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Feb. 19, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team gave its fans their money's worth once again Wednesday night, outlasting a feisty Central Michigan University squad, 73-70, for its third straight win and using a Marshall University upset of Kent State University to pull into a first-place tie in the MAC East Division.
Playing the transition game early, Miami was able to stake a 4-0 lead after buckets by Beth Roederer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo). Central Michigan responded with its controlled half-court game, temporarily frustrating the RedHawks and scoring the next six points. The tempo picked up for both teams after the 14-minute mark, with Miami, sparked by eight straight points from Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side), building a 12-10 advantage with 11 minutes remaining.
Miami continued to press its advantage and led 18-10 after an Amber Miller (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion) put-back at 8:49. With the tempo in Miami's favor, CMU was forced to run but responded by outscoring the Red and White 9-4 over the next three minutes. After the final media timeout, the Chippewas got a grip on the pace and rallied to regain the lead at 26-24 with under two minutes to play. Miami closed out a roller coaster of a first half by scoring six of the final eight points and taking a 30-28 lead into the half.
The second half started off much like the first half, as the teams battled for momentum. After CMU rallied to regain the lead, the RedHawks used the foul line to put itself back in front 38-34 by the 15-minute mark. The Chippewas, who hit eight of their first 15 second-half shots, once again bounced back, and were back in front, 46-43, with under 12 minutes to play. Miami temporarily grabbed a one-point lead, but the Chippewas drained back-to-back treys to gain their largest lead at 52-47 by the 10-minute mark.
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With the clock winding down and the pressure building, Miami made a key push, outscoring the Chippewas 8-0 over the next four minutes to regain the lead at 55-52. A Day three-point play pushed the RedHawk lead as high as six, but CMU answered with 3-pointers on its next two possessions and Miami's lead was reduced to two. A Roederer trey at 3:59 pushed Miami's edge back to five, and after a pair of Chippewa free throws, the teams entered the final media timeout with Miami leading 63-60.
The teams exchanged short jumpshots out of the timeout, but CMU regained the lead, 66-65, over the next two possessions as Eidson buried four consecutive free throws. Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) put Miami back ahead when she put back one of her own shots, but CMU led again when Erin Kuhl drained a 15-foot jumper with under a minute to play. Roederer was fouled trying to score on Miami's next possession and knocked down two free throws with 34 seconds remaining to put the RedHawks back on top.
Eidson responded again, however, shooting over two RedHawks with 19 seconds to play and lifting the Chips to a 70-69 edge. Cusick was finally able to put Miami up for good on the next possession, drawing a foul while going to the basket and sinking two free throws with 11 seconds left. Eidson was whistled for traveling on the next play, and after successfully in-bounding the ball, Cusick drained two more free throws to clinch the win.
The RedHawks (13-10, 8-4 MAC) were paced by five players in double figures, led by Roederer and Merrill, who each poured in 14 points. Day added 13 points and 10 boards for her third double-double and Smith and Cusick added 12 and 10, respectively. Eidson led CMU (10-13; 4-8 MAC) with a game-high 28 points.
Miami travels to Kent State Sunday afternoon for a key rematch with the Golden Flashes that will decide the MAC East Division lead. The game tips off at 4 p.m. Sunday and can be seen on Fox Sports Ohio.
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