Mid-American Conference

Note: Game stories are courtesy of home sports information departments

Miami Clinches Quarterfinal Bid With Win Over Akron

OXFORD, Ohio-Miami University's women's basketball team qualified for its third consecutive Mid-American Conference Quarterfinal Saturday afternoon in Millett Hall, coasting past the University of Akron, 80-60, in first-round MAC tournament action.

With the win, Miami, the No. 4 seed, advances to Cleveland to face fifth-seeded Western Michigan University at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Gund Arena. The RedHawks, who have won six straight games, advance to the quarterfinal round for the 13th time since the tournament field was expanded to include a quarterfinal round in 1988 and face a Bronco team they defeated, 71-58, on Jan. 5.

Following a sluggish start by both teams, Miami found itself leading a feisty Akron squad just 14-10 at the 11-minute mark. Sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Melanie Kozlowski (Parma, Ohio/Holy Name) and Heather Cusick (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), however, the RedHawks took off on a 25-4 run and never truly looked back.

After trailing by as many as 25 at 41-16, the Zips finished on a 10-3 run and took advantage of poor Miami free throw shooting to reduce the halftime deficit to 44-26.

In the first half, Miami was led by three players in double figures, including Kim Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton), who netted 12, Cusick who poured in 11 and Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name), who netted 10. Cusick also totaled four assists in the half to surpass Carrie Kent (1993-97) as Miami's all-time assist leader.

Akron was never able to mount a serious threat in the second half, as Miami opened the half on a 16-6 run and led by 28 at the 14:38 mark. Battling a large second-half deficit, the Zips continued to battle till the end, reducing the Miami advantage to 17 over the next seven minutes but never pulling any closer.

Pacing the RedHawks, who improved to 18-10, were four players in double figures, led by Lancaster's game-high 19 points. Cusick added 15 points, six assists and four steals, while Day and Kozlowski contributed double-doubles of 14 points-12 rebounds and 10 points-10 rebounds, respectively.

Akron, which finished the season at 1-27, was led by Jen Arnold's 10 points.

Western Michigan Upends Rival Central Michigan To Advance To Quarterfinals

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University women's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 Mid-American Conference Tournament with 77-67 victory over Central Michigan Saturday (March 2) at University Arena.

The No. 5 seeded Broncos (16-14) will face No. 4 Miami Wednesday (March 6) at 4:30 p.m. at Gund Arena in Cleveland.

WMU fell 71-58 at Miami Jan. 5 in the only meeting between the two schools during the regular season.

Western Michigan came out of the gates flying and never looked back in winning for the third time this season against Central Michigan. WMU scored the game's first 10 points and 25 of the first 30 points. The Broncos were up by as many as 24 in the opening half and carried a 37-17 advantage in the locker room at halftime.

"We did a really nice job defensively," WMU head coach and MAC Coach of the Year candidate Ron Stewart said. "We tried to take some of their shooters out of the game and did an excellent job on key people."

The Broncos limited CMU to a .233 (7-30) field goal percentage in the first half and a .360 mark for the game. Western Michigan also held a commanding 50-33 lead on the boards Saturday.

Senior Karen Deurloo posted her second straight 20-point effort at University Arena, finishing with a game-high 21 on 9-13 shooting. She also collected eight rebounds. Emily Samuelson reached double digits in points for the first time in three games with 14. Kristin Koetsier (13) and Curleta Harris (11) both reached double figures in scoring. Koetsier also hauled in eight caroms. MAC Freshman of the Year candidate Casey Rost topped the Broncos with nine boards.

"I realized this could have been my last game ever," Deurloo said. "You just leave it all out on the floor and do whatever it takes to make sure it isn't."

Five different Broncos scored during WMU's 25-5 run to open the game. Samuelson connected on both of her 3-pointers in that span. Harris came off the bench to knock down a 3 to give Western Michigan a 20-5 lead.

"Western Michigan is a very good team," CMU head coach Eileen Kleinfelter said. "They're very strong, quick, and physical. We got out-muscled."

WMU advances to Cleveland for the first time since 2000, when the Broncos fell 64-55 to Toledo in the tournament semifinals. Last season Western Michigan lost at home to Bowling Green in the opening round.

"When Kristin and I got here, this is what we were supposed to do," Deurloo said of advancing to Cleveland. "Our intensity was a big factor. We definitely wanted it today and it showed."

Northern Illinois Advances To Quarters With 56-41 Win Over Buffalo

DeKALB, IL---Jennifer Youngblood (Rock Island) scored 14 points and Lindsay Secrest (Bloomfield, IN) added 13 as Northern Illinois defeated Buffalo 56-41 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament here Saturday afternoon (March 2).

