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Jan. 26, 2002
KENT, Ohio-Fast starts in each half could not overcome cold shooting from the field, as Miami University's women's basketball team fell for the third straight game Saturday afternoon at Kent State University's M.A.C. Center. The 62-56 Kent State win knocked Miami out of first place in the MAC East Division for the first time this season.
Bolstered by a balanced offensive attack, Miami surged out of the gates and led 14-6 after a long Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) 3-point field goal. Five different RedHawks scored during the opening flurry, but the lead was not meant to last. Kent State, aided by strong shooting from the charity stripe and 13 first-half Miami turnovers, rallied with a 15-6 run and took its first lead off a Kate Miller jumper at 9:16.
The Golden Flashes would push their advantage as high as seven points during the late stages of the half, but Miami got another Kozlowski 3-pointer and some free throws from Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) and Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) and shaved the lead to 33-28 by the half. The RedHawks were led in the half by Lancaster's 10 points, while the Flashes were led by Jamie Rubis, who tallied 10 of Kent State's last 12 first-half points and finished with 15.
The second half followed the same blueprint as the first half, with Miami starting off hot but cooling down the stretch. A 10-2 run out of the gates put Miami up 38-35 by the 15-minute mark, but Kent State respnded with a 6-0 run, capped by a Katalin Kollat layup at 13:05, that put the Golden Flashes up for good at 41-38.
Kent State pressed its advantage as high as seven points but could not Miami out of the contest until the closing minute. Trailing by six with 6:39 to play, Miami got another Kozlowski 3-point field goal and closed to 53-51 with just under six to play. The Golden Flashes pushed the game out of reach with a 6-2 run of their own, and Miami, which shot just 38 percent from the field, was unable to find its shooting touch when it needed it most.
Leading Miami on the day were four players in double figures. Lancaster paced the RedHawks with 17 points, while Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) chipped in her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Also tallying in double digits were Kozlowski and Day with 11 apiece. Rubis led four Kent State players in double figures with a game-high 19 points.
Things will not get any easier for the RedHawks, who face MAC West power Ball State University at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Millett Hall. Miami has not lost four straight games since late in the 1999-2000 campaign.
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