DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Stephanie Ford was a typical youngster growing up in Indiana, which means one thing.

Hoops a plenty. Basketball on the brain.

"It's all big in my family," Miami University's 6-foot-3 junior center said of the Hoosier state's favorite pastime. "We all love basketball. We always had big, outside games at my grand-parents. We still do it on Thanksgiving when we all get together."

This family game was serious stuff. Ford, the only girl in a sometimes heated contest involving her slightly older brother, Stephen (who now stands 6-7) and various cousins, was not treated with kid gloves.

For which Miami coach Maria Fantanarosa should be thankful.

Ford learned not to be intimidated then, and she doesn't let herself be pushed around now.

Now, she does the intimidating.

Ford led the Mid-American Conference this season with 51 blocked shots, she ranked fourth with 7.3 rebounds per game, she leads the RedHawks in field goal shooting at 50.5 percent, and she came up big when it mattered most.

In the MAC Tournament championship game, Ford was on fire. She recorded the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Miami beat Ohio to clinch its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

The 13th-seeded RedHawks take on the fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals in the first round on Sunday, March 23, in Bridgeport, Conn.

Ford hopes to bring the same fire she had in the MAC final, the same fire she had in those family games.

"We had set teams," she recalled. "Me and my brother would never be on the same team because we were so competitive with each other ... These games were physical, especially between me and my brother. Neither of us liked to lose.

"It helped me be not only onmore competitive, but also smarter," Ford said. "I was able to figure out how to move around people. I like to sneak around and trick people. That's usually the only way I would score against him."

Her brother lives in Florida now and has seen her on the collegiate hardwood, sometimes in person, sometimes on TV, as have her parents, Brenda and Bruce Ford.

"We're a very close family," she said, noting that it still gathers for games on holidays.

They'll be gathered again on Easter Sunday, at least in spirit.

And for once, they'll all be on the same side.

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