Nov. 17, 2003

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SCOUTING THE HOKIES: Coming off a 22-10 season in which they finished fifth in the Big East and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Virginia Tech Hokies enter the 2003-04 campaign ranked No. 29 in the Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Leading the charge for Bonnie Henrickson's team is senior center Ieva Kublina, who averaged team-highs of 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season. The 6-foot-4 Kublina is complemented by sophomore point guard Carrie Mason, who averaged 10.6 ppg and totaled a Virginia Tech freshman record of 106 assists on the way to earning Big East All-Rookie honors. The only other returner to average more than 5.0 ppg in 2002-03 is junior forward Erin Gibson, who averaged 9.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Virginia Tech, which is picked to finish fourth in the Big East, officially opens the season Friday versus Miami but was impressive in a 93-36 victory over Slovenia - WBC Ilirija in a Nov. 9 exhibition game in which Kublina tallied 18 points.

SERIES HISTORY: Miami and Virginia Tech are meeting for the first time Friday, but the Red and White has historically enjoyed success versus the league. In 14 meetings versus seven current Big East program's, Miami has posted a 9-5 record that includes four wins over Notre Dame, three wins over Boston College and one win each versus Pittsburgh and St. John's. The RedHawks' last date with the Big East came in the form of a 75-56 loss at Pittsburgh in 1998 and its last win came 79-76 over Notre Dame, which was not yet a Big East member, in 1994.

LAST TIME OUT-Michigan 79, Miami 68: A spirited effort was not enough to overcome a physical Michigan team that forced 22 turnovers, as Miami bowed out of the 2003 Preseason WNIT with a 79-68 loss to the Wolverines. Miami led by as many as seven midway through the first half, but Michigan finished the half on a 27-12 run to stake a 38-30 halftime lead. The Wolverines pressed their advantage to 11 points with 16:10 remaining, but Miami got 11 straight points from freshman Amanda Jackson and sophomore Cindi Merrill to briefly reclaim the lead at 51-50 with 12:38 to play. Miami went scoreless over a key five-minute stretch, however, as the Wolverines pushed their advantage out of reach and clinched the win with timely free throw shooting. (The complete boxscore can be found on the last page of this release.)

SLOW STARTS: After dropping its season opener at Michigan, the RedHawks are trying to avoid becoming the 11th team in program history to start a season 0-2. Miami, which started last season at 3-0, has started two seasons under head coach Maria Fantanarosa at 0-2. Since 1986 only one Miami team (2000-01) has been able to rebound after losing its first game and move to 1-1, while five other dropped to 0-2.

ROADHAWKS: Miami, which opens the season with five of its first six games away from home, makes its second straight road appearance Friday. The road has become an increasingly friendly place for Miami over the past three seasons, as the Red and White has posted a 16-14 road record. Miami, which had not posted a winning record on the road since the 1995-96 campaign, has notched back-to-back winning road marks, finishing 8-6 last season and 8-7 in 2002-03. The RedHawks won six of their final seven road dates last season, including their last three.

HEAD COACH Maria Fantanarosa: A former standout on the court for the Red and White, Maria Fantanarosa enters her sixth season working the sidelines for the Miami women's basketball program and owns an 81-62 (.566) 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 a 19-win season in 2001-02-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.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: A year after earning its first MAC East Division Championship by posting a 17-12 overall and 11-5 league record, Miami returns six letterwinners and two starters. Leading the way are senior co-captains Colleen Day and Melanie Kozlowski-both returning starters-and fellow senior Kim Lancaster, the league's defending Sixth Woman of the Year. Day is Miami's leading returning scorer (11.3 ppg) and rebounder (6.4 rpg) while Lancaster ranks second in both categories (9.9 ppg/4.8 rpg). Kozlowski ranks as one of the program's top seven all-time 3-point shooters, with 109 treys to date, and averaged 7.6 ppg in 2002-03. Other key returning contributors include sophomore guard Cindi Merrill, who poured in 7.9 ppg a year ago while emerging as one of the RedHawks' top defenders, junior forward Kim Smith, the program's most athletic player, and junior guard Nicki Motto, who likely will replace four-year starter Heather Cusick at point guard.

