Dec. 5, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Miami participates in the first of two holiday tournaments when it travels to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Classic. Friday’s opening-round match features the RedHawks against the Texas Pan-American Lady Broncs at 9:30 p.m. (EST). The first match of the day will feature the host Air Force Falcons against North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. (EST). On Saturday, the consolation game is at 4 p.m. (EST), followed by the championship at 6:30 p.m. (EST).
OTHER STORYLINES
TOURNEY HISTORY:
THE FRESHMEN FACTOR: The freshmen have begun to step it up for Miami. In the last game against Wright State, Maggie Boyer scored 13 and Rachael Hencke contributed 10. Erin Wisner recorded 11 points and seven rebounds against Wake Forest on Nov. 29. With only a limited number of upperclassmen to lead the way, the contributions of the freshmen will be critical to provide the depth needed to create a championship team.Preseason tournaments are a good preparation for the more important tournament play to come down the road, namely the MAC Tournament and potential NCAA Tournament games. There is no other way to replicate tournament pressure in a normal regular-season game. Last year, the RedHawks participated in two preseason tournaments. Miami was in the preseason NIT, where it fell to 15th-ranked Notre Dame 98-50, but went on to defeat Radford (74-67) and IUPUI (63-54) in the consolation bracket. The RedHawks dropped two games at the Wells Fargo UTSA Classic, losing in double overtime to host UT-San Antonio 90-89 and to Chattanooga 88-63.The last time the RedHawks won a preseason tournament was in 2005 when they won the Saint Louis Billiken Classic, defeating New Orleans 90-63 and Saint Louis 62-55.
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GAME NOTES
LAST GAME: The RedHawks defeated Wright State 77-60 in Dayton on Tuesday. A 21-3 run over the final 10 minutes of the first half reversed a slow start to key the win.
Jenna Schone tallied 16 points and eight assists, while Courtney Reed added 15 points and six rebounds.Freshmen Maggie Boyer and Rachael Hencke also reached double figures, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively.
ABOUT TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN: Texas Pan-American is 4-2 on the season. Being an independent, it plays a very diverse schedule of games all across the country. The Lady Broncs' latest road trip last weekend brought them east where they fell to Lafayette, 57-51 on Saturday, Nov. 29, before defeating Rider 57-52 on Monday, Dec. 1. UT-Pan American is led by senior guard Teshay Winfrey, who averages 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Another key player is freshman forward Brittany Demery, who is second on the team in both points and rebounds at 10.5 and 5.0 per game, respectively.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between Miami and Texas-Pan American
UP NEXT FOR REDHAWKS: The championship game or the consolation game awaits Miami Saturday, depending on the result of of Friday’s game. In the other tournament match, the host Air Force takes on North Carolina Central. Miami returns to the area next Wednesday, Dec. 10 when they travel to Dayton for a special noon game. The next home game is against Butler on Sat. Dec. 13 at 2 p.m., and will be followed immediately by the men’s game agianst Valparaiso. The RedHawks will also host Murray State on Sun. Dec. 21.
2007-08 SEASON MILESTONES: While appearing in its first NCAA Tournament will always be the major highlight of the 2007-08 campaign, several players reached individual milestones that were honored. On January 29, 2008, senior point guard Amanda Jackson became the all-time leading scorer for the RedHawks, passing Heather Cusick. She finished her career with 1,979 points. Jackson also became the career leader in field goals made, field goals attempted, free throws made and total number of 20-point scoring efforts. Junior point guard Jenna Schone became the 18th RedHawk to score 1,000 points during her career. She is currently 14th on the career list with 1,121 points. Senior forward Laura Markwood had 359 rebounds for the season, the top single season performance by any Mid-American Conference player. It shattered the previous Miami single-season high by 74 caroms. She finished the season ranked seventh nationally with a 10.6 rebounds per game average.
SCHONE RUNS THE SHOW: One of the major keys to success for the 2008-09 RedHawks will be the performance of senior point guard Jenna Schone (Pickerington, Ohio). A second-team all-MAC selection a year ago, she is the top returning scorer at 13.7 points per game and was selected to the preseason All-MAC East Division team. Last season, she set Miami’s single-season assist record with 175, as well as the single-season three-point field goal record with 84. Schone ranked 29th in the nation with an assists to turnover ration of 1.95. She is currently 151 assists shy of Heather Cusick’s Miami career record of 596 and 39 three-point field goals short of Cusick’s career record of 230. So far this season she is leading the team with a 16.0 points per game average.
