Jan. 18, 2002

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REDHAWKS BATTLE MAC WEST FOE NORTHERN ILLINOIS SATURDAY: Off to its best conference start since the 1989-90 squad started 9-0 in the MAC, Miami University's women's basketball team (11-5, 5-0 MAC) looks to extend a season-long five-game winning streak Saturday when it collides with 2001 MAC Semifinalist Northern Illinois University (8-8, 3-2 MAC) in Millett Hall.

Miami's second MAC West Division foe this season, Northern Illinois had won consecutive contests over Bowling Green and Ball State before tumbling at Western Michigan, 73-59, last Wednesday. Coached by veteran mentor Carol Hammerle, who is in her third season at Northern Illinois and 28th at the collegiate level, the Huskies started the season 5-2 with wins over major-conference foes Northwestern and Dayton. Following a four-game non-conference losing streak, NIU has bounced back to win 3-of-5 in league play.

Leading the Huskies are sophomore forward Jennifer Youngblood and junior guard Kristan Knake. Youngblood, who is shooting 55 percent from the floor, averages 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Knake averages 11.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per outing. In Wednesday's loss at Western Michigan, Knake and Youngblood combined for 39 of NIU's 59 points.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES: A series that has been dominated by the home team in recent years, Miami and Northern Illinois are meeting for the 17th time. Miami, which leads the series 10-6, has defeated the Huskies four consecutive times in Millett Hall and maintains a 5-1 home record versus NIU. Northern Illinois, which has not emerged from Millett Hall with a win since the 1983-84 campaign, has won three of the teams' last four meetings in DeKalb.

THE LAST MEETING: Northern Illinois finished what had been a tight game on a 19-7 run, as the Huskies picked up a 63-50 home win on Jan. 20, 2001. After shooting 48 percent from the field in the first frame, Miami trailed just 30-26 at halftime and managed to close to 44-43 by the 10:58 mark. Miami went cold from there, scoring just seven points the remainder of the game as NIU cruised to the win. Northern Illinois was led by Michelle Johnson's 19 points and Jennifer Youngblood's 16 points and 10 rebounds. Miami was paced by Jenny Martin's 14 points, while Heather Cusick added 12 and Beth Roederer netted 11.

MILLETT MAGIC: Miami, which has won 13 of its last 14 in Millett Hall, has certainly created some Millett magic over the past three seasons. This season, Miami stands at 6-1 in Millett Hall overall and 3-0 in league play. Last season, the Red and White went 10-2 at home and finished the season with seven consecutive home wins. The RedHawks are 25-6 (.806) at home over the last three seasons and have turned away 10 straight MAC opponents in Millett. In MAC East play, Miami boasts a 12-3 record over the past three years, including three consecutive home wins versus four-time defending MAC East Division champion Kent State.

A TALE OF TWO DIVISIONS: Now in her fourth season in the Mid-American Conference, Miami head coach Maria Fantanarosa is steadily improving upon a 31-22 (.585) overall league record. Miami has risen to the occasion when it's come to divisional play over the past four seasons, posting an impressive 24-9 (.727) record. Overall, Miami has turned away 12 consecutive MAC East foes in the regular season, while winning 13 of its last 14 divisional home games.

Despite their success versus the East, Fantanarosa's RedHawks have not fared as well when heading West. Miami has gone just 7-13 (.350) versus the MAC West over the past four seasons, including a 3-8 regular-season mark, and has lost eight consecutive road games to MAC West foes. Fantanarosa is still in search of her first coaching wins versus MAC West rivals Eastern Michigan and Toledo after ending a similar drought on Jan. 5 versus Western Michigan.

LOOKING BACK: Miami continued an impressive run of MAC play earlier this week, knocking off MAC East favorite Kent State, 72-67, while extending its lead in the MAC East to two games. Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) poured in 21 points as Miami held off a late Golden Flash rally. Complete recaps on this and all 2001-02 Miami games can be found on pages 12-17.

DAY EARNS SECOND MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR: For the second consecutive week and fourth time this season, a member of Miami's women's basketball team has been honored as the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week. Sophomore Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) earned the honor for the second time this season after averaging 21.5 points per game in RedHawk defeats of Akron and Ohio.

On Jan. 9, Day played a season-low 27 minutes versus Akron but still contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and a season-high five assists. Day was virtually unstoppable versus Ohio, netting a career-high 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field and snaring a season-high five steals. For the week, the sophomore hit 17-of-26 shots from the field for 65 percent. She was last honored as MAC East Player of the Week on Dec. 15.

