March 8, 2012
Box Score
CLEVELAND--In its quarterfinal game in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Miami University's women's basketball team suffered a 78-64 loss to No. 5 seed Central Michigan University (19-14) on Thursday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.
The No. 4 seed RedHawks (21-9) were led by junior forward Kirsten Olowinski with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Senior forward Lillian Pitts led all players with a career-high 18 rebounds, while junior guard Courtney Osborn handed out 10 assists. Sophomore guard Haley Robertson and senior guard Maggie Boyer were the other RedHawks in double figures with 11 points apiece.
The RedHawks quickly built a 10-4 lead in the opening minutes of the game and held a six-point advantage, 12-6, with 13:44 left in the half off an Olowinski jumper. Central Michigan climbed back, using a 5-0 run to claim a one-point edge at the 8:22 mark, 16-15.
A 6-0 RedHawk flurry, spurred by an Osborn triple, gave Miami a five-point lead with 5:33 remaining in the opening half, 23-18. A sophomore guard Haley Robertson jumper at the 3:02 mark pushed the RedHawk lead to eight points, 28-20. The Chippewas, however, went on a 9-2 surge to close out the half, leaving Miami with a one-point edge heading into the locker room, 30-29.
After a 33-33 deadlock with 17:31 remaining, Central Michigan rattled off six unanswered points to take a 39-33 lead by the 15:06 mark. Miami battled back with sophomore guards Hannah Robertson and Haley Robertson pouring in two and six points, respectively, to hand the RedHawks a 41-40 edge with 10:46 remaining.
Central Michigan's Crystal Bradford tossed in a layup to reclaim the lead, but Boyer sunk a 3-pointer at the 10:15 mark to give Miami a two-point edge, 44-42. CMU put together a 13-0 run to take a 55-44 lead with 7:53 left.
Miami was able to close within six points with help from free throws by Pitts and Olowinski, but CMU knocked down a triple and tossed in a layup to reclaim a double-figure lead with 2:50 remaining, 68-57. The RedHawks were never able to recover and ended their stint in the MAC Tournament with a 14-point loss to the Chippewas.
Jas'mine Bracey led CMU with a game-high 21 points, while Bradford tallied 19 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. Jessica Green was the other Chippewa in double figures with 17 points and also recorded four blocked shots.
Miami will now wait to see if its season will continue with a potential WNIT or WBI postseason tournament berth.
