Jan. 28, 2003
Final Stats
OXFORD, Ohio-In a story that has been written too many times this season, Miami University's women's basketball team wrote a different ending Tuesday night, rallying from a 21-point first-half deficit to nip Eastern Michigan University, 83-79, in overtime and extend a three-game winning streak.
Coming off its worst shooting performance of the season, Miami remained ice cold in the first half as Eastern Michigan rolled out to a commanding 23-8 advantage after a Nikki Knapp 3-point play at 8:32. Miami hit just two of its first 12 field goal attempts and found itself down by 20 points at 40-20 with 1:49 remaining in the half. Eastern Michigan shot 47 percent from the field, while Miami, which finished with a flurry that included three 3-point field goals, hit 39 percent from the floor. EMU, which had eight first-half steals, led 43-25 at the half.
In one of the few bright spots of the first half, Miami senior Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:50 remaining in the half that elevated her to 209 career treys and broke Miami's career record for 3-point field goals. Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) led Miami in scoring in the half, burying 4-of-7 field goals and finishing with nine points.
Cusick, who was coming off a season-low five points at Buffalo last Saturday, got Miami off to a quick start in the second half, single-handedly taking the RedHawks on a 6-2 run out of the gates and closing the Red and White to within 14 points by the 17:15 mark. Miami's offense picked up steam in the second half, closing to within 11 by the 12-minute mark, but the Eagles, who continued to get to the basket, made it difficult to gain ground and rebuilt their lead to 15 with under 11 minutes to play.
Not about to go down without a fight, Cusick drained back-to-back treys and brought Miami back to within single digits, 57-48, for the first time since the 13-minute mark of the first half. A tip-in by Beth Roederer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) at 6:42 kept Miami on the move and forced EMU to call a timeout at 6:30, leading by just five points. Miami's run continued with a Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) put-back over her own shot that closed the Eagle lead to just three points.
After a 4-0 Eagle run rebuilt EMU's lead to seven, Miami surged again, getting a Jana Butler (Findlay, Ohio/Liberty-Benton) put-back and a three-point play from Cusick that knotted the score at 63-63 with 2:08 to play. A Roederer layup with 1:50 to play gave Miami its first lead of the night at 65-63. It became a battle of free throws from there, as four straight Eagle free throws and a pair of Butler charity tosses left the score tied at 67-67 with under 30 seconds to play. Both teams missed shots on their final possessions and the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, Miami's program record-tying third overtime outing this season, the RedHawks built a 70-67 lead with a Day free throw and Butler jumper. After an EMU layup closed the margin back to within one point, Roederer, who missed a 3-pointer in Miami's last possession of regulation, bagged a back-breaking 24-foot trey that sent Miami on its way to its third straight win.
The RedHawks, who placed six players in double figures, were led by Cusick, who tallied 26 points. Butler added 13 points, while Day and Roederer each contributed 12 and Lancaster and Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name), who drained five overtime free throws, added 10 apiece.
Miami is off this weekend and returns to action next Monday when it travels to defending MAC West Champion Ball State University for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The RedHawks' next home date is Saturday, Feb. 8 when they take on defending MAC East Champion Kent State University at 2 p.m.