DOUBLING HER PLEASURE: With a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in Miami's season-opening loss at Michigan last weekend, Miami senior Kim Lancaster ended a 34-game drought in which she had not notched a double-double. Lancaster, who has 10 double-doubles to date ranks fifth all-time at Miami in career double-doubles. Teammate Colleen Day, who has eight career double-doubles, nearly notched her ninth against the Wolverines, finishing with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Monica Niemann (1991-95) is Miami's all-time leader for double-doubles, amassing 35 in her career.

DAZZLING DEBUT: With a team-leading 16 points off the bench in her collegiate debut at Michigan, Miami freshman guard Amanda Jackson recorded the highest point total by a Miami freshman making her debut since current assistant coach Lisa Hayden (1991-95) netted 16 in her 1991 collegiate debut. With Miami trailing by 11 midway through the second half, Jackson sparked a Miami rally by contributing an assist, two steals and two 3-point field goals. Jackson was 5-of-14 from the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range, while contributing two steals.

TOUGH ON THE GLASS: Despite facing a physical Michigan team that enjoyed a +3.1 rebounding edge over its opposition in 2002-03, Miami turned in a strong day on the boards last week, grabbing 45 rebounds to the Wolverines' 39. Leading the way for Miami were seniors Colleen Day and Kim Lancaster, who notched 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Last season, Miami averaged 38.2 rebounds per game compared to its opponents' 37.4 boards per outing.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Junior guard Nicki Motto, who last Saturday became the first Miami player other than Heather Cusick (1999-2003) to start at point guard in the past 113 games, got off to a solid start by pouring in 13 points-one shy of her career-high. A lethal long-range shooter, Motto drained three 3-point field goals on the day and may have had two others if not for the experimental rules in place for the Preseason WNIT that extended the 3-point arch. Motto also played a career-high 33 minutes and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

TWO OF A KIND: Prior to the start of preseason practice, members of Miami's women's basketball team selected seniors Colleen Day and Melanie Kozlowski to co-captain the 2003-04 RedHawks. Day and Kozlowski, who both attended Cleveland's Holy Name High School, have played together since the fourth grade. In high school, the pair led Holy Name to a four-year record of 83-15. Day joins former RedHawk Heather Cusick (1999-03) as the only two Miami players to serve as a three-time team captain.

PUMPED UP: Miami's 2003-04 women's basketball team has enjoyed an unparalleled off-season in the weight room, where it set team records across the board. The strongest women's team at Miami, the RedHawks increased their average bench press by 13 lbs., their average squat by 20 lbs. and their average clean by 32 lbs. Leading the way is junior forward Kim Smith, who bench pressed a whopping 270 lbs., squatted 290 lbs., and cleaned 255 lbs. Senior forward Colleen Day ranks second with an impressive bench press of 225 lbs.

FOREIGN FLARE: During the off-season, head coach Maria Fantanarosa added her first international signee to the RedHawk roster. Madalene Ntumba, a 5-foot-11 freshman forward, comes to Oxford via Sesto San Giovanni, Italy. Ntumba, whose parents are native to Congo, first came into contact with Miami's program during the summer of 2002, when her club team played an exhibition against the RedHawks during their European Tour. Ntumba, who has always dreamt of playing college basketball in the United States, averaged 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Geas Basket Club last year and also competed with the Italian National team during an international tournament hosted by France.

EXCLUSIVE COMPANY: In the previous 29 years of Miami women's basketball only five players have been able to record both 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds. This season, two RedHawk seniors are poised to reach the milestones. Forward Kim Lancaster, who surpassed 1,000 career points last season-becoming the third-fastest player to the 1,000 points-needs only two rebounds to amass her 500th career board and become the sixth Miami player to join the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club. Fellow-forward Colleen Day, who already has 535 rebounds-ranking her 10th all-time at Miami-is 188 points shy of becoming the 15th RedHawk to 1,000 career points.

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 283 consecutive games-the longest such streak in the MAC. Louisville holds the current NCAA record, which is at 349 games and counting.

TO THE RAFTERS: Miami's women's basketball team will be raising some important memorabilia to the rafters during the upcoming season. Prior to its Nov. 24 home opener versus Saint Louis, the Red and White will raise its 2002-03 Mid-American Conference East Division Championship banner. The division title was the first, as Miami became the first MAC East team other than Kent State to win a MAC East title. At halftime of the RedHawks' Dec. 28 contest with Portland, Miami will raise Heather Cusick's No. 5 jersey to the rafters, as Cusick becomes only the second Miami player to have her jersey retired. Cusick finished her career as Miami's all-time leader in points, assists, 3-point field goals and a number of other categories.