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March 27, 2003
Complete Season Recap in PDF Format
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ROLLER COASTER SEASON CARRIES 2002-03 REDHAWKS TO FIRST MAC EAST DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP: While the 2002-03 season may not have brought Miami's women's basketball team all of the success it wanted, it did deliver the program's first Mid-American Conference East Division Championship and will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in Miami history.
The season started with a bang, as the RedHawks knocked off eventual NCAA Tournament qualifiers Valparaiso and Michigan State on the way to the Spartan Chevrolet Classic title. A week later, Miami upped its record to 3-0 with a defeat of Arkansas State, becoming only the third team in program history to start its season with three straight wins. Georgia Tech, another eventual NCAA qualifier, ended Miami's hot start one game later with a defeat of the RedHawks in the championship game of the Atlanta Marriott NW Classic.
After scoring a program-record 110 points in a dominant defeat of Wright State on Dec. 7, the Red and White encountered a rugged stretch of its schedule, dropping five of its last six non-conference games, including three versus eventual NCAA and WNIT participants and two other against opponents from the powerhouse SEC and ACC.
Miami's road to its first MAC East Division title got off to a slow start, as the RedHawk alternated wins and losses over their first four league games. A three-game winning streak, including a dramatic overtime comeback defeat of Eastern Michigan, put Miami back in the hunt, but after back-to-back heartbreaking losses to MAC title contenders Kent State and Ball State, the 5-4 RedHawks once again had their backs to the wall.
Not to be denied, the RedHawks caught fire down the stretch, winning five straight games, including an overtime thriller at Kent State. A loss to Buffalo with one game to play in the regular season placed Miami in a must-win situation in its final contest, but the RedHawks overcame a double-digit deficit to nip Marshall, clinching its first MAC East title, a first-round tournament bye and the No. 2 seed for the MAC Tournament.
In the MAC Quarterfinals, Miami turned in its best performance of the season, ousting Eastern Michigan, 80-66, and advancing to its third straight MAC Semifinal. Unfortunately, the RedHawks' road would end there as a dramatic comeback in the final five minutes was not enough in a 93-84 season-ending loss to Ball State.
HARD TO SAY GOOD BYE: When Miami bowed out of the MAC Tournament versus Ball State on March 14, it marked the last game for a triad of RedHawk seniors who served as cornerstones of the rebuilding program. The trio of seniors Jana Butler, Heather Cusick and Beth Roederer played in a combined 338-of-348 games (.971) and combined for a remarkable 263 starts (.756) during their careers. Fixtures in the Miami starting lineup over the past three seasons, the three combined for a whopping 3,136 points (27.0 ppg), 1,151 rebounds (9.9 rpg) and 893 assists (7.7 apg) during their remarkable careers. While assembling a 70-46 (.603) career record, head coach Maria Fantanrosa's first Miami recruiting class never endured a losing season and never finished lower than second in the MAC's East Division. The trio also helped Miami to at least one MAC Tournament win in each of its four seasons and carried the Red and White to the MAC Semifinals in each of its last three campaigns.
LOOKING AHEAD: While Miami has a definite void to fill with the graduation of its three seniors, the cupboard is far from bare in Oxford. Though the RedHawks return just two starters from last season's team, the 2003-04 senior class of Colleen Day, Melanie Kozlowski and Kim Lancaster, along with freshman Cindi Merrill, possess significant experience in the RedHawk starting lineup and looks to lead a cast of six returning letterwinners and a promising group of underclassmen. The Red and White returns four of its top five scorers and three of its top four rebounders next season, including the potentially dominant forward tandem of Day (12.2 ppg) and Lancaster (10.3 ppg), who both averaged in double digits in MAC play. Sophomores Nicki Motto and Kim Smith, who both showed flashes of brilliance at times during the 2002-03 campaign, also will look to expand their roles after solid campaigns this past season.
HEAD COACH MARIA FANTANAROSA: A former standout on the court for the Red and White, Maria Fantanarosa has spent five seasons working the sidelines for the Miami women's basketball program and owns an 81-61 (.570) record at Miami.
Since taking over a team that had no freshman class in 1998, she has guided the team to three consecutive MAC Semifinal appearances, three MAC East Division runner-up finishes and its first MAC East Division Championship in 2003. Fantanarosa also has helped Miami players to all-MAC accolades six times, including 2001-02 MAC Player of the Year Heather Cusick. After last year's 19-win season-Miami's best in five seasons-Fantanarosa's contract was extended through the 2006-07 campaign.
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 according to the National Federation of High Schools.
