Feb. 10, 2007
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Unable to overcome a sluggish start, the Miami University women's basketball team (11-13; 5-6 MAC) saw its losing streak hit three games as it fell, 90-68, to the Western Michigan Broncos (10-15; 3-8 MAC) Saturday afternoon at University Arena. Despite 23 points and 10 rebounds from junior Jaclyn Leininger, Miami trailed by 22 at halftime and was held to 35.2 percent shooting in the loss.
Getting off to a sluggish start, Miami was held scoreless for the game's first 4:26, as Western Michigan took an early 6-0 lead. Leininger finally got Miami on the scoreboard as she followed up her own miss with an offensive rebound and up-and-under move at the 15:34 mark, but Miami struggled to find its offensive rhythm. Miami's leading scorer Amanda Jackson picked up her second foul with 17:18 left in the first half and spent much of the first half on the bench.
Western Michigan's Carrie Moore, the nation's leading scorer, scored 11 of the Broncos first 13 points, and as Miami's cold shooting continued, Western Michigan pushed their lead to 18-4 by the 12:28 mark. The only Miamian creating offense in the game's first nine minutes was Leininger, as she scored Miami's first eight points on a variety of mid-range jumpers, keeping Miami within 12 at 20-8 with 11:05 left in the half.
Miami trailed by as many as 21 in the first half and went into halftime down 41-22. With Jackson on the bench in foul trouble, Miami never got comfortable on the offensive end and finished the half shooting 27.8 percent from the floor. Leininger had a monster first half, as she finished with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, but the rest of the RedHawks went a combined 3-of-24 from the floor. Moore paced Western Michigan with 16 first-half points.
After being held scoreless through the first 20 minutes of the game, Jackson scored Miami's first 10 points of the second half, but Miami could not chip away at Western Michigan's lead and still trailed 50-34 with 15:49 remaining. Western Michigan increased it lead to 25 by the 10-minute mark and led by 20 until sophomore Ashley Hawkins' layup with 5:34 remaining made it 82-64.
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Miami never led in the game and could not make a significant dent in Western Michigan's lead despite 16 second-half points from Jackson. With the loss, the RedHawks dropped their fourth straight on the road and fell to 4-8 away from Oxford this season.
Leininger's double-double was her team-leading fourth of the season. Moore led Western Michigan with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Tiera Delahoussaye added 21 points and eight assists.
With five games remaining in the regular season, Miami resumes play against the MAC East Division Wednesday when it hosts Buffalo in a Valentine's Day matchup at Millett Hall. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game is scheduled to be broadcast in the Dayton/Cincinnati markets on the Ohio News Network (ONN). Tim Bray (play-by-play) and Karen Womack (color) will be on the call.
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