Women's Basketball Roundup -- January 10

Note: Game stories are courtesy of home sports information departments

Miami Comes Back For 64-52 Win At Akron

AKRON, Ohio- Despite a 30-28 lead at the half and a season high point total from Jamie Scott and Jamie Krivak, the Zips were uable to hold on for the win, dropping their third MAC contest in a row to Miami(7-6, 1-2 MAC), 64-52. Akron is now 2-12 overall, 0-3 in conference play.

Both teams started out slowly as two free throws by Sierra Cooper were the only points in the first four minutes of play. Scott led Akron early as she totaled five of Akron's first seven points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting with the game tied at 7-all with 13:25 to play. She would finish with a team and season-high 18 points.

"Every time you get the ball now you have to make a strong move to the basket and be looking to score," Scott said. "They were centering on Cheryl (Bowles) so much that it opened things up for me."

The lead continued to see-saw back and forth in the first period with the Zips' largest lead coming at 1:22 to play, up 30-26. Miami closed the half with a layup with one second remaining.

"We did things well in the first half, especially on defense, but the last minute and a half of the period was a sign of things to come with missed shots and turnovers," said Akron head coach Roxanne Allen.

Miami scored the first bucket of the second half and never looked back as Kim Lancaster converted on a layup to tie things at 30. Karla Lockhart would score 10 of her game-high 20 points in the second period. Lancaster added 13 while the Zips' Jamie Krivak contributed a season-high 17 points.

"It's all mental right now and that is the hardest part to get over," said Akron center Cheryl Bowles.

The Zips continue conference play on Saturday when they travel to rival Kent State. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Kent State Wins Fourth With 68-60 Victory At Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY Freshman Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) recorded her first career double-double with career highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds and senior Tiffany Bell (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield) scored a team-high 19 points, but it was not enough as the University at Buffalo women's basketball team dropped its first game at home this season, 68-60 to visiting Kent State in a Mid-American Conference battle. The Golden Flashes (8-5 overall, 3-0 MAC) dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bulls by a 38-26 margin, and they shot 47% from the floor, including 44% from three-point range, to earn their fifth straight victory. With the loss, Buffalo falls to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

The Bulls opened the scoring in the game on a jumper by Kochendorfer one minute into regulation, and Buffalo held a slight advantage for the first seven minutes of the game until Kent State slowly inched its way into the lead. The score was tied on four separate occasions, 11-11, 13-13, 16-16 and finally 18-18 with 6:52 remaining in the first half before the Golden Flashes embarked on a 15-4 run to take a 33-22 lead into the lockerroom at halftime. A three-pointer by senior Mari McClure (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester Adams) ended an 8-3 Buffalo run in the second half and cut Kent State's lead to seven, 49-42 with 10:13 remaining in the game, and the Bulls got within five, 65-60 with 30 seconds remaining on the clock before time ran out on their attempted comeback.

"Kent State has a lot of size and they move the ball well," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier. "We had 13 turnovers and we forced them into 20, but the game was really won defensively on rebounds. Kent State is a good defensive team and we outplayed them in the second half, but if we aren't shooting well, we have to go to the offensive glass and we didn't do that tonight...The bottom line is that we have to take care of the little things. We can definitely play with them, but we just haven't been able to finish and a lot of that has to do with little things."

The Golden Flashes dominated the game defensively, forcing the Bulls to take bad shots and not allowing many second chances. KSU allowed Buffalo to shoot the three, but the Bulls converted just 4-of-13 shots from behind the arc while the Golden Flashes were 7-of-16 from three-point range. Kent State senior Carrie Nance scored a game-high 24 points, including four three-pointers, and senior Liz Beggs recorded her third double-double of the year with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Buffalo senior Sonia Ortega (Chihuahua, Mexico/Cobach) recorded a career-high nine steals, and McClure finished with 12 points, all in the second half, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Bell was 1-of-2 from the foul line, making her Buffalo's all-time leader in career free throws with 346.

The Bulls are on the road for their next two MAC games, at Ohio on Saturday, January 13 and at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, January 20.

Toledo Holds Off Ohio, 83-73, Behind Risinger's 23 Points

TOLEDO, OH - Courtney Risinger scored 23 points and Kahli Carter added 17 Wednesday night, as Toledo jumped to a big early lead and then held off a courageous Ohio rally to beat the Bobcats, 83-73, before 1,052 fans in Savage Hall. The Rockets improve to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the MAC, while the Bobcats fall to 3-11 and 0-3 in the MAC.

Lori Moorman and Heather Laughlin scored 16 points apiece to lead Ohio.

"Unfortunately this wasn't the first time we have blown an early lead," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "It's just a matter of execution. We are not a consistant team, offensively. They (Ohio) played well."

For the second straight game, Toledo came out on fire jumping out to a 8-0 lead behind a smothering defense and pin point shooting.

