< Back | Home

Senior gaurd Amanda Jackson drives past a Kent State defender Wednesday night in Millett Hall. Miami picked up an important win after a disappointing loss to BGSU.

'Hawks regain confidence in win over Golden Flashes

By: Dan Kukla

Posted: 2/29/08

Coming off of a disappointing defeat in a match up against conference leader Bowling Green State University, the Miami University women's basketball team rebounded to a convincing 76-59 win over Kent State University.

"We were so tired, watching us on the tape in that Bowling Green game," said Miami Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa. "We were flat, we didn't have legs. I think we're still actually recovering from how flat we played. This was a huge challenge for us to get our confidence back."

The key to the RedHawks' victory was their domination of the offensive boards. Miami had 19 offensive rebounds while Kent State only had five. Forwards Laura Markwood and Stephanie Ford led the 'Hawks with 21 combined total rebounds during the night, giving the team several crucial put back chances that allowed it to establish a lead.

"Rebounding is my passion," Markwood said. "Every game I challenge the team to just rebound. To just go after every board they can. If we keep that up, we're definitely going all the way."

Wednesday's game was a tale of two halves for the 'Hawks. In the opening 12 minutes of play, Miami shot a blistering 50 percent from behind the arc, connecting on seven of 14 attempts from the three-point range. When the first half buzzer sounded, the Red and White had taken a staggering total 21 three-point shots.

In the second half, however, Miami moved inside the paint. The barrage of treys in the first half opened up space down low for posting up and driving in the lane.

"We changed our offense up in the second half," Fantanarosa said. "We went to more of an aggressive, open-post, penetrate, slashing type just to change things up a bit."

A direct result of this strategy change was a significant increase in free-throw attempts. Kent State was only charged with three personal fouls in the first half, preventing Miami from taking a single trip to the line. In the second period, Miami's aggressive play near the basket drew 12 personal fouls, and the 'Hawks went to hit all of their first nine free-throw attempts.

Miami's early success from the long-range allowed the team to build a nine point lead. But the Golden Flashes were not intimidated by the No. 2 team in the MAC, defiantly rattling off a 9-0 run of their own to tie the score at 27-27 with just under five minutes to play in the first half.

During the ensuing media timeout, coach Fantanarosa gave her struggling team a pep-talk before laying out her game plan.

"I just looked at them and said, 'You've got to play to win'," Fantanarosa said. "You've got something to prove. Kent State doesn't think that you're the favorite in this contest. You've got to step up."

The RedHawks did just that, quickly building their lead back up before heading into the locker rooms with a six-point, 36-30, margin.

"We let them get a few things easy," Markwood said. "None of us were worried though, especially after our BG loss. We were ready to attack and we were confident."

Miami would not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game. Sloppy play from both teams kept the score close for much of the second half. Each team had five turnovers in the opening eight minutes of the second period. Kent finished with 22 turnovers while the RedHawks had 16. However, come crunch time Miami finished strong with a dominant 14-3 run to finish the game.

"We love an up tempo game," Markwood said. "We love to attack teams on offense and just keep taking it to them."

Next up for Miami is a road trip to the University of Akron to face the 7-21 Zips March 1. The RedHawks will then round out their regular season with a home game March 5 against rival Ohio University in the Battle of the Bricks. Fantanarosa wants to ensure that her team finishes the season strong so they have momentum heading into the conference tournament.

"I want them to know that we still have a lot to prove," Fantanarosa said. "We're having a great year, there's no doubt. We just haven't put it together for all 28 games, and when we don't have it all together it's obviously costing us a title."