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Sports TwitterMiami women: Seniors come through in final game in Oxford
Laura Markwood racks up 30 points and 9 rebounds; Amanda Jackson adds 19 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.
RELATED: Photos from the game | More coverage
Thursday, March 06, 2008
OXFORD — Head coach Maria Fantanarosa and her Miami University women's basketball team had a pretty good night for themselves.
The RedHawks clinched their first 20-win season in five years and a first-round bye in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament as senior Laura Markwood put some sizzle into Senior Night, leading Miami over the Ohio Bobcats 82-72 in overtime at Millett Hall.
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"This is the first time in my coaching career that I understand what Senior Night means," Fantanarosa said. "(Seniors Markwood and Amanda Jackson) dominated tonight. They refused to lose."
"It was a great win. What a way to end a career at Millett," said Jackson, Miami's all-time leading scorer.
Markwood finished with a career-high 30 points, including eight of the RedHawks' 10 points in overtime, as Miami (20-10, 12-4 MAC) won for the ninth time in 10 games.
"It was a huge blessing and I'm so thankful for it," Markwood said of her final home appearance being so memorable. "My teammates kept getting me the ball, and I kept going strong and finishing. It felt good."
Markwood hit 10-of-14 field goal attempts and 10-of-12 free throws.
And although she had no rebounds at halftime, she wound up with nine. That gives her 318 for the season; she already had shattered the school's single-season record of 285 set by AuBree Hamilton in 1998-99.
Jackson also came up big in her final home appearance, totaling 19 points, five assists and three steals. She had three key baskets down the stretch.
Courtney Reed added a spark off the bench for Miami with 14 points. She scored eight points in a span of 1:42 in the first half to help give Miami a 20-10 lead.
Lauren Kohn had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Ohio (17-12, 10-6 MAC).
Miami opens MAC tournament play March 11 in Cleveland at 12:30 p.m. with a second-round game against the Western Michigan/Akron first-round winner.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197
or pconrad@coxohio.com.