FIXTURE IN THE (MAC) FINAL FOUR: Over the past three seasons, Miami's women's basketball team has become a fixture in the MAC Semifinal round. Though it has not been able to advance out of the round, the Red and White is the only team in the league to advance to the semifinals in each of the last three seasons-Kent State's string of seven consecutive appearances ended with a loss in the 2003 MAC Quarterfinals. The RedHawks' current string of MAC semifinal appearances ties the program record, which was set from 1995-97.
THE VIEW FROM ON TOP: With its defeat of Marshall in its regular-season finale, Miami achieved what no MAC East team other than Kent State had been able to achieve since divisional play began in 1997-98, winning the 2002-03 MAC East Division title. Entering the game, Miami had not been poised atop a MAC race so late in the season since its last MAC regular-season championship in 1989-90. Since starting MAC play during the 1981-82 campaign, Miami has claimed a total of four MAC regular-season titles-three overall titles and this season's East Division crown-including the first two in 1981-82 and 1982-83. After its quick start, however, Miami raised just one championship banner during the next 18 years, ending a program-long 11-year drought this season.
A FINE LINE: The difference between winning and losing was an exceptionally fine line for Miami's 2002-03 women's basketball team. Out of 29 games, a whopping 15 were decided by five points or fewer at the end of regulation, including six that went into overtime. Four other games were decided by 10 points or fewer, meaning that 19 of Miami's 29 games, or nearly two-thirds, came down to the final two minutes.
The RedHawks posted a 10-9 record in games separated by 10 or fewer points in 2002-03 and a 6-6 record in those where the final margin was five points or fewer. Excluding Miami's convincing win over Ohio on Feb. 26 and it's 14-point defeat of Eastern Michigan on March 12, 11 of Miami's last 13 games came down to the last minute with the average margin standing at a meager 5.2 points.
TAKING ON THE WORLD: Though Miami's 5-6 non-conference record marked Miami's first sub .500 out-of-league record in four seasons, head coach Maria Fantanarosa stuck with her theory of using the non-conference schedule to prepare her team for league play. Eight of Miami's non-conference opponents finished the season among the top 112 of 324 (.346) NCAA D-I women's basketball programs, according to the final RPI.com rankings, while the average RPI of Miami's 11 out-of-conference foes was a solid 120.2. Six of Miami's 2002-03 opponents qualified for the NCAA Tournament, while three others appeared in the WNIT. The RedHawks posted a 2-4 mark versus 2002-03 NCAA qualifiers.
POWER RATED: Ranked No. 116 in the final RPI.com rankings, Miami earned its highest final ranking in five seasons under head coach Maria Fantanarosa. The RedHawks' ranking was the fourth-highest in the Mid-American Conference and ranked it among the top 35 percent of all women's basketball programs nationwide. The RedHawks, who did not suffer a loss outside of the Top 140 in the final rankings, earned their biggest RPI upset on Nov. 24 when they knocked off eventual NCAA Qualifier Michigan State, which finished at No. 57. The average RPI of the 11 teams that defeated Miami was a staunch 96.2. The RedHawks were even stronger in the Sagarin Rankings, finishing at No. 112.
CHARITY CASES: One of the keys for Miami in league play, whether winning or losing, was its performance from the free throw line. Through 11 league wins, Miami averaged 21.6 trips to the free throw line and connected on an impressive 76 percent of its efforts. On the contrary, Miami made an average of 13.2 trips to the line in league losses, connecting on 71 percent of those efforts. Leading the way were three RedHawks, who shot better than 80 percent from the line in league play. Colleen Day hit an impressive 57-of-66 (.864) charity tosses in league play, while Beth Roederer knocked down .875 (28-of-32) and Heather Cusick (41-of-51) connected on .804. After the start of MAC play, Miami shot .753 from the line, improving its overall free throw percentage by more than 50 percentage points since the non-conference portion of its schedule.
OFFENSE WINS: When the offense was working, everything was working for Miami in 2002-03. Aside from overtime losses at Kentucky and Ball State, Miami was 15-2 in 2002-03 when scoring at least 70 points and 13-1 when outshooting or matching the opposition from the field. On the flip side, Miami was 1-8 when scoring less than 70 points and 4-11 when being outshot from the field. The RedHawks averaged 78.5 ppg and shot 45 percent from the floor and 36 percent from the 3-point arc in their 17 wins.
Excluding overtime losses to Ball State and Kentucky, in which it tallied 94 and 102 points, respectively, Miami is averaged just 63.0 points and shot 37 percent from the floor in its remaining 10 losses.