HEAD COACH MARIA FANTANAROSA: Fresh off her 30th Mid-American Conference win, Maria Fantanarosa is in her fourth season at the helm of the Miami women's basketball program.

Since taking over a team that had no freshman class in 1998, she has guided the team to consecutive MAC Tournament appearances and back-to-back MAC East Division runner-up finishes. Fantanarosa also has brought in and mentored back-to-back selections to the MAC all-freshmen team for only the second time in program history while helping four players to all-MAC accolades. A 1990 graduate of Miami, Fantanarosa was a two-time all-MAC honoree for the Red and White. Following her graduation, she went on to serve as an assistant women's basketball coach for Xavier (1990-94) and South Carolina (1994-97) before serving a one-year stint as head coach at Western Carolina (1997-98).

One of the most prolific scorers in high school girls basketball history, Fantanarosa's 3,823 career points while at Mt. Carmel Area High School in Kulpmont, Pa., rank among the all-time Top 10 nationally.

A CLEAN SLATE: For the first time since she was 0-0 as a first-year coach at Western Carolina, Miami head coach Maria Fantanarosa can truly say she has a clean slate. With Tuesday's defeat of Kent State, Fantanarosa improved her career coaching record to 63-63 and reached the .500 plateau for the first time since she opened her head coaching career with an 88-57 Western Carolina loss to Coppin State. Challenged with rebuilding programs twice in her career, Fantanarosa was 7-20 during her inaugural season at WCU and 11-15 in her first season at Miami. Since that 18-35 (.340) start, Fantanarosa has rallied with a 45-28 (.616) record over the last three seasons.

'HAWKS ON THE RADIO: For the first time in program history, fans of Miami women's basketball can follow the Red and White live on the World Wide Web. In a deal with Yahoo! Sports, all 27 regular-season games along with any postseason action will be carried live over the internet. In addition, Miami continues its partnership with WMOH-1450 AM, which will carry 13 regular-season contests as well as any postseason action. Calling the games are veteran Miami play-by-play commentators Bob Rotruck and Bill Douglas. The live internet broadcast, as well as real-time stats for all Miami home games, can be accessed by going to the women's basketball schedule page on Miami's official website-www. MURedHawks.com.

BRINGING BACK THE THREE: After hitting a meager 17 of its first 68 (.250) 3-point attempts through the first four games of the season, the long ball has come back into style for Miami. Over the past 12 games, the Red and White has drained 70-of-164 (.427) 3-point bombs while pulling into second in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.375). Paving the way for the RedHawks, who have hit at least five treys in nine of their last 12 games, has been Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), who has hit 34-of-84 (.405) 3-pointers over the past 12 games and leads the MAC with 2.75 3-point field goals per contest.

STRING OF TREYS: As testament to what has become a fine 3-point shooting tradition, the RedHawks are working to maintain a string of games with at least one 3-point field goal that dates back to March of 1993. Since that game, a MAC Semifinal loss to Kent State, Miami has drained a 3-point bucket in 239 consecutive games-the longest such streak in the MAC. Ironically, assistant coach Lisa Hayden was on the floor the last time Miami failed to drain a 3-point bucket and went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. Louisville holds the current NCAA record, having buried a trey in 307 straight games. Miami's streak is the longest in the MAC. Individually, Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) has hit a trey in 20 straight games.

CHARITY CASES: Miami, which ranks third in the MAC from the free throw line, has been up and down at the charity stripe this season. After starting the season by hitting an impressive 82-of-103 (.796) free throws, Miami dipped over the next five games, hitting 58-of-88 (.659) free chances. The next five games were, once again, a different story, as the RedHawks hit 81-of-103 charity tosses for .786. Unfortunately, the RedHawks appear to be in another mild slump, hitting just 73 percent (30-of-41) over the past two games and slipping to third in the MAC at .749 overall. The Miami team record for free throw percentage in a season is .769, set during the 1989-90 season.

MAKING A STATEMENT: A two-time honorable mention all-MAC honoree over the past two seasons, Miami's Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) has her sights set on bigger things this season. Five games into the MAC season, Cusick has emerged as a frontrunner for the league's player of the year award. As of Jan. 16, Cusick ranked among the MAC's leaders in eight of the 12 categories in which the league office keeps individual statistics. Cusick leads the league in points (18.0), 3-point field goals (2.75) and steals (2.75) per game, while ranking second in assists (5.8 apg). The junior also is ranked among the MAC's elite in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and assist/turnover ratio. In MAC play, Cusick is averaging a league-best 20.8 points per game. Miami's point guard has tallied seven 20-point games this season and scored in double figures 15 times.

