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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:21 AM Monday, March 8, 2010

OXFORD — The way Maria Fantanarosa sees it, her Miami University women’s basketball team isn’t going into the Mid-American Conference tournament with a program-record 21 losses.

It is going in at 0-0.

“It’s a new start,” the Miami coach said. “We’ve been talking to our team about living in the present. The record doesn’t matter. They’ve had energy, their minds are still fresh and they’re still eager to do some damage.”

The RedHawks face the Northern Illinois Huskies in the first round this afternoon, March 6, at Millett Hall, and in all probability neither the Huskies nor anyone else in the MAC are paying any attention to those 21 losses, either.

Over the last several weeks Miami has played well against five strong teams — Bowling Green (24-6 overall), Toledo (22-7), Eastern Michigan (21-7), Kent State (19-9) and Akron (17-12). The RedHawks were outscored by an average margin of only 2.5 points in those games and beat EMU by 16.

“That’s what makes me excited going into the tournament,” Fantanarosa said. “We’ve played all the top teams in the conference close in February.

“We’re one of the youngest, if not the youngest, teams in the MAC,” she noted. “The potential to improve at a rapid pace is open to us. We’re definitely trying to encourage the young kids and point to the positives.”

Those positives include two freshmen and a senior.

“Courtney Osborn is playing well again and Kristen Olowinski has definitely turned the corner,” Fantanarosa said. “And Ashleigh Brown, the last two weeks is the best she has played all year.”

Osborn, the team’s point guard, ranks sixth in the MAC in scoring (17.0 points per game) and fourth in assists (4.0) and steals (2.5).

The news isn’t so positive for sophomore forward Rachael Hencke, who is day-to-day with a foot injury.

Hencke scored 24 points and hit an astounding 10-of-10 field goal attempts in Miami’s 96-51 victory over Northern Illinois on Jan. 27.

“I watched the tape (of the first game),” Fantanarosa said. “We hit shots, but I don’t think we played well overall. Northern had a bad day and we were just OK.”

She also noted that Ebony Ellis, NIU’s 6-foot-3 junior center, will be on the court this time. She missed the first game with a foot injury, and is averaging 12.1 points and 9.9 rebounds.

There will be a special admission price for today’s game. All tickets are $1.

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