Dec. 31, 2004

Final Stats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Vince Frieden OXFORD, Ohio--A jumper by Missouri's Tiffany Brooks with seven seconds left proved a heartbreaker for Miami University's women's basketball team (6-5), as the Tigers picked up a 58-57 win over the RedHawks in the Big 12's first visit to Millett Hall.

Miami, which connected on just one of its first six field goal attempts, found itself down 7-3 early, but a Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, IN/Noblesville) 3-point field goal at 16:21 ignited the RedHawk offense. Miami connected on five of its next six field goals in surging on a 13-2 run that was capped by an Amanda Jackson (Springfield, OH/South) three-point play at 14:22. Trailing 16-9, Mizzou regained the momentum with a 7-0 run and knotted the score at 16-16 with an EiTisha Riddle 3-pointer at 11:38.

Though Miami's offense struggled to find consistency, the RedHawks used aggressive defense and strong rebounding to inch back in front over the next several minutes, grabbing a 20-18 edge with 7:33 left in the half. The RedHawks, who shot just 32.4 percent from the floor in the half, faded over the next four minutes and trailed by as many as five points with under three minutes to play. Merrill, who scored 15 first-half points, once again breathed life into the RedHawks, scoring five unanswered points, and an Amber Miller (Vermilion, OH/Vermilion) fast-break bucket tied the score at 29-29 right before the half.

A Nicki Motto (Dayton, OH/Oakwood) jumper early in the second half spotted Miami to a brief lead, but Missouri took advantage of the quick tempo to string together some fast-break buckets and build a 36-33 edge by the first media timeout of the half. A Mizzou trey out of the break expanded the Tigers' lead to a game-high six points, but Miami got a driving bucket from Merrill and a Motto trey to close to within 39-38 and force a Missouri timeout with 13:13 remaining. The Tigers would build another five-point lead but a timely Jaclyn Leininger (Winona Lake, IN/Warsaw) trey pulled the RedHawks back within striking distance, and Merrill hit a free throw and another driving layup to give Miami a brief 44-43 edge.

Missouri continued to frustrate Miami by answering each and every comeback attempt and quickly rebuilding its five-point edge by the 8:49 mark. The RedHawks would again rally to within one behind Motto's third 3-pointer at 6:49 only to see the Tigers push their edge back to five points. The RedHawks refused to go away and rallied to within 53-52 before a Kim Smith (Gary, IN/West Side) three-point play gave the RedHawks their first lead in seven minutes. True to form, Mizzou responded with a trey to go back in front and led 56-55 with under a minute to play.

After a stop, Miami regained possession with under 20 seconds to play. Jackson drove to the lane and banked in a 10 footer to give the RedHawks a one-point lead. Mizzou once again had a response, as Brooks hit the decisive jumper out of a Tiger timeout, and Motto's driving shot attempt with time running out rolled off the rim.

Merrill paced Miami with 25 points and matched a career-best with five steals, while Motto finished with 15 and five dishes. Smith contributed a career-best 12 rebounds in the loss, which was Miami's third straight.

With non-conference play now behind it, Miami opens its MAC Championship defense on Wednesday, Jan. 5 when it travels to Huntington, W.Va. to face the Thundering Herd of Marshall. Both teams were MAC Tournament semifinalists last season.

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