Jan. 24, 2004

Final Stats

YPSILANTI, Mich.-For the second time in as many games Miami University's women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit first half deficit to pick up an important Mid-American Conference win, outlasting Eastern Michigan University, 71-63, in a wild contest Saturday night in the Eagles' Convocation Center.

The win improved Miami to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the MAC, bolstering its lead in the MAC East over Kent State, who lost at Northern Illinois earlier in the day.

Sparked out of the gates by a raucous home crowd comprised largely of Girl Scouts, Eastern Michigan went on the offensive early, holding Miami without a field goal until 16:59 while grabbing an early 6-1 advantage. Miami struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the midst of wild, up-and-down game, and was unable to reach double digits until Hillary Beck (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) knocked down a 3-point field goal at 7:41 to pull the RedHawks within 21-11.

Hampered by 12 first-half turnovers and 7-of-28 shooting from the floor, Miami's slide continued into it trailed by as many as 16 with 5:05 remaining in the half. The rest of the half belonged to Miami, as the Red and White blanked the Eagles for the final 5:05 and poured in nine unanswered points to close the halftime deficit to 31-24.

Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) was Miami's go-to player in the half, pouring in a game-high 10 points, while Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) contributed five points, six rebounds and four steals. Nikki Knapp led the Eagles, who shot 34 percent from the floor and committed 13 turnovers, contributing nine points and eight rebounds.

EMU tallied the first five points of the second half to push its lead back into double digits, but Miami answered with Nicki Motto (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who drained two treys and helped pull the Red and White to within 40-37 by the first media timeout. Miami stumbled over the next six minutes, as the Eagles rebuilt their advantage to 52-42 with under nine minutes to play.

Miami's spark finally arrived in the form of freshman Amanda Jackson (Springfield, Ohio/South), who tallied her first bucket 7:43 and went on to score six of Miami's next nine points. A wide-open Day capped a 13-2 Miami run and gave Miami its first lead of the night at 55-54. Back-to-back fastbreak layups by Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Motto trey boosted Miami to a six-point lead with three minutes to play. EMU would get no closer than four the remainder of the game as Miami knocked down 6-of-6 free throws in the final 39 seconds.

Lancaster, who notched her second consecutive 20-point game, led the RedHawks with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals. Also tallying in double digits were Merrill with 16, Motto with 13 and Day with 11. Day notched her second consecutive double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and contributing six steals. Motto also snagged six steals, as the RedHawks forced 30 turnovers, while dishing five assists. The Red and White shot a simmering 51.6 percent from the floor in the half.

Knapp led the Eagles, who dropped to 10-6 and 3-3 in the MAC, totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Miami, which is in the midst of a seven-game span that includes six road games, travel to Huntington, W.Va., Tuesday night to take on Marshall University in a return to Mid-American Conference East Division play. The RedHawks return home next Saturday when they host the rival Ohio University Bobcats at 2 p.m.

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