The Huskies took the first step in the chase for the league title, winning their third game in a row and improving to 16-12 overall. Northern Illinois, which entered the tournament as the sixth seed, also avenged a 50-39 regular-season loss to the Bulls. Eleventh seed Buffalo finishes the season at 9-19 overall after its ninth consecutive loss.

Youngblood tallied ten of her points in the opening half as Northern Illinois built a 30-22 lead at intermission and never looked back. Buffalo scored the game's first five points but didn't hit the scoreboard again for nearly six minutes. Youngblood had NIU's first six points before Secrest canned a short jumper for an 8-5 lead. UB's Jessica Kochendorfer ended the visitors' drought with two free throws at the 12:27 mark but the Huskies used another 5-0 run for a 13-7 lead on Secrest's three-pointer.

Erin Lawrenson hit a 17-footer with 9:20 left in the half for UB's first field goal in nine minutes but Northern Illinois could not deliver the knockout punch. The Bulls climbed to within 23-20 before a Stephanie Smith (Huntley / Hampshire) three-pointer helped send the Huskies to the locker room with the eight-point advantage.

NIU quickly pushed the lead into double digits as Jamie Wilson's (Reynoldsburg, OH) jumper in the lane gave NIU a 34-24 lead with 15:59 to play. The margin grew to 13 on another Secrest triple at the 12:21 mark and Buffalo could get no closer than eight the rest of the way. The Huskies led by as many as 17 on Secrest's third three-pointer before Kochendorfer's basket beat the final horn.

Secrest had a season-high 18 points against Central Michigan on Tuesday (Feb. 26) and is now averaging 15.5 points per game in her last two outings.

"I've actually been trying to focus on my defense, and hope my offense would come," Secrest said. "By relaxing and putting it out of my mind, my shot has come back. It is a relief to finally be shooting well."

Northern Illinois limited UB to 26.7 percent (eight-of-30) shooting in the second half and 30.4 percent (17-of-56) for the game. The Huskies' defense also forced 26 Buffalo turnovers leading to 25 points. That combination was more than enough to offset NIU's 40 percent (22-of-55) shooting and the Bulls' 40-35 rebounding advantage.

"Thank God for defense. That's certainly what we're about," Northern Illinois coach Carol Hammerle said. "Our ball pressure was tremendous and we really made it difficult for Buffalo to run any part of their offense."

Youngblood was seven-of-ten from the field and grabbed nine rebounds for the Huskies while Secrest's five-of-ten performance featured three three-pointers to go with five rebounds and four steals. Smith added five of NIU's 17 thefts with Kim Boeding (Fort Madison, IA) and Wilson each scoring eight points. Monique Davis (Columbus, OH / Marion-Franklin) had six points and six assists.

Northern Illinois shot only 22.7 percent (15-of-66) in the regular-season loss to the Bulls, representing the worst performance by a Huskie team in 14 years.

"I felt last time we played Buffalo, our offense was very stagnant," Hammerle added. "So we focused on that this week, and we really worked hard on attacking their zone today."

Kochendorfer registered a "double-double" with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Erin Lawrenson added 12 points and Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe had ten. Rachel Martin pulled down 14 rebounds, seven at each end for UB.

NIU stands at four games above the .500 mark for the first time in seven years. The Huskies were 17-13 before a first-round (90-44) loss at Vanderbilt University in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 17, 1995.

Northern Illinois advances to the tournament quarterfinals, meeting third seed University of Toledo in Wednesday's (March 6) final game at 9:30 p.m. (EST). Top seed Kent State University faces No. 8 seed Ohio University at 2 p.m., followed by fourth seed Miami University versus No. 5 seed Western Michigan University at 4:30 and a 7 p.m. match-up between second seed Ball State University and No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan University.

Eastern Michigan Avenges Last Year's First Round Loss To Defeat Marshall, 68-49

YPSILANTI-- Junior Dru Bishop scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds as seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan eliminated 10th seed Marshall from the 2002 Kraft Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, 68-49, here at the Convocation Center. With the win, Eastern stays alive in the MAC tournament race and improves to 18-10 on the season. Marshall's season ended with a 9-19 mark.

Ida Dotson led Marshall in scoring with 17 points.

