Miami (OH) Rallies From 13-Point First-Half Deficit
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Junior Miami (Ohio) guard Courtney Reed nailed two free throws with 2.9 seconds left as the RedHawks rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Towson 69-68 on Monday in the first game of the 2008 State Farm Classic in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Reed, who finished the game with 10 points and a 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line as one of three Miami players in double-figure scoring, was tripped attempting to catch an inbounds pass in the final seconds of the game and knocked down both free-throw attempts to complete the RedHawks' comeback.
“The two free throws at the end were huge,” Reed said. “I struggled all game, but you have to give credit to Towson. They're a great team and very athletic. The final score is all that matters and I think that this win is going to give our team a lot of confidence.”
Towson (7-2), which led 42-29 at intermission, watched its advantage dwindle down to one, 62-61, with 6:59 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Miami's Jenna Schone. A steal by Schone and two free throws at the other end by freshman forward Erin Wisner knotted the score at 64-all with 5:43 left. The two teams traded points until a free throw by the Tigers' Shanae Baker-Brice put Towson ahead by one, 68-67, with 17.3 seconds remaining, to set up Miami's last-second heroics.
“Towson had 16 offensive rebounds at halftime and we knew that in the second half we had to stop their transition game and do a better job of boxing out,” Reed said. “We had 30 free-throw attempts. That and rebounding really made a huge difference in the second half.”
Miami (8-3), which was facing Towson for the first time in the history of the two programs, won despite being held without a field goal for the final 7:04 of the game.
Freshman guard Maggie Boyer scored a career-high 19 points to lead the RedHawks, surpassing her previous high of 17 scored at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 14, 2008. Schone added 14 points to move her into a tie for ninth place on the school's all-time career scoring list with 1,227 career points, tying Julie Howell (1988-92).
Towson was led by junior forward Katrina Wheeler's team-high 15 points, while junior forward Kandace Davis added 10 points and a season-high 12 rebounds.
The Tigers, who had connected on 30-of-38 free throws in the final five minutes of play through the first eight games of the season, made just 1-of-4 from the charity stripe in the game's final five minutes on Monday.
Miami advances to the State Farm Classic Championship game, where it will face the winner of the Florida/Vermont first-round game, which is slated to be contested at 7:30 p.m. EST Monday. Should Florida win, Miami would play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. If Vermont were to win, the RedHawks would play at 5 p.m. Towson will play the loser of the second game of the night.
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