Feb. 26, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team made the first defense of its Mid-American Conference East Division lead a decisive one Wednesday night in Millett Hall, roughing up the arch-rival Ohio University Bobcats, 84-51, and picking up its 10th MAC win for the third consecutive season.
The RedHawks worked the transition game out of the gates, scoring the first six points and grabbing a 9-5 lead by the first media timeout at 15:41. After the timeout, Miami embarked on a 7-0 run and pushed its advantage into double digits at 16-5. Miami hit eight of its first 13 shots to start the game, but Ohio, despite hitting just five of its first 19 field goals, used a strong inside presence to hang around.
Over the final 10 minutes, Miami began to assert itself on the glass and continued to simmer from the field, opening its lead to as many as 18 with under two minutes to play. After a Kelsey Sullivan (Springb oro, Ohio/Springboro) jumper right before the half, Miami headed to the locker room with a 39-22 edge. Powered by 16 points off turnovers and 10 second-chance points, the Red and White hit 50 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and nine different players scored.
Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) drained her second 3-pointer of the night out of the gates, and Miami found itself with its first 20-point lead in nine games. After an Andrea Johsnon 3-pointer at 16:13, the Bobcats rallied to within 15, but Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) completed a three-point play on the next possession to stall the Bobcat run. A 6-0 Miami run soon followed and the Red and White pushed its lead as high as 22 before a Lindsay Wight 3-pointer made the score 55-36 by the 13-minute mark.
Ohio would never seriously challenge again, as the RedHawks continued to frustrate their rival with aggressive defense while shredding the Bobcat defense with sharp passing. By the nine-minute mark, Miami's edge, fueled by 12-of-18 shooting from the floor, had grown to 27 points. The lead would reach a game-high 29 points before a 6-0 Bobcat run finally slowed the Red and White machine. Miami went on a 12-1 run over the next several minutes and led by a game-high 34 points with 1:39 to play.
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Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) led a cast of four RedHawks in double figures, reaching the double-digit plateau for the sixth straight game with 13 points. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) enjoyed a brilliant all-around effort, netting 12 points, seven steals and six assists. Butler and Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), who tallied in double figures for the third straight game tallied 10 and 11 points, respectively. Miami forced a whopping 28 turnovers on the night, tallying 39 points of those miscues.
Miami (15-10; 10-4 MAC) is home again Saturday when it hosts the University at Buffalo at 2 p.m. in a critical MAC East clash. The RedHawks close out the regular season next Tuesday when they host Marshall University at 7 p.m.
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