Freshman Erika Ford tallied the game's first points, connecting on a layup following a game-opening steal. Dotson converted on two free throws to tie the game at 2-2, but Marshall wouldnÀt score again for the next four and a half minutes. During that spurt, the Eagles jumped out to an 11-2 lead. Marshall pulled to within four, 14-10, with 11:00 remaining in the first half, but a 13-6 Eastern run over the last six minutes of the game's first frame put the Eagles in the lead by 11 points, 31-20. Sophomore Marian Crandall hit an off-balance jumper as time expired in the half, and Eastern led 33-20, equaling their biggest lead of the first half.

Marshall came out of the gates strong in the beginning stages of the second half, pulling to within seven points on an early 8-2 spurt. But an 8-0 Eastern run over the next four minutes gave the Eagles a commanding 43-30 lead with 13:20 remaining in the game. The Herd pulled to within ten points, 50-40, on four consecutive free throws by Au'Yana Ferguson, but would get no closer. The Eagles ended the game on an 18-9 run to secure the win.

Despite being outrebounded by the Herd, 40-36, Eastern held Marshall to 25.5-percent shooting from the field, including a 18-percent first-half performance. The Eagles shot 44.4-percent overall.

Senior Stephanie Smiley, in her last game at the Convocation Center, scored 15 points and pulled in four rebounds. Abby Wiseman totaled 10 points, and was 8-of-12 from the free throw line. She also had seven boards. Ford scored 10 points, and tallied season-highs with seven rebounds and five assists. Amy Reed scored 15 points for Marshall.

EMU is next in action Wednesday, Mar. 6, at 7:00 p.m. when they face MAC-West champion and second seed Ball State in the tournament quarterfinals at Gund Arena, in Cleveland, OH. The Eagles were 1-1 against the Cardinals during the regular season.

EASTERN MICHIGAN HEAD COACH SUZY MERCHANT

"Marshall is a very physical and aggressive team. Overall, we played well. We don't play their style of basketball, so it was a quality first-round win for us."

"Ball State is a great team, and we are going to have to play our best game to have a chance to advance to the third round."

Ohio Retuns To Cleveland For Second Straight Year With Win Over Bowling Green

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio had four players score in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from senior Lori Moorman (Pickerington) as the Bobcats defeated Bowling Green, 74-68, in the first round of the 2002 Kraft Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the Convocation Center.

Moorman helped to key Ohio's victory, scoring the first six points of the second half after the Bobcats trailed 37-31 at the half. She also aided the run in the final six minutes that carried Ohio to victory, scoring the go-ahead lay-up with 5:36 to break what was the sixth tie of the second half. The Bobcats then turned to junior Beckie Fischer (Cincinnati) for the next three points, putting Ohio ahead 63-58 with 3:24 left. Bowling Green got to within two points one minute later, but that is as close as the Falcons would get. Ohio made seven of ten free throws in the final minute to seal the victory and clinch their second straight appearance in the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals.

Bowling Green took control early in the first half and led throughout. The Falcons led 9-1 after the first five and a half minutes and eventually forged ahead by as much as ten at 14-4. Ohio crept back after scoring 13 of the next 17 points, making it an 18-17 Bowling Green lead, but the Falcons then responded and held several eight-point leads before settling for the six-point halftime advantage.

"We were a nervous wreck," said Ohio coach Lynn Bria of the 9-1 start. "Not that we weren't trying, we were trying too hard. I felt like if we got settled down, we would do better. I'm kind of glad when we kind of just ease into the game, because we tend to play a better overall game."

Playing a better overall game in the second half, Ohio turned to its inside game and used rebounding to its advantage. The Bobcats, who had outrebounded their opponent in just five of 27 regular season games, were deadlocked with the Falcons in the rebounding department at halftime. They grabbed 25 of the 40 rebounds in the second period and finished with 45, marking Ohio's second-highest single-game total of the season. Its highest carom total (47) came in the overtime win at Bowling Green on Feb. 5.

Contributing to the inside success were Moorman and Fischer, who were each five for eight shooting in the second half. Fischer grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, including seven in the second period, while point guard Andrea Gay (Roanoke, Va.) had a career-best nine caroms. Gay also added 10 points and four assists for the Bobcats, who improved to 13-15 with the victory.

Bowling Green, which ends its season at 9-19, was led by center Kelly Kapferer with 16 points and six rebounds. Lindsay Austin finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Stefanie Wenzel had 12 points and four assists. The Falcons took 75 field goal attempts for the game, making 30. They were six for 23 from three-point range and went to the line just four times, making two.

Ohio, the number eight seed, will take on top-seeded Kent State on Wednesday at Gund Arena in Cleveland. The first of four quarterfinal contests, the Bobcats and Golden Flashes will start at 2 p.m. Kent State (17-10) defeated Ohio by a 92-42 score in the regular-season finale for both teams last Tuesday in Kent.