FEAT OF A CENTURY: As Miami's women's basketball program can attest, the face of college women's basketball is changing. In the first 25 seasons of Miami women's basketball, the Red and White cleared 100 points in a game a grand total of six times. Over the past three seasons, however, the RedHawks have reached the century mark an impressive five times, including twice this season. Maria Fantanarosa's squads have accounted for four of the 10 highest single-game scoring efforts in program history, including the record of 110 points set on Dec. 7 versus Wright State.
POLISHING THE GLASS: An important theme in most of the RedHawks' games in 2002-03 was rebounding. Miami, which is averaging 38.2 rebounds per game, ranked third in the MAC in rebounding and fifth in rebounding margin (+0.8). The RedHawks were especially strong on the offensive glass, grabbing 14.5 offensive boards a contest and ranking second in the league. Miami, which got nearly 20 percent of its offense from second-chance points, owned a 13-4 record when outrebounding or matching the opposition on the glass and just a 4-8 mark when being outrebounded. In Miami's last outing of the regular-season, it matched Marshall, the MAC's top rebounding team, 31-31 on the glass.
BIG BENCH PLAY: With 13 scholarship players on her roster, head coach Maria Fantanarosa had the luxury of a deep bench for the first time in her career. Last season, Miami's top five players in terms of minutes averaged 29.7 minutes of playing time-led by Heather Cusick's 37.5 minutes an outing. This season, the top five RedHawks in terms of playing time are averaging 25.8 minutes per game, despite a record six overtime games, with only Cusick, who was down more than five minutes a game from last season, averaging more than 30 minutes a game. Miami's bench also made an impact on the scoreboard, increasing its scoring average from 16.3 ppg last season to more than 26.0 ppg in 2002-03. Miami's reserves outscored their opposition in 24-of-29 games this season.
AS THE BALL TURNS: One of the biggest differences for the 2002-03 Miami team from the past four seasons was its ability to take care of the ball. After averaging 19.1 turnovers per game over the previous four seasons, Miami committed just 16.4 miscues per game this season, while forcing a league-high 19.7 turnovers an outing. The RedHawks' turnover margin, +3.3, ranked third in the MAC. The trend has been best represented by Miami's point guard, Heather Cusick, who is averaging a career-low 3.4 turnovers per game this season. During the MAC Tournament, Miami averaged just 9.5 miscues per game, including a season-low seven in its quarterfinal defeat of Eastern Michigan-Miami's lowest total ever under head coach Maria Fantanarosa.
CUSICK'S CAREER CHASE: Miami senior Heather Cusick finished her career as arguably the most prolific player ever to take the floor for the RedHawk women's basketball program. Of 15 career statistical categories tracked by Miami's Athletic Media Relations office, Cusick placed her name among Miami's top five in 11, including seven RedHawk records. Miami's career record holder for points (1,728), assists (596), 3-point field goals (230) and 20-point games (32), the Kokomo, Ind., native became the RedHawks' all-time leader in career field goals in the regular-season finale versus Marshall and finished with 604 field goals for her career. The senior also ranked second in career steals (307), third in career free throws made (290) and fourth in career free throw percentage (.801).
CUSICK AND THE MAC GREATS: Along with etching her name all over the Miami career record books, Heather Cusick also placed her name throughout the MAC record book. The senior's 1,728 career points ranked 13th in MAC history, while her 230 3-point field goals and 596 assists ranked fifth and eighth, respectively. Miami's point guard also reached the MAC's top eight for steals with 307. Cusick is the first player in MAC history to reach all of the following milestones: 1,700 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds, 300 steals and 200 3-pointers.
STEADY AS THEY COME: When opposing coaches were scouting Miami, they did not have to wonder whether or not point guard Heather Cusick would be on the floor. Cusick, who has played in all 116 games of her collegiate career, started the last 113 games of her career. Opposing teams also could expect Cusick to show up on the stat sheet, where she has scored in double figures in 80 percent (93-of-116) of her career games and notched 32 outings of 20 points or more. Cusick also dished an assist in her last 86 games and was only been held scoreless once in 116 contests. The senior ended her career making a steal in 96 of her last 97 contests.
A GREAT DAY: After a two-game stretch on the bench in early February Miami junior Colleen Day returned to the starting lineup with a vengeance. Over the last 10 games, Day was Miami's top scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 48 percent from the floor and 90 percent from the free throw line. The junior, who has tallied four 20-point games in 2002-03, poured in at least 20 in two of Miami's last three games. Day was named MAC East Player of the Week twice during the last month of the season.
