Feb. 18, 2012
Final Stats
BUFFALO, N.Y. - A monster game by junior forward Kirsten Olowinski led the Miami University women's basketball team from a one-point halftime deficit to a 66-50 win over Buffalo on Saturday afternoon. Olowinski finished with a season-high 22 points and brought in a career-high tying 19 rebounds. It was her 10th double-double of the season. The RedHawks improve to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls fall to 7-20 overall and 2-11 in the MAC.
The first half was quite a battle as the lead changed hands eight times and it was tied five other times. Two baskets from Olowinski, a layup from Hannah Robertson and a three-pointer from Maggie Boyer gave Miami its biggest lead of the half at 11-5 at the 14:21 mark. Boyer converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make 14-9 with 13:28 to go. Buffalo responded with a 12-6 run to create its biggest lead at 23-20 at the 8:13 mark.
A three-pointer from Boyer and a layup from Erica Almady off a nice pass from Haley Robertson gave the Red and White the advantage right back at 25-23. In front 28-27, a jumper by Boyer put Miami up three, but back-to-back layups by the Bulls would send Buffalo into the break ahead, 31-30.
Courtney Osborn had a tough shooting day on Saturday, but she turned distributor, dishing out a team-leading eight assists. She nailed a three-pointer to begin the second half, putting Miami back in front. It pushed her past the 1,500-point mark for the career; she is the sixth player in school history to score more than 1,500 points.
In front by two at 40-38, Olowinski hit a triple to send momentum back to the RedHawk side. After two Rachael Hencke free throws, a 5-0 run by the Bulls pulled them to within one at 45-44 with 9:24 to go. The team began to look inside to Olowinski on nearly every play as she hit three layups to key an 11-2 answer that gave Miami a 10-point lead at 56-46 with 5:12 remaining.
The RedHawks defense clamped down the during the last 10 minutes of the game forcing several outside shots that missed with Olowinski there inside to collect the rebound. Buffalo would get as close as nine at 58-49 on two Brittney Hedderson free throws, but an Osborn three-pointer would put Miami back up 12 and put the game out of reach.
Olowinski was 8-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range. Boyer finished with 13 points, and did a great job on HeddersonÂÂ, holding her to 13 points. That is nearly eight points under her scoring average. The RedHawks outrebounded the Bulls, 48-35, for the game.
Miami returns home on Wednesday to take on Akron. Note that the game time has been changed for this contest to a noon start. It is part of the "Goals for Life" game that will see the RedHawks host Talawanda Middle School for the day. Several groups around campus will be involved to provide the sixth, seventh and eighth graders a morning field trip experience that works on the goals of leadership development, being your best and goal setting, followed by the game-day experience at Millett Hall.
