Feb. 22, 2012
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University women's basketball clinched a double-bye to the quarterfinals of the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament with an 84-76 victory over Akron Wednesday afternoon. The game was part of the Goals for Life event that saw over 800 students in attendance from Talawanda Middle School. The RedHawks improve to 20-7 overall with their third straight victory and 10-4 in the MAC. The Zips fall to 12-16 overall and 6-8 in the MAC.
Courtney Osborn led an explosive offensive attack that featured five players in double-figures. She finished the game with 21 points. Kirsten Olowinski had her second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Maggie Boyer contributed 15 points, while Lillian Pitts and Hannah Robertson had 12 points apiece.
Miami quickly jumped to a 14-5 advantage as it hit four layups, while Boyer drained a three-pointer. An 11-4 run by Akron pulled the Zips to within two at 18-16 at the 10:31 mark. The fast pace to the game continued as baskets by Pitts and Osborn, along with an old-fashioned three-point play from Haley Robertson would give the RedHawks a 25-18 lead with 8:25 to go. A jumper by Olowinski and a three-pointer from Osborn would make it a nine-point advantage at 30-21 at the 7:18 mark.
Akron would respond with a 7-2 run over the next seven minutes to pull within four at 32-28. Osborn found Boyer for a huge three-pointer with 23 seconds to go to push the advantage back to seven. The Zips got one back on a jumper to send Miami into the break up five, 35-30.
The RedHawks hit 50 percent (15-for-30) of their shots in the first half, while holding the Zips to 38.7 percent (12-for-31) shooting. Osborn led the way with 12 points and four assists in the frame.
Akron scored the first eight points of the second half to take a three-point lead and force a quick Miami timeout. A jumper by Olowinski would stop the bleeding for the RedHawks. She was fouled and converted the free throw to tie the score at 38. The lead would change hands three more times as the teams traded buckets until it was tied at 51 with 12:28 to go.
A layup by Pitts on a backdoor cut pass from Osborn at the 11:48 mark would begin the run that would give Miami control of the game. Another three-pointer from Boyer was part of a 9-0 run that gave the Red and White a 60-51 lead. In front 70-61, a 6-2 run in which Hannah Robertson hit two jumpers and two free throws would give Miami its largest advantage at 74-61 at the 4:03 mark. Akron did not give up as a 13-4 run over the next two and a half minutes would pull the Zips to within four at 78-74. The defense stiffened for the RedHawks as they would not allow Akron to score again until they hit a layup with seven seconds remaining. Miami hit its free throws down the stretch to secure the 84-76 win.
The Red and White ended up shooting 48.3 percent (29-for-60) for the game, while holding the Zips to 37.1 percent (26-for-70) shooting. In addition to her 21 points, Osborn had a game high seven assists to go with a block, five rebounds and two steals. Pitts contributed six rebounds and two blocks to go with her 12 points. Akron outrebounded Miami, 41-37, for the game.
The RedHawks hit the road for the final time this regular season when they travel to Bowling Green Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest. Miami will complete the regular season on Tuesday when it hosts Ohio at 7 p.m. That game is Senior Day, and Boyer, Pitts and Rachael Hencke will each be honored in a pregame ceremony.
