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Jan. 18, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio-A dramatic comeback was not enough to overcome a 16-point second-half deficit as Miami University women's basketball team fell to the University of Toledo for the 14th straight time, 77-72, in Mid-American Conference action Saturday afternoon in Millett Hall.
In a match-up that pitted Toledo's top-ranked MAC defense against Miami's third-ranked offense, defense was the dominant theme in the early going. Neither team led by more than a 3-point basket in the first eight minutes, and the score was just 10-9 in favor of Miami by the second media timeout at 11:47. The back-and-forth battle continued until Toledo picked up the tempo with under five minutes to play.
Sparked by consecutive 3-point field goals by Tia Davis and Kelly Walker, Toledo hit eight consecutive field goals and assembled the first true run of the game to lead by as many as nine, 33-24, with under one minute remaining in the half. Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who had seven first-half rebounds, hit a jumper with 15 seconds remaining to close the halftime margin to 33-26.
Despite snaring 10 offensive rebounds in the half, Miami shot just 33 percent from the floor while Toledo drained 48 percent of its attempts. Toledo was led by Davis , who reached 1,000 career points with a jumper at 1:29 and tallied a game-high 11 in the first half.
Toledo's shooting touch carried into the second half, as it drained its first four shots on the way to its first double-digit lead, 41-30, by 17:16. Miami, which connected on just one of its first nine shots in the second half and trailed by as many as 13, finally began showing signs of life with a pair of Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) 3-point field goals that trimmed the Toledo lead to single digits, 45-36, by 12:04. Miami's momentum would be short-lived, however, as Toledo went on a 7-0 run out of the next media timeout and built its largest lead of the game at 54-38 with 9:43 to play.
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Battling a disciplined Toledo team, which hit 13 of its first 16 second-half shots and enjoyed its best shooting day of the season, it appeared that Miami would never seriously threaten again. But it did. A 6-0 RedHawk run with under six minutes to play closed the gap back to within 10 points and a Beth Roederer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) 3-pointer at 2:58 pulled Miami to it closest point in nearly 10 minutes at 69-61. Following a Toledo turnover, Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side) trimmed the Toledo edge to just six points with under two minutes to play.
Toledo (10-5, 3-1 MAC), which finished the day shooting 58 percent from the floor and 93 percent from the free throw line, had the answers when they needed them most, draining its last eight free throws to hold off a furious Miami rally that included three treys in the final 51 seconds. Miami was led by Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and Kozlowski, who each poured in 15 points. Day provided an all-around effort, pouring in 12 points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Miami embarks on a key Mid-American Conference East Division road stretch next week, playing at Marshall University Monday and at the University at Buffalo Saturday. The RedHawks currently own a seven-game regular-season winning streak versus the MAC East.
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