Risinger nailed a three-pointer just six seconds into the game to set the trend. Following the trey, Shekinah Brazzle recorded back-to-back thefts and layups to put the home team up by eight, just 45 seconds into the game. Toledo extended its hot shooting and the lead to 12-3 with 16:21 left on a layup by Melantha Herron.

Toledo's shooting would then falter, as the Midnight Blue and Gold was outscored 18-4 over the next nine minutes, giving the lead to the Bobcats, 21-16.

"It seems like that has been happening to us lately," Risinger said. "We need to work on not giving up. It seems like we don't make the passes we should and that's something we need to work on."

UT regrouped and found its range, going on a semi-run, 15-10, to end the half and send both teams to the lockeroom tied at 31-31.

Trailing 38-37 with 17:05 left, Risinger hit a baseline jumper to put the lead back in the Rockets' favor. She would score seven of her 13 second-half points in the initial stages of the second stanza to help the Rockets improve to 4-1 in the friendly confines of Savage Hall.

"It seems like you get points in spurts," Risinger said. "Shooting requires confidence and not getting down on yourself. I work on my shot all of the time. As a team, we came through and got the big shots when we needed them."

Super-sub Teresa Kahle provided the Rockets with a huge lift in the second half, as the sophomore scored all of her seven points after the intermission and within one minute of each other. With Ohio still hanging around at 60-54, Kahle blew the game wide open with those seven points and giving the Rockets their largest lead of the game, 67-54.

The closest the Bobcats would get after that was seven, 75-68, with 1:32 left after a steal and lay-up by Ronita Whitfield.

Toledo finished with two other players in double figures, besides Risinger and Carter. Herron tallied 12 points and Tia Davis chipped in 10 points and a career-high seven assists.

For the game, Toledo connected on 49.2 percent of its shots, while Ohio torched the nets, making good on 53.1 percent shooting. The Bobcats also scorched the Rockets hitting 8-of-16 from beyond the arc, while Toledo could only muster 3-of-15.

For the second game in a row, Toledo won the battle of the boards, 34-24 and dished out 20 assists, compared to 16 for OU. In a game that featured three ties and five lead changes, the Rockets committed a season-low 14 turnovers and the Bobcats coughed the ball up 21 times.

Toledo now leads the all-times series with Ohio, 28-18. This year's win avenges last season's heartbreaking 62-60 loss in Athens, which snapped UT's seven-game winning streak against the Bobcats. Toledo has won 22 of the last 25 games in the series, including 12 in a row in Savage Hall. The last Ohio win in Toledo came back on Jan. 7, 1987, when the Bobcats escaped town with a 70-68 victory.

The Rockets will now turn their focus to the arch-rival Bowling Green. The two teams will battle on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Anderson Arena. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.

Ball State Wins Sixth Straight With 94-68 Win Over Western Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan lost 94-68 to Ball State in its conference opener at University Arena Wednesday (Jan. 10). The loss drops the Broncos' record to 3-9 on the year. Western Michigan is 0-1 in MAC play. Ball State improved to 11-3 overall, 3-0 in conference action.

The Broncos took a 38-34 lead into halftime thanks to an impressive .516 first-half field goal percentage. But as good as WMU's first half was, BSU's second half was better. The Cardinals shot a blistering .688 (22-32) from the field in the second half and scored 60 points to seal the decision. Western Michigan shot a respectable .464 but could not maintain the pace. The Broncos shot just four free throws on the night and did not make a trip to the charity stripe until the 6:12 mark in the second half.

"Ball State has a chance to win the West legitimately," WMU head coach Ron Stewart said. "They have great offensive ability and play defense in a way that makes it tough for people who can't shoot.

"We kind of wore down (in the second half). There's a short bench over there right now. We had a good plan and in the first half we rebounded very well. In the second half we just ran out of gas."

WMU announced Wednesday that sophomore forward and 2000 MAC Freshman of the Year Kristin Koetsier will miss the remainder of the 2000-01 season and will apply for NCAA redshirt status.

"Obviously, we are very excited to get a win on the road in league play, especially against a good team like Western," BSU head coach Brenda Oldfield said. "Tonight says a lot about our team and where we are headed."

Karen Deurloo's 15 points led WMU. She was 7-14 from the field before fouling out with 56 seconds to play. Senior Sarah Hurrle scored 13 points despite picking up her fourth personal foul with 18:30 remaining in the second half. Rookie Emily Samuelson came off the bench to score a career-best 12 points in just 16 minutes of game time. Junior Brianne Gallert turned in a strong effort, scoring nine points, handing out seven assists, making four steals, and grabbing six boards.

BSU opened the second half on a 21-2 run and never looked back. Four Cardinals finished in double figures, led by Tamara Bowie's 27. Shala Crook added 20 while Johna Goff scored 16 and Jessica Reiter added 12. Bowie and Amy Zercher each grabbed nine rebounds to lead BSU.

Western Michigan will try and rebound Saturday (Jan. 13) when it visits the Marshall University Thundering Herd. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. in Huntington, W. Va. The Broncos play at rival Eastern Michigan Jan. 17 before returning home to face Akron Jan. 20 at 2 p.m.