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Jan. 15, 2002
OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team earned a key divisional win Tuesday night in Millett Hall, surviving a late rally from defending Mid-American Conference East champion Kent State University in a 72-67 win.
In an evenly played first half, Miami led from the start but was never able to gain control. The RedHawks drained seven of their first eight shots to lead 15-10 by the 13-minute mark, but Kent State responded and tied the score at 19-19 with a Jamie Rubis 3-point field goal.
Sparked by a pair of Beth Roederer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) buckets, Miami embarked on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes and eventually extended its lead to 31-22 by the seven-minute mark. Still trailing by nine with 1:55 to play, the Golden Flashes assembled a 6-0 run of their own to close to 37-34 by halftime.
Miami, which had six players net at least five first-half points, was led by Roederer's eight first-half tallies. The RedHawks shot 60 percent from the field but committed 11 turnovers. Kate Miller led the Golden Flashes, who shot 59 percent from the floor, with 11 points. Kent State committed 13 turnovers in the half.
The RedHawks were quick to regain the initiative in the second half, scoring nine unanswered points before the Flashes could get on the board. Trailing 48-35 following a Kim Smith (Gary, Ind., West Side) bucket, Kent State rallied again to close to 48-39. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) fired back with eight consecutive points to rebuild the RedHawk lead to 58-45 by the 12-minute mark.
Never relenting, Kent State once again reduced the lead to single digits and, aided by a series of Miami turnovers, hit high gear at the five-minute mark with a 5-0 run that closed the score to 66-61. A Valerie Zona field goal with the shot clock expiring pulled the Flashes to their closest point since the half at 68-65 with less than two minutes to play and a Miller jumper with 0:45 to play pulled Kent State to 68-67.
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Miami which turned the ball over eight times in the final six minutes, gave the Flashes an opportunity to take their first lead of the game, but a Miller jumper was off the mark and Cusick was fouled trying to bring the ball up the court. After Cusick drained two free throws, Kent State missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game and Roederer put the game out of reach with a pair of game-clinching free throws.
Kent State, which dropped to 7-9 and 3-2 in the MAC, shot 62 percent from the field, but was plagued by 27 turnovers that resulted in 37 Miami points. Millker led the Flashes with 24 points, while Zona contributed 17.
Miami, which shot 50 percent from the field, was led by Cusick's 21 points. Roederer finished with 14 points, while Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) added 13.
The RedHawks return to action when they host MAC West Division foe Northern Illinois for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
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