Jan. 2, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

OXFORD, Ohio - The non-conference portion of the season comes to an end as Miami hosts Kentucky out of the SEC on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Millett Hall. For the second consecutive game, the women's basketball team will be hosting a canned food drive. Fans bringing in a canned good will receive admission for only three dollars.

BCS BUSTERS: Kentucky is in the SEC, one of six conferences that make up the Bowl Championship Series. Fairly or not, wins over schools from those conferences are looking upon strongly when it comes to end of season rankings. Miami last defeated a BCS team when they beat Michigan 84-74 on Dec. 6, 2006.

NON-CONFERENCE CONCLUSION: This game wrap-up the non-conference part of the regular season for the RedHawks. With an 8-4 record so far, it has been one of the more successful preseasons in Miami history. In comparison, last year's NCAA Tournament team was 8-6 in non-conference regular season action. By winning percentage, the greatest non-conference regular season in school history was in 1989-90 when the RedHawks were 7-3 (.700 winning percentage). It was a sign of things to come as Miami went 15-1 in MAC play and finished the season 23-5. With a win against the Wildcats Saturday, the RedHawks would finish non-conference play 9-4 for a .692 winning percentage. That would be the second best in school history.

LAST GAME: Miami University played a strong defensive game for the first 26 minutes of the championship game of the 2008 State Farm Classic against 20th ranked Florida Tuesday night, but eventually the Gators three-point shooting did in the RedHawks as they fell 75-56. Miami falls to 8-4 on the season, while Florida improves to 13-1.

Jenna Schone scored 11 points, two assists and two steals to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The RedHawks played a strong zone defense during the first half, forcing the Gators into 10 turnovers. Trailing 11-7, Maggie Boyer hit a three-point basket to cut the deficit to one with 12:15 remaining. Miami went into a shooting slump after that, as it hit only two buckets in the next 10 minutes, and Florida went on a 17-4 run to take a 28-14 lead. A jumper on a fast break by Jenna Schone stopped the bleeding with 2:35 left, and the teams exchanged single free throws the remainder of the half to send the Gators into the locker room with a 29-17 halftime lead.

A 6-0 run to begin the second half, led by two Jaclyn Leininger jump shots quickly cut the Gator lead to six at 29-23. Courtney Reed, Ashleigh Brown and Maggie Boyer each hit jumpers as the RedHawks cut the deficit even further to 35-31 with 15:18 to go.

With 13:48 remaining in the second half, Briana Dunlap hit a three-pointer to pull Miami within three at 39-36, but that would be as close as the RedHawks would get. A 14-1 run over the next 3:31 gave Florida a 53-37 lead. Miami followed that with 6-0 run of its own keyed by a Boyer three-pointer cut it back down to 10 at 53-43. However, an 18-6 run by the Gators helped put the game away and give Florida the 75-56 win.

Reed led the RedHawks with 12 points. Boyer was also in double digits with 11. Miami forced 12 steals on the Gators and recorded fewer turnovers with 16, compared to Florida's 18.

ABOUT KENTUCKY: Kentucky improved to 9-5 on the season after a 72-63 win over North Carolina A&T on Jan. 2. Kentucky has won four straight since losing 75-59 to 13th-ranked Louisville. The Wildcats have very balanced scoring with three players, Victoria Dunlap (11.9), Eleia Roddy (11.6) and Amani Franklin (10.6) averaging in double figures. The team is very strong on the boards, averaging 45.0 caroms per game, while giving up only 36.8. SERIES HISTORY: Kentucky has a 12-2 lead in the all-time series with Miami. The teams last met on Dec. 20, 2003, a 64-58 win for the Wildcats in Oxford. The previous year, the teams met in Lexington, Ky., for one of the RedHawks' most memorable games, as Miami fell 108-102 in overtime. Colleen Day led five RedHawks in double figures with 22 points. Miami last defeated Kentucky 73-64 on Dec. 5, 2001 in Oxford.

MIAMI VS. SEC: The RedHawks are 3-21 all-time against the SEC. The majority of those games have been against Kentucky, whom Miami is 2-12 against. The other RedHawk win came against Georgia (1-1 all-time series). Miami is 0-5 against Vanderbilt, and has single losses to Tennessee and Mississippi State and Florida.

The RedHawks have never faced Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina or Auburn.

UP NEXT FOR THE REDHAWKS: Mid-American Conference play begins next week for Miami. The RedHawks travel to Akron on Wednesday, Jan. 7 for a 7 p.m. game against the Zips. Miami returns home on Saturday, Jan. 10 to face Kent State at 2 p.m. That is part of a doubleheader that will also see the RedHawk men take on Akron at 4 p.m.