Feb. 6, 2010

Final Stats Photo Gallery

OXFORD, Ohio - Western Michigan used strong shooting all day, plus a couple timely baskets down the stretch to hold off Miami, 75-69, on Saturday afternoon. The loss spoiled a career game for freshman forward Kirsten Olowinski. She recorded her second double-double of the season with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. The RedHawks fall to 6-17 overall and 4-6 in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos are 7-16 overall and 2-8 in the MAC.

Western Michigan jumped to a 9-3 lead to begin the game. Jumpers from Maggie Boyer and Ashleigh Brown, along with two from Olowinski helped pull the RedHawks even at 11-11. Miami briefly took the lead at 17-14 off a three-point play from Olowinski and a three-pointer by Courtney Osborn. WMU responded with a 14-4 run to give itself a 29-21 advantage with 6:33 remaining in the period. The RedHawks defense held tough from there, holding the Broncos to only seven more points the rest of the half. However they were only able to score nine themselves and went into the break trailing 36-30.

The Broncos opened up the second half on a 14-7 run to take a 50-37 advantage with 14:14 to go. Courtney Reed and Rachael Hencke each hit layups, along with a Hencke free throw to pull Miami to within nine at 51-42. Western Michigan followed with five straight points to open up its largest lead of the game at 56-42 with exactly 10 minutes left.

Miami did not give in as its offense began to take over. After a quick timeout, Olowinski hit back-to-back jumpers to spark 9-3 run that closed the deficit to 59-51. The Broncos pushed the lead back to 10, but Olowinski answered with a three-point play to make it 63-56. A jumper by Hencke and a free throw from Olowinski cut the advantage down to four at 64-60 with 2:35 to play. After WMU hit a free throw, Taylor Manley followed with a layup as the shot clock expired to put the Broncos back up seven. That proved to be the dagger, as they hit their free throws down the stretch and held on for the 75-69 victory.

In addition to Olowinski's 25 points, Reed scored 12 and Hencke had 11. Western Michigan shot 46.9 percent (23-for-49) for the game, while Miami shot 40.0 percent (22-for-55).

The RedHawks outrebounded the Broncos 35-33. Miami hits the road for its next contest when it travels to Eastern Michigan Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game.