Dec. 21, 2001

Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. - Miami University's women's basketball team made Christmas that much merrier Friday night at St. Francis' (Pa.) DeGol Arena, defeating the Red Flash 93-80 in their final contest before the Christmas break.

In a hotly contested first half, Miami, plagued by early turnovers, trailed 9-4 at the 16-minute mark. The RedHawks closed the gap over the next four minutes and took their first lead off a Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side) three-point play that put the Red and White in front 16-14.

After a handful of lead changes, Miami edged ahead and led by between two to four points for the remainder of the half. The RedHawks, who shot 55 percent from the floor but committed 10 turnovers during the half, led 38-36 at halftime. Smith and Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) led Miami's scoring effort with nine and eight points, respectively.

Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) led Miami out of the gates in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer and another bucket to put Miami up 43-36. The RedHawks eventually built their lead as high as 61-44 at the 13:27, but St. Francis' Sami Allison hit three consecutive 3-pointers for the Red Flash, to close the gap to 61-50.

St. Francis kept the heat on throughout the remainder of the game and closed the gap to 77-71 with Allison's Red Flash record eighth 3-point bucket at 3:44. It came down to free throws from there, and Miami was perfect, hitting 16 straight charity shots to end the game.

Miami, which placed six players in double figures, was led on the night by Day, who poured in 18 points while grabbing six boards. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) added 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Lancaster poured in 14, Smith added 13, Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) notched 12, and Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) contributed 11.

Miami is off through the Christmas holiday and returns to action Dec. 28 at the University of Louisville in the RedHawks' non-conference finale.

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