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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 2:13 AM Sunday, March 7, 2010

OXFORD — One question down, one to go.

“There are a lot of people who questioned whether we could get to Cleveland,” Miami University women’s basketball coach Maria Fantanarosa said.

That question was answered in the affirmative by the RedHawks when they held off the Northern Illinois Huskies 67-66 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament on Saturday, March 6, at Millett Hall.

Now the eighth-seeded RedHawks (9-21, 6-10 MAC) will indeed travel to Cleveland, where they get to answer another question.

Should they be considered real contenders for the tournament title and their second trip to the NCAA tournament in the last three years?

Another “yes” verdict will take some doing since Miami faces the top-seeded Bowling Green Falcons in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 10.

The first answer took some doing, too. Miami trailed by nine points in the first half, and in the second half lost the lead four times.

The RedHawks responded behind Maggie Boyer, who scored all 18 of her points in the first half; Kirsten Olowinski, 17 points; Courtney Osborn, 10 points and seven assists; and Courtney Reed, who scored seven of the most critical points of the game.

“I’m glad it was close,” Fantanarosa said. “Our players are learning how to win close games.”

In a game that had 13 lead changes, Miami took the lead for good when Osborn hit two free throws with 2:17 left.

NIU, however, still had a chance to win when the Huskies called timeout with three-tenths of a second left with the ball under Miami’s basket. They tried a long pass, hoping for a catch-and-shoot miracle, but the pass fell incomplete.

Boyer, who had two assists and a steal in the final 3 minutes, said she was glad to be able to contribute after having missed last year’s tournament with an ankle injury.

“It feels good, the feel the energy,” she said. “There’s nothing like the tournament experience.”

NIU forward Mauvolyene Adams has a monster game, finishing with 18 points, 18 rebounds and five steals. She had 16 points in the second half, but only two in the final 9 minutes.

“She came out on fire in the second half but our post defense picked up,” Olowinski said. “The adjustment was that we started fronting her instead of playing from behind.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.