Dec. 30, 2002

Final Stats

OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team made the ACC's first visit to Oxford a scary on Monday night, but the RedHawks could not hold off a second-half charge by Clemson University that lifted the Tigers to a 55-50 win in Millett Hall.

Looking inside early, Miami got off to a strong start, leading 7-4 at the first media timeout after a Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) layup. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) became the first player in Miami women's basketball history to reach 500 career assists with the dish on the Butler scoring play. In a very even, defensive-oriented start, neither team was able to locate its shooting touch and the score was just 10-9 in favor of Clemson with under nine minutes to play.

Miami continued its strong defensive presence throughout the first half, slowing the Clemson offense and two-time Kodak District II All-American Chrissy Floyd, while building a 15-10 advantage. Despite chilly shooting, Miami claimed its largest lead of the game, 22-16, at 2:15 when Cusick drained the Red and White's first trey. Beth Roederer's (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) trey shortly before the break sent Miami into the break with a 27-16 advantage. Clemson shot just 27 percent from the field in the half, while Miami, keyed by a balanced attack, hit 37 percent from the floor.

Though Miami maintained its aggressive defense, Clemson converted some tough shots out of the gates and rallied to within five by the 16-minute mark. A Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) three-point play temporarily stalled the Lady Tiger rally, but Clemson, which hit 11 of its first 15 second-half shots, surged once again, closing to 34-20 with under 13 minutes to play. The Lady Tigers claimed their first lead in more than 20 minutes, 38-37, with a Tia Andrew layup.

A Melanie Kozlwoski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) 3-point field goal stopped a Clemson run that had given the Lady Tigers their largest lead of the game at 42-37, but the suddenly smoldering Lady Tigers kept the pressure on until another Kozlowski trey and a pair of Merrill free throws with under five minutes to play put Miami back in front at 49-48. Clemson responded with a Floyd trey to regain the lead and, following a Butler free throw, Miami trailed 51-50 with 1:31 to play.

Miami had a chance to take the lead when Nicki Motto (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) stole the ball and hit Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side) with a pass on the fast break, but Clemson's Kanetra Queen came up with one of the Lady Tigers' six blocked shots and gave Clemson the lead and the ball with under a minute to play. The Lady Tigers expanded their lead with a pair of Amanda White free throws on the next possession. Miami was unable to get off a quality shot on its next possession and Clemson put the game out of reach with a pair of Chrissy Floyd free throws with nine seconds remaining.

Leading Miami, which fell to 5-5, was Cusick, who tallied 10 points. No other RedHawks scored in double figures as Miami shot just 34 percent for the game and failed to hit a field goal in the final 5:22. Clemson was paced by Floyd's 21 points.

Miami closes out its non-conference schedule Friday night when it travels to defending Conference USA Champion and 2002 NCAA Qualifier TCU for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The RedHawks open conference play on Jan. 7 when they host the University of Akron at 7 p.m.

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