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Feb. 13, 2003
DeKALB, Ill.-Playing in one of the Mid-American Conference's toughest venues and trailing by a point with less than two minutes remaining Miami University's women's basketball team stared adversity in the face and came out on top, defeating Northern Illinois University 70-64 Thursday night.
Ignited by senior guard Heather Cusick, who netted the game's first four points, Miami came out with fire in its eye. Cusick's second field goal, a 12-foot jumper from the wing at 18:07, moved her past Monica Niemann (1991-95) as the Red and White's all-time scoring leader. With the career scoring record, Cusick is now Miami's all-time leader in points, assists and 3-point field goals.
Miami provided its own brand of fireworks to celebrate Cusick's feat, building a 15-3 advantage by the 12:27 mark. With an efficient offense and stingy defense that frustrated the Huskies to the tune of 11 first-half turnovers, Miami built its advantage to as high as 24-5 with 7:34 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately for the RedHawks, momentum changed in an instant, and Northern Illinois assembled a 10-2 run over the next three minutes. Miami scored just four points over the final 9:32 of the half, and the Huskies closed the halftime margin to 28-24 when preseason all-MAC selection Jennifer Youngblood tallied her first two points of the night with 10 seconds remaining.
NIU closed to within 29-28, and Miami was faced with the unsavory task of having to essentially start from scratch. Colleen Day lifted Miami out of its rut with a timely 3-pointer on the RedHawks' next possession, and the Red and White regained its poise while rebuilding a 38-33 edge with 14:52 to play. Day struck with another trey at 11:21, putting the RedHawks ahead by double digits, 49-39, at 11:03.
Miami maintained its comfortable edge over the next three minutes, but, by the eight-minute mark, the sled dogs were on the move again, closing to within 53-49 by a media timeout with 7:29 remaining. NIU continued to close, and the RedHawk defense was forced to protect a one-point lead six times with key defensive stops.
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The seventh time was the charm for the Huskies, however, as a Kristan Knacke jumper gave NIU its first lead of the game at 60-59. Beth Roederer responded quickly for Miami, banking in a layup to put the RedHawks back in front by a point. After a Cusick steal, Day struck the decisive blow for the RedHawks, draining her third 3-pointer of the half. Cusick and Roederer combined to hit six straight free throws in the final minute to lift Miami to the win.
Cusick led Miami (11-10, 6-4 MAC) on her historic night, tallying 17 points and dishing six assists. Day added 17 points, while grabbing six boards. Kim Lancaster added nine points and five rebounds, closing to within just eight points of 1,000 for her career.
The RedHawks remain on the road through Saturday when they face Bowling Green State University, another MAC West Divison foe. Miami plays its last regular-season game versus a MAC West opponent on Wednesday, Feb. 19 when it hosts Central Michigan University at 7 p.m.
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