Nov. 8, 2009

Final Stats |  Quotes

PHOTO GALLERY of Miami-Tiffin game

By Drew Davis

OXFORD, Ohio - Miami women's basketball pulled away in the second half to cruise to an 85-54 victory over Tiffin University Saturday at Millett Hall. The RedHawks were led by freshman forward Kirsten Olowinski, who had a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. All five RedHawk starters scored in double-digits.

Miami used a 9-0 run over a three-minute span midway through the first half to pull out to an 18-7 advantage. Tiffin's Stephanie Kelly tossed in a layup at 10:47 to end the Miami scoring flurry. The RedHawks held a 19-9 lead at 10:36, but Tiffin began to chisel away at the Miami advantage.

The Dragons pulled within one of the RedHawks with 6:06 remaining in the half, 26-25. But a jumper by senior guard Courtney Reed and a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Lillian Pitts pushed Miami to a five-point edge, 30-25. Sophomore forward Rachael Hencke hit a jumper with 2:43 remaining in the half to extend the RedHawk lead to 33-26. With 35 seconds remaining in the half, Olowinski nailed a jumper in the paint to give Miami a 38-32 halftime lead.

Miami opened the second half on a 20-4 flurry to construct a 58-38 lead by the 12:09 mark. Senior forward Ashleigh Brown tallied six points for the `Hawks. Miami continued to pad its lead, posting its largest advantage at the final buzzer, 85-54.

The RedHawks outrebounded the Dragons 53-25 and shot 45.2 percent from the field while holding the visitors to just 34.4 percent. Olowinski finished 9-of-11 from the field and added two blocks and two assists to her double-double. Freshman guard Courtney Osborn was one assist away from a double-double, with nine assists and 12 points. She was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Hencke added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Head coach Maria Fantanarosa's RedHawks open the regular season Nov. 14-15 at the Iona Tip-Off Tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y. Miami faces Bucknell at 5 p.m. Saturday.

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