DAY BREAKING: Along with her recently rediscovered scoring prowess, Colleen Day has been Miami's most consistent rebounder over the past two seasons. Presently leading Miami and ranking among the Top 15 in the MAC in rebounding (6.4 rpg), Day became just the 14th player in Miami history to surpass the 500 career rebound plateau on Feb. 19 at Central Michigan. With 535 career rebounds to date, Day is tied for 10th-place all-time at Miami. The junior has been especially strong on the offensive glass over the past two seasons, averaging 3.2 offensive boards per game.
TOUGH AS THEY COME: Miami senior Beth Roederer overcame a lot more than midterms and preseason conditioning throughout her Miami career, battling a condition known as Compartment Syndrome since her freshman season. With Compartment Syndrome, the membrane around the calf muscles does not expand enough to accommodate the routine swelling of the muscles during physical activity-like a balloon that has been filled with too much water-resulting in extreme pain in the lower legs. Despite undergoing countless tests and surgeries over the past four years, little could be done to alleviate Roederer's condition, and she had to simply play above the pain. Through it all, Roederer missed just six of 116 games during her collegiate career. She finished the regular season with a career-high 22-point effort against Marshall (March 4).
CLUTCH PERFORMER: Miami senior Beth Roederer showed the poise of a true veteran down the stretch. In Miami's comeback defeat of Eastern Michigan (Jan. 28), Roederer drained a backbreaking 24-foot 3-pointer in overtime to lift Miami to the win. The senior followed up with another big overtime trey at Ball State (Feb. 3). On Feb. 13 Roederer hit a critical layup at Northern Illinois that put Miami in front, 61-60, with less than two minutes to play and later iced two free throws to put the game out of reach. Roederer scored 14 second-half points in leading Miami to a come-from-behind win at Bowling Green on Feb. 15 and drained still another key 3-pointer with under five minutes to play in Miami's defeat of Central Michigan on Feb. 19.
BUTLER'S BLOCK PARTY: After averaging fewer than 11 blocks a season over her first three years in the Miami Red and White, senior center Jana Butler emerged as a shot blocking threat during her senior season. In 29 games, Butler swatted 26 shots, including four contests with three rejections each. The senior finished her career ranked 11th all-time at Miami with 57 career blocked shots. She ranked fourth in the MAC in 2002-03.
GO-TO GIRL: When the game was on the line and a key bucket was in order, Miami senior Jana Butler was a top option for head coach Maria Fantanarosa. In four of Miami's six overtime games in 2002-03, Butler netted Miami's last points in regulation, including three shots that knotted games and forced overtime. Butler's string began at Kentucky (Dec. 21) when she hit a shot with 13 seconds remaining that tied the score at 92-92 and forced OT. Against Ohio, Butler came through in the clutch again, knotting the game at 69-69 with 38 seconds to play. Most recently, Butler completed Miami's comeback at Kent State (Feb. 23) by knocking down a bucket with 1:01 remaining that sent the game into overtime tied at 69-69. In the MAC Quarterfinal defeat of Eastern Michigan, Butler was the go-to girl all day long, pouring in a career-high 21 points, including 9-of-9 free throws.
NOT JUST ANOTHER SMITH: After a slow non-conference season, sophomore Kim Smith exploded on the scene in MAC play. Smith, who broke Miami's freshman field goal percentage record (.550) last season, shot a remarkable .585 (38-of-65) from the field during league play. After Miami's first 11 games, Smith was shooting just 39 percent from the field and averaging only 3.5 points per game. After that time, Smith upped her averages to 5.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Her best all-around game came versus Buffalo, when she tallied 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and swiped four steals. In Miami's crucial win at Kent State on Feb. 23, Smith made steals on three consecutive Golden Flash possessions during a critical stretch in which Miami rallied from a 10-point deficit.
INSTANT OFFENSE: When head coach Maria Fantanarosa was looking for an offensive boost, she had to look no further than her own bench, where junior forward Kim Lancaster averaged 9.8 points per game and 10.3 ppg in 12 MAC games. Lancaster, who made all 25 of her appearances off the bench in 2002-03, became just the 14th player in RedHawk history to reach 1,000 career points in Miami's Feb. 15 win at Bowling Green. The junior also became just the fourth Miami player to reach 1,000 career points prior to her senior season and is just 56 points shy of passing Fantanarosa for 10th on Miami's career scoring list. One of the best finishers in the league, Lancaster ranked among Miami's top three in terms of field goal percentage, finishing better than 53 percent of her shots.
Lancaster, who missed two weeks of the season after suffering a deep bone bruise in her knee versus BGSU, returned to action in the regular-season finale against Marshall, converting 5-of-7 shots and tallying 12 points in the win.
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