Dec. 8, 2001

Stats

CLEMSON, S.C.-Miami University's women's basketball was unable to overcome a pair of explosive second-half runs, as the RedHawks fell 72-55 to the Clemson University Lady Tigers Saturday in Clemson's LittleJohn Coliseum.

After staking a 3-2 lead off a Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) 3-point field goal in the opening minutes, Miami was held without a field goal for more than five minutes and trailed 10-4 at the 13:30 mark. Sparked by Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), who rattled off five unanswered points, Miami rallied to tie the game 14-14 with a Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) trey at 11:06.

Miami, which drained 6-of-15 3-point field goals in the first half, used two treys by Day and one by Cusick to push its lead as high as 25-20 by the 5:31 mark. Clemson, which hit 8-of-10 free throws in the half, finished the half on a 7-2 run to forge a 27-27 halftime tie. Day led Miami with 11 points and five rebounds, while Cusick contributed eight points, six rebounds and four assists.

Clemson came roaring out of the gates in the second half, netting 11 unanswered points and building a 24-7 run to lead by as many as 51-34. Down but not beaten, Miami began a rally of its own, following a timeout, and cut the Tiger lead to 52-45 with an 11-1 run of its own. A series of untimely Miami fouls and accurate free throw shooting by Clemson halted Miami's run, as Clemson awakened and embarked on a 12-4 run over the next several minutes to put the game out of reach.

Miami, which dropped to 4-3 on the season and remained winless versus the ACC, was led by Day, who netted 17 points and nine rebounds. Cusick, who was held without an assist in the second half, finished with 16 points, seven rebounds four assists and four steals. On the night, Miami attempted just six free throws to the Tigers' 30. The RedHawks drained just one of six 3-pointers in the second half and committed 14 turnovers.

After a week off for finals, Miami returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday to face the University of Detroit in Millett Hall.

Printer-friendly format	Email this article