TOUGH AS THEY COME: When opposing coaches are scouting Miami, they do not have to wonder whether or not point guard Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) will be on the floor. Cusick has played in all 73 games of her collegiate career thus far and has made a remarkable 70 consecutive starts. Opposing teams can also expect Cusick to show up on the stat sheet, where she has scored in double figures in 15 straight games and 19 of the last 20.

CHART CLIMBING: Although just a junior, Miami's Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) is making her presence felt in Miami's career record book. Cusick became the 13th player in Miami history to join the 1,000-point club on Jan. 9, draining a 3-point field goal with 9:12 to play in the second half that landed her on exactly 1,000. Just 20 points shy of 10th place on the career scoring list, Cusick could finish the regular season ranked as high as sixth on Miami's career list.

Cusick is already ranked among Miami's career Top 10 for assists (3rd-381), free throw percentage (4th-.797) and 3-point field goals (3rd-150). She could finish her career ranked among Miami's career Top 10 in 10 major statistical categories.

A BRAND NEW DAY: Just over halfway through the 2001-02 season, sophomore forward Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) is in the midst of a break-out season. Through 16 games, Day has scored in double digits 12 times, rebounded in double digits four times and assembled four double-doubles. The sophomore also has set career highs in virtually every statistical category, including her career-high 28-point outing versus Ohio on Jan 12. The sophomore, who ranks 13th in the MAC in scoring at 13.2 points per game, also has been remarkably efficient on the season, hitting 59 percent from the floor. No one ranked in the top 15 in the MAC in scoring has taken fewer shots from the field (135). Day also has been uncanny from 3-point range, draining 17-of-22 (.773) treys this season.

SENSATIONAL OR SLUMPING?: Following a fabulous freshman season in which she earned honorable mention all-MAC, MAC all-freshman and MAC all-tournament recognition, Miami's Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) has been hovering between sensational and the dreaded sophomore slump this season.

Through nine games in which Lancaster has cleared the double-figure plateau, she is averaging 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. In seven games where Lancaster has been held to less than 10 points, she is averaging just 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting a mere 36 percent from the floor. Fortunately for Miami, Lancaster is leaning toward sensational as of late. The sophomore has averaged 13.9 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor over the last eight games.

A NOSE FOR THE BASKET: Sophomore guard Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name), who has worn a protective mask since suffering a broken nose versus Kentucky (Dec. 5), has been providing Miami with a steady long-range threat over the past seven contests. Kozlowski, who drained a season-best three treys each versus Western Michigan and Akron, has hit 11 3-pointers over the past eight games. The sophomore moved into 10th place on Miami's career list with her three treys versus Akron, while also amassing career-highs for points (18) and rebounds (10) versus the Zips.

SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES: Miami freshman Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side) has been showing promising signs of what may lie ahead in her collegiate career. On Dec. 15, Smith shredded Detroit for 18 points and 10 rebounds, notching her first career double-double. On the day, the forward scorched the nets for eight buckets in 12 attempts. Her solid play continued on Dec. 18, when she drained 4-of-7 shots on the way to 11 points versus Western Kentucky, and on Dec. 21, when she poured in 13 points versus St. Francis for her third straight double-digit scoring effort. After a recent slump, Smith returned to life versus Ohio (Jan. 12) with 12 points in just 18 minutes. The freshman has hit a solid 43-of-72 (.597) shots from the field.

MAC ATTACK: After its first five league games, it is no secret why Miami is the only unbeaten in the Mid-American Conference. In the latest MAC-only statistics, Miami leads the league in 9-of-19 team statistical categories, including scoring offense (80.2), scoring margin (+15.2), field goal percentage (.512), 3-point field goal percentage (.444), rebounding margin (+9.4), assists (17.4) and steals (13.2).

PETTY THEFT: Averaging 12.1 steals a contest through 16 contests, Miami finds itself once again leading the MAC in steals per game. Last season, Miami ranked first in the MAC with 12.0 steals an outing. Leading the RedHawks are Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), who leads the league with 2.7 steals a contest, and Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who rates second in the MAC at 2.5 steals a game. Cusick needs five steals to crack Miami's career Top 10.

SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE: After totaling five double-doubles through the entire 2000-01 season, Miami is making up for lost time during its 2001-02 campaign. Led by Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who has four double-doubles this season, the RedHawks have amassed nine double-doubles on the year. Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) ranks second with three double-doubles this season, while Kim Smith (Gary, Ind./West Side) and Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) have notched Miami's remaining double-doubles. Of Miami's current players, Lancaster leads the way with six career double-doubles, while Day has four and Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) has three.

