos by 14 points in the first eight minutes of the half and closing to 57-38 by the 11:54 mark. Miami which scored the same amount of points in the first 5:48 of the second half as it scored in the entire first half, was sparked by Hillary Beck, who came off the bench to score eight points in just over two minutes.

It was a wide-open contest from there, with WMU pushing its lead back to the mid-20's and Miami once again rallying to within 19 with 2:44 to play. The RedHawks held the Broncos without a field goal for the final 5:55 of the game in trimming the final margin to 15 points. Miami shot 46 percent from the floor in the second half and drained 6-of-11 treys. WMU was held to 35 percent shooting in the second frame.

The RedHawks were led on the day by three players in double figures. Lancaster poured in 12 points, while Cindi Merrill added 11 points and eight boards and Heather Cusick contributed 10 points.

Miami (6-7, 1-1 MAC) returns to MAC East Division action Tuesday when it travels to Ohio University for a 7 p.m. tipoff with the Bobcats. The RedHawks own a five-game winning streak over Ohio as the teams collide for the 54th time.