March 17, 2004
Final Stats
CINCINNATI-Miami University's women's basketball team cleansed itself of the sour taste left by a recent MAC Semifinal loss Wednesday night in the Cintas Center, knocking out Xavier University, 77-65, behind five players in double figures. The Red and White advances to the second round and will travel to Iowa State University Friday to take on the Cyclones as one of 16 remaining teams.
Led by freshman Amanda Jackson, Miami went on the attack out of the gates, scoring on five of its first six possessions and building a 10-6 lead by 15:29. Jackson tallied eight of Miami's first 12 points as the RedHawks led by as many as six early. Xavier recovered quickly, tallying four of their first six field goals from beyond the 3-point arc and claiming its first lead of the game, 16-14, at 12:16.
Xavier's lead would peak at four, but the RedHawks came roaring back with a 9-0 run aided by four Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) points and capped by a Jackson trey at 9:13. Trailing 23-18, the Musketeers retaliated by going at the basket and assembling a 10-2 run of their own to build a 28-25 edge with 5:30 remaining in the half. In a half dominated by runs, Miami spoke last, draining four treys and outscoring Xavier 16-2 over the remainder of the half and building a 43-30 halftime edge.
Miami, which scorched the Musketeers with 53.1 percent shooting from the floor, was paced in the half by Jackson's 11 points and three assists. Day chipped in 10 points and four rebounds, while Nicki Motto (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) tallied two treys and five assists. Xavier committed 10 turnovers and was restricted to 40.7 percent shooting.
After Miami tallied the first bucket of the second half to stake a 15-point lead, Xavier began to claw its way back, closing to within 51-41 at 15:24. Miami recovered with buckets by Jackson and Cindi Merrill (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and rebuilt its edge to 55-41 by the first media timeout. The fight was far from over, and by the 10-minute mark, Xavier had rallied back to within 57-47.
With its offense struggling mightily, Miami turned up the intensity on the defensive end of the court. The RedHawks went without a score for more than four minutes but allowed only one Musketeer bucket during the stretch and at 7:32, the Red and White still maintained a 10-point edge. Merrill pushed the edge to 12 with a drive to the hoop, and, after Xavier was whistled for a technical, Motto connected on a free throw and 3-pointer to give Miami its largest edge at 67-51 with 5:52 remaining.
Xavier rallied to within 10 three times in the final five minutes but could not get within single digits of the RedHawks, who converted 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch. Miami forced 22 Xavier turnovers on the night, while committing a season-low 10 of its own.
Leading the RedHawks was Day, who poured in 18 points and snared nine rebounds. Jackson added 16 points, five steals and four assists, while Merrill contributed 14 points, seven boards and six assists. Rounding out Miami's double-figure scorers were Motto, who tallied 12 points and dished seven assists, and Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton), who tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.
With the win, Miami improves to 22-8 on the season, totaling the third-highest single-season win total in program history. The win was Miami's first in a national postseason tournament since the 1982 AIAW tournament.
