'Hawks hand BGSU 1st MAC loss

Jackson leads Miami with 27 points in MU's 63-60 upset of conference's top team

By: Adam Hainsfurther

Posted: 1/25/08

Tuesday night the Miami University women's basketball team took the court against the defending Mid-American Conference champion, the Bowling Green State University Falcons.

BGSU hadn't lost to Miami in the past seven games and had lost just once in its last 40 MAC regular season games.

Senior Amanda Jackson paced the RedHawks with 27 points, however, every member of the team contributed as Miami upset the Falcons on their home court 63-60.

"I go out every game being competitive and being aggressive," Jackson said. "I'm just giving my team all that I can and trying to get the win and that's what's important. It's not about me scoring 20 a night."

Jackson's performance on the court was complemented by fellow senior forward Laura Markwood. Markwood scored Miami's first 11 points in the game, ending the night with 12 points as well as 15 rebounds, giving her five double-doubles this season.

"It felt great to gain the momentum from the jump," Jackson said. "It was great momentum for us to start the game."

Miami had control for almost all of the game, going into the second half with a nine-point lead, up 33-24. Miami's defense was the story of the first half. BGSU came into the game leading the MAC in scoring offense, scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio. Miami was able to hold the Falcons to just 29.4 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. The RedHawks were able to silence the crowd at the usually wild Anderson Arena. After playing just about a minute and a half of the second half the RedHawks were able to increase their lead to 11.

"Our players played a very good game on both ends of the court," Miami Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa said. "We had great leadership by Amanda Jackson. They were very physical with her and she played for 38 minutes very well. But along with her we had girls like Laura Markwood step up and she just keeps getting better and better. Tonight instead of just substituting to give people breaks it was substituting to contribute."

The Falcons saw they were on the losing end of a fierce battle and quickly surged going on a 9-0 run to get within two points of the Red and White by the 14:56 mark of the second half. Miami answered by calling a time out, which allowed the 'Hawks to set up a scoring spurt of their own. Jackson and Markwood scored a combined seven unanswered points to put Miami up nine, and the rest of the team followed suit. Over the next 4:29, BGSU was held to just one basket and Miami built its lead up to 13 points.

"I think we did a good job on both ends of being aggressive," Jackson said. "We were able to make stops and get runs on them."

With just about 3:30 remaining in the game, Miami had kept a good distance between itself and BGSU, holding a 10-point lead over the Falcons.

In the closing minutes of the game though, the Falcons were able to come within three points of Miami. But in the end it was the RedHawks who were celebrating a victory, shocking the fans at Anderson Arena by handing the BGSU Falcons their first conference loss of the season.

"My two captains are Amanda Jackson and Jenna Schone," Fantanarosa said. "They're two of the best guards in the conference and when they're on the court they want to control it and they want to control the pace. The reason we were able to control it is because Amanda Jackson is such a great scorer. This is a team that is better at the end of January then we were at the beginning and we're better in January than we we're in December. Because of our continued growth and improvement as a team, if we can stay focused on the improvement part of it, the wins are keep going to come."

The RedHawks hope keep the momentum rolling when they welcome the Northern Illinois Huskies into Millett Hall for the first half of a basketball doubleheader Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.