CRASHING THE BOARDS: After ranking 10th in the MAC in rebounding during the 2000-01 campaign, Miami has found a new level in 2001-02. Through the first 16 games this season, Miami has out-rebounded or matched its opponent 11 times and cleared an average of 37.8 caroms per game. Paving the way for the RedHawks, who rank second in the league in rebounding margin (+4.1), is sophomore Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who is averaging 7.6 boards per contest to rank eighth in the MAC. In five MAC games, Miami is maintaining a rebounding margin of +9.4, which ranks first in the league.

SCORING THREAT: Following an impressive week, in which Miami put up 192 points in two games, the Red and White finds itself ranked third in the MAC in scoring offense with a 76.0 points per game average. Versus Akron, Miami totaled 103 points, which was its highest single-game total in 20 years. The RedHawks also tied a program record with 56 points in a half. Despite a slow start versus Ohio, the Red and White notched 49 second-half points to finish with 89. Miami has scored more than 70 points 10 times this season and posted a 9-1 record when doing so. On the other hand, Miami is 2-4 when scoring 70 or less. Defensively, the RedHawks are a flawless 7-0 when restricting the opposition to 70 or fewer points.

POWER RATED: As of the Jan. 14 RPI rankings, found on www.collegerpi.com, Miami enters the week as the highest-ranked team in the Mid-American Conference. Ranked No. 104 out of 321 NCAA Division I programs, Miami is 30 places better than second-place and No. 134-ranked Toledo. Miami has a 2-4 mark versus teams ranked above it in the poll, including two wins versus the Top 100, and a 9-1 mark versus those ranked lower. All five of Miami's losses have come against the Top 125. In the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) RPI rankings, Miami is rated 110th.

THE GIVING SEASON: Though Miami has been forcing 20.9 opponent turnovers per game, the RedHawks have been generous in giving back to their opponents. Miami ranks ninth in the MAC in turnovers, giving away 20.9 miscues an outing. The RedHawks, who led the MAC in turnover margin a year ago at +2.9, rate a disappointing seventh at +0.0 this season. Not surprisingly, Miami is unbeaten (6-0) when it has a positive turnover margin. The RedHawks have improved drastically in MAC play and lead the conference in league-only play with a +4.6 turnover margin through five league games. Miami established new season lows for turnovers in each of its first four MAC outings.

BODIES WORKING OVERTIME: Overtime has been paying better than time and a half for Miami over the past three seasons. The RedHawks' thrilling Nov. 28 defeat of Valparaiso extended the RedHawks' string of overtime victories to four consecutive. No current Miami player has lost a collegiate overtime game, and head coach Maria Fantanarosa has not lost an overtime contest since a 1998 loss at Buffalo.

CUSICK AND DAY REAP MAC HONORS: Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) have wasted little time in grabbing the attention of their peers this season. Cusick was honored as the MAC East Division Player of the Week on Dec. 3 after averaging 22.5 points per game in wins over Valparaiso and Butler. Versus Valparaiso, Cusick drained a game-tying 3-point field goal as time expired and later hit a clinching jump shot in overtime. Cusick earned the honor again after leading Miami to a 2-0 MAC start on Jan. 7.

Day was honored as the MAC's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 10 after averaging 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as Miami defeated Kentucky and tumbled at Clemson. She owns a 3.89 GPA in English and secondary education. Day was named the MAC's East Division Player of the week after recording a double-double versus Detroit on December 15. On Jan. 14, Day was honored again when she earned East Division Player of the Week honors for the second time.

During head coach Maria Fantanarosa's tenure, Miami has claimed MAC Player or Scholar-Athlete of the week honors a total of 16 times.

LANCASTER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MAC: One year removed from a remarkable freshman campaign in which she averaged 14.9 points per game and earned honorable mention all-MAC, MAC all-Freshman and MAC all-Tournament honors, sophomore forward Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) was honored this past October as one of five players named to the preseason all-MAC team. Lancaster burst onto the collegiate scene a year ago, setting a RedHawk freshman record with 432 points. The forward set a Miami single-game record with 40 points versus Ball State in the MAC Quarterfinals.

POWER OF YOUTH: With no scholarship seniors on a team that returns all five of its starters from last season, Miami is undoubtedly one of the youngest veteran teams in the nation. Last season, head coach Maria Fantanarosa gave 124 of a possible 145 starts, or 86 percent, to her sophomore and freshmen classes. Miami's underclassmen also accounted for 4,609 of 5,875 minutes played, or 78 percent. During the 1999-2000 campaign, Miami's freshman class-the current junior class-made an instant impact, amassing 1,906 of a possible 5,625 minutes, or 34 percent of the team's total playing time.