Dec. 7, 2002

Stats

OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team christened the new scoreboard at Millett Hall in grand fashion Saturday afternoon, lighting up the scoreboard and the Wright State University Raiders for a Millett record 110 points in a 110-69 home-opening win.

Paced by Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who scored eight of Miami's first 16 points, the RedHawks got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the game and building a 16-4 lead by the 14:51 mark. Wright State, which got 19 first-half points from Tiffany Webb, rallied briefly to close the score to 20-12 over the next three minutes, but freshman Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) reeled off Miami's next 10 points, including back-to-back treys, as the RedHawks rebuilt their lead to 30-17 by the nine-minute mark.

Powered by a 29-15 first-half rebounding edge and 15 first-half Raider turnovers, Miami continued to pull away, assembling a 42-31 edge by halftime. Wright State shot 46 percent from the floor, compared to Miami's 40 percent, but were out-rebounded 16-1 on the offensive glass. Day and Merrill led the Red and White with 12 points apiece.

Miami refused to let up in the second half, burying eight of its first 12 shots and building the lead to 71-41 by 14:33. Wright State would get no closer than 24 points the remainder of the game, as Miami continued to dominate the boards and shot a smoldering 61 percent from the field in the second half.

Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), who netted just six first-half points hit all five of her second-half shots to total 12 in the half. A Hillary Beck (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) 3-point field goal with 45 seconds remaining pushed Miami past its 1982 single-game record of 108 points, while also giving the RedHawks a record 58 points in a half.

Pacing the RedHawks, who shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, were five players in double figures, led by Cusick's 18 points and seven assists. Day, Merrill and Nicole Motto (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) recorded season-highs of 16, 14 and 14, respectively, while Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) tallied in double digits for the fourth time in five games, netting 13. Overall, Miami out-rebounded the Raiders by a dominant 51-27 margin and forced 25 Wright State turnovers, while committing just 13 miscues of their own.

Webb led the Raiders, who shot 46 percent from the field, with a career-high 36 points as Wright State dropped to 1-4 on the season.

The RedHawks, who improved to 4-1 for just the third time in program history, have eight days off for fin al exams and return to action on Sunday, Dec. 15, when they travel to Saint Louis to face the Billikens.

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