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Feb. 8, 2003

Final Stats

OXFORD, Ohio-A string of thrilling games continued for Miami University's women's basketball team but unfortunately a string of heartbreaks carried on as well, as the RedHawks fell 61-60 to Mid-American Conference East Division rival Kent State University after the Golden Flashes buried two free throws with four seconds left.

Defense dominated the early going, as Kent State grabbed the lead out of the gates and protected a razor-thin margin for the first nine minutes. Miami grabbed its first lead at 12-11 after Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) stole the ball and went coast-to-coast to tally the go-ahead layup. After exchanging 4-0 runs, the game stood at 15-15 with under seven minutes to play in the half.

The Golden Flashes took off on another run over the next three minutes, building a 25-19 advantage-their largest lead of the half-by the final media timeout of the first half. Led by Lancaster and Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), Miami responded again, pulling to within a point after a Lancaster jumper and Day three-point play. A Nicki Motto (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) trey two possessions later knotted the score at 27-27 with just over two minutes remaining. KSU finished the half on a 5-1 run and led 32-28 going into the locker room.

Lancaster and Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) led Miami in the first half, tallying seven points each, while Katalin Kollat tallied an impressive 11 points and 10 rebounds in the half. Miami shot just 37 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 22-11 in the first half.

Kent State came out fast in the second half and quickly built thier largest lead of the game, 36-28, by 18:11. Miami finally got on the board at 17:19 with a Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) field goal and a Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) 3-pointer put the RedHawks up 37-36 with under 16 minutes to play. The timely shooting of the Golden Flashes continued, however, and Kent State led 44-41 by 11:25. Like clockwork, Miami snapped back, collecting a Beth Roederer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) trey and Lancaster layup to snag a 46-44 lead with 10:31 to play.

From there a back-and-forth battle ensued. Miami pressed its lead as high as three, but Kent State rallied to regain the lead at 53-50 with less than six minutes remaining. Four straight points by Lancaster turned the tide once again, and Miami claimed a brief 55-53 advantage before Kollat tied the game with a layup on the next possession. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) put Miami back in front, 58-55, with a three-point play at the 3:09 mark. Jamie Rubis fired back with a jumper on Kent State's next possession and the score was 58-57 with under a minute to play.

Steady throughout the afternoon, Rubis scored with 45 seconds remaining to put the Flashes ahead by a point, but Day buried two free throws on the RedHawks' next possession to rebuild Miami's lead to 60-59. Kent State lost the ball out of bounds with less than 10 seconds to play, but the RedHawks committed a turnover and a foul on the in-bounds play, and Kollat buried two free throws to give the Flashes the lead with four seconds remaining.

Miami was led on the night by Lancaster and Day, who each tallied 13 points. Heather Cusick scored 10 for the Red and White, moving her to within four points of becoming Miami's all-time scoring leader. The RedHawks outscored the Golden Flashes 23-4 off turnovers, but shot just 36 percent from the field. Rubis and Kollat led Kent State, tallying 21 and 19 points, respectively.

Miami is off until next Thursday when it tips off a two-game roadstand at Northern Illinois. From there, the RedHawks go directly to Bowling Green, where they will face the Falcons as the second part of a Bowling Green men and women's doubleheader, tipping off at approximately 4 p.m. After next week, four of Miami's last five games take place in the friendly confines of Millett Hall.