WELCOME BACK LEININGER: Losing senior forward Jaclyn Leininger (Winona Lake, Ind.) to an injury in a preseason scrimmage last season was a difficult blow, but the benefit is that she now returns this year to provide depth and leadership to the post position that otherwise might not be there. She showed she was fully healthy and ready to provide both scoring and rebounding from the post in her first game in over a year against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 14). She tied for the team lead with 17 points and also brought in six rebounds. She added 10 boards against IPFW (Nov. 22), as well as La Salle (Nov. 25) and leads the team with an 7.0 average.
HAWK FACTOR: One of the team’s emotional leaders is senior guard Ashley Hawkins (Henderson, Ky.). She has appeared in 93 career games, starting 43. Hawkins can play either guard position and may see time as the backup point guard this year. In the exhibition game against the Hoosier Lady Stars (Nov. 9), she had a team-high seven assists. She is currently 317 points shy of 1,000 for her career and leads the team in assists with a 4.2 average.
REED THIS YEAR’S BREAKOUT PLAYER?: Every season, one player typically makes a huge jump in her contribution from the previous year. One of the candidates for breakout player this season has to be junior guard Courtney Reed (Andrews, Ind.). Reed has appeared in 64 games in her first two seasons as a RedHawk with 11 starts, all last season. A terrific shooter, she was second on the team only to Ford, the team’s center, in shooting percentage at .465 (100-for-215). She finished the season tied for fourth on the team in scoring at 7.6 points per game. In her season debut against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 14, she scored 15 points, only one off her career high. She followed that up with 13 against IPFW (Nov. 22) and 15 against Wright State (12/2) and is now second on the team with an 11.6 scoring average.
BROWN DOES THE LITTLE THINGS: Although often overlooked by the casual fan, coaches and teammates all recognize the need for an "energy" player who will do the little things, whether it is grabbing the key rebound, diving for the loose ball or just motivating the team with her effort. Junior Ashleigh Brown (Delaware, Ohio) will fill that role for the RedHawks this season. A regular off the bench the past two seasons, she made her first career start at forward against Eastern Illinois (11/14). In 23 minutes of action, she scored three points and corralled six boards. A very versatile player, Brown will often shift to a guard position during the game when Coach Fantanarosa wants a taller lineup on the floor and that was especially true on Nov. 25 against La Salle. With guards Maggie Boyer, Briana Dunlap and Michelle Oswalt all out with injuries, Brown started at guard and responded with a career-high 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting, and also recorded five rebounds, two assists, two block, three steals and zero turnovers in 35 minutes of play. This season she ranks fifth on the team with 5.8 points per game.
FORD TOUGH: Senior center Stephanie Ford (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named the team’s most improved player last season, and the carryover appears to have continued this year. In the exhibition game against the Hoosier Lady Stars, Ford came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, which would have been a career high in a regular game. She accomplished that on 8-of-10 shooting in only 16 minutes of action. After being primarily a bench contributor her first two seasons, Ford moved into the starting lineup in 2007-08, starting 28-of-34 games. She averaged 7.6 points and was second on the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. She recorded 51 blocks, which tied for the best single-season performance in Miami history. Ford currently has 68 career blocks, which is seventh on the RedHawks’ all-time list.
BOYER’S IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: The jump from high school to college is difficult, and there is always a learning curve, but freshman guard Maggie Boyer (Lebanon, Ind.) showed she might not take that much time to adjust after scoring 17 points in her first career game against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 14). Boyer shot 6-for-12 and hit three 3-point baskets,. She also recorded two assists and played 27 minutes, the second most on the team. In her second game against IPFW (Nov. 22) she had to leave early with an injury. She returned on a limited basis against Wake Forest (Nov. 29), playing 10 minutes. Boyer rebounded with 13 points and three 3-point baskets against Wright State (12/2). She is currently fourth on the team averaging 8.8 points per game.
WISNER CLEANS UP BOARDS: Another freshman with a strong start to her college career is forward Erin Wisner (Solon, Ohio). She had a team-high seven rebounds against Eastern Illinois in only 16 minutes of action. She currently ranks tied for second on the team with an average of 5.4 rebounds per game. Wisner had a breakout game against Wake Forest, scoring several put-back layups, and finshing with 11 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
THE NEWCOMERS: Six freshmen make up one of the strongest recruiting classes on paper in Miami history. The class includes Michelle Oswalt (Lafayette, Ind.), who was originally part of last year’s class, but an injury caused her to miss the season, and she made her Miami debut against Eastern Illinois. She is joined in the backcourt by Maggie Boyer and Ariel Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio). In the front court are Erin Wisner, Rachael Hencke (Grafton, Wisc.) and Lillian Pitts (Shaker Heights, Ohio).
Hencke had a breakout game against Wright State (12/2). She scored 10 points and hit 6-for-8 from the line in only 13 minutes of action. Boyer, a finalist for Miss Basketball in Indiana, also played well coming off an injury, scoring 13 points.
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