RedHawks stomp Bobcats

by Jenny Hugenberg
Staff Writer

The Ohio women's basketball team went into last night's game prepared to take over the fourth place spot in the Mid-American Conference, but the Miami RedHawks had another idea, sweeping through the Bobcats with a score of 82-59.

"We were ready to go before the game started," guard Ronita Whitfield said. "We just got off to a slow start and tried to come back in the second half, but it was too late."

Miami (13-9 overall, 7-5 MAC) forward Kim Lancaster picked up the tip off for the RedHawks and forward Colleen Day scored the first two points. Ohio (8-16, 5-8) got on the board when Whitfield tied the game at two with a jumper.

RedHawks' guard Beth Roederer scored a jumper and then a three-pointer to put Miami ahead 7-2. Whitfield closed the gap for Ohio to three with a jumper at 16:48.

From there, Miami went on a 13-0 run to increase its lead to 20-4. Whitfield finally broke the RedHawks' scoring streak with another jumper.

Miami went ahead by 19 at 27-8 with 8:37 remaining in the first half and never looked back The Bobcats came within 15 at 37-22 but never got closer than that.

The RedHawks took their biggest lead of the game, ahead 43-22 with 22 seconds remaining in the first half. Guard Andrea Gay finished out the first half with a three-pointer to put Ohio behind 43-25 at the close of the half.

Ohio's first half scoring was done primarily by Whitfield, who had 12 points. The next leading scorer was Gay with three. Five other Bobcats had two points each. Miami's leading scorer was point guard Heather Cusick with 10.

Miami not only led by 18 points at the half but led in almost every other statistical category as well. The RedHawks shot .720 from the field compared to Ohio's .391 mark. Miami also led in rebounds and assists, and only committed eight turnovers, while the Bobcats committed 10.

"We could have played a lot more aggressively in the first half," Whitfield said. "With Miami shooting at 72 percent, we obviously weren't applying enough pressure."

Ohio looked as if they had picked up the intensity coming out in the second half when guard Heather Laughlin hit a quick three-pointer.

Miami had other plans though. The RedHawks increased their lead to 28 after three quick jump shots in a row by Lancaster. Two free throws by Ohio forward Lori Moorman closed the gap to 26, but Miami quickly put down another jump shot.

Laughlin and guard Cathy Szall netted three-pointers to put the Bobcats behind by 22 at 59-37. Ohio came within 16 of the RedHawks with 6:24 remaining in the game, but was not able to catch up. The game concluded with a Miami victory, 82-59.

"A lot of our mistakes came down to execution," Szall said. "When you dig a hole like we did in the first half, it's hard to work your way out of it."

Four Bobcats ended in double figures. Whitfield led the pack with 13 points, followed by Moorman with 12, Szall with 11 and Laughlin with 10 points. Miami's leading scorer was Lancaster with 19 points.

Ohio ended the game with a .321 shooting percentage, while Miami shot .667 for the game.

"We need to make adjustments in our defense," Ohio coach Lynn Bria said. "I'm not going to sit and watch a team shoot 72 percent against us again. We need to get in the paint and stop the shooters."

Ohio's next game is at 12 p.m. Saturday at Kent State.