Feb. 26, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami women's basketball team got back on the winning track Saturday with a 77-64 victory over Akron. During the game Courtney Osborn became the 19th player in school history to score 1,000 points during her career. She finished with 26 for the contest to lead the RedHawks. Miami improves to 11-17 overall and 3-12 in the Mid-American Conference. Akron falls to 13-14 overall and 6-9 in the MAC.
Osborn's historic points came at the 6:54 mark of the first half. With the shot clock about to expire and the Akron defender playing her tight, Osborn slipped to her left and heaved a three-point shot at the basket that went in. She is the first player to reach the 1,000-point mark during her sophomore season.
Miami had one of its best runs to start a game this season during the first eight minutes of the contest Saturday. Kirsten Olowinski scored six quick points to give the RedHawks a 10-4 lead. Osborn followed with a three-pointer and a jumper to make it 15-4. Finally back-to-back layups from Maggie Boyer and Olowinski gave Miami a 19-4 advantage and force the Zips to use their second timeout of the game.
Akron answered with a 12-7 run out of the timeout to get within nine points. Two three-pointers from Osborn, including the one that got her to 1,000 career points, pushed the lead back to 13 at 32-19. The teams played even for the rest of the half as Miami went into the break in front, 38-25.
The RedHawks shot 50 percent (16-for-32) during the first half, while holding the Zips to 33.3 percent (9-for-27) shooting. Osborn had 13 points, while Olowinski had 11 during the period.
Forcing the ball inside to begin the second half created free throw opportunities that allowed Miami to increase its advantage. Olowinski and Rachael Hencke each hit their free throws to make it 45-29 with 17:05 remaining. A three-pointer and a layup from Osborn gave the RedHawks a 20-point advantage at 50-30. The Zips would close to within 15 at 53-38, but an old fashioned three-point play from Hencke, a layup by Lillian Pitts, four free throws from Boyer and a layup by Almady gave Miami its largest lead at 64-42 with 8:50 to go. Akron would hit some three-point baskets down the stretch, but never got closer than 11 points as the RedHawks came away with a 77-64 win.
Olowinski recorded her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. That puts her alone in second for most double-doubles during a season. Boyer finished with 12 points, while Hannah Robertson recorded seven assists for the second straight game. Miami ended up shooting 50 percent for the contest (26-for-52), while the Zips finished at 37.5 percent (21-for-56).
The RedHawks will conclude the regular season at Ohio Wednesday at 7 p.m. Miami can move up to the 11th seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament with a victory.
