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RedHawks and Cardinals Battle at 2:30 p.m. in NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 23 on ESPN
March 20, 2008
UP AHEAD: The RedHawks play in their first ever NCAA Tournament game against No. 21 Louisville at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. Miami is the No. 13 seed in the New Orleans regional, while the Cardinals are the No. 4 seed in the region. The game will be televised on ESPN with Bob Picozzi handling play-by-play duties, while Mary Murphy is the color analyst and Rebecca Lobo is the sideline reporter. PREGAME RECEPTION SCHEDULED PRIOR TO NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME: Join the Miami University Alumni Association for a pregame reception prior to the RedHawks' NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament first-round game in Bridgeport, Conn. The 14th-seeded RedHawks tip off versus third-seeded Louisville at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 23, in a game being televised by ESPN. The pregame reception is open to all alumni and fans and will be held from noon - 2 p.m. in the Club Lounge at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Access the arena through the main entrance with your game ticket. The entrance to the Club Lounge is via the box office elevators to the third floor. For more information on how to purchase your NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tickets, please visit www.MURedHawks.com and click on the NCAA Tournament Central graphic on the left-hand side. ABOUT LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals enter the tournament with a 24-9 record and a No. 21 ranking nationally. Louisville is coming off of a deep run in the Big East Conference Tournament where the Cardinals lost in the championship game by seven points to No. 1 Connecticut after defeating No. 4 Rutgers, 57-56, and No. 13 West Virginia, 67-60. Angel McCoughtry leads the Cardinals averaging 23.6 ppg, which ranks fourth nationally and she also averages 4.2 steals per game, which ranks second nationally. Alongside McCoughtry, Candyce Bingham and Chauntise Wright average 13.9 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively. McCoughtry also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 8.8 rpg, while Patrika Barlow ranks seventh nationally in assists, dishing out 6.8 apg. As a team, the Cardinals' strength is rebounding as they outrebound their opponents by an average of seven rebounds per game.
THE SERIES WITH THE CARDINALS: Sunday marks the 11th meeting between Louisville and Miami with the Cardinals holding a 6-4 edge in the all-time series. Louisville won the last meeting between the schools, 92-71, in Freedom Hall during the 2001-02 season. Miami's last win in the series came in the 1996-97 season, where Miami defeated Louisville 65-59 in Millett Hall. The lone meeting played on a neutral floor was during the 1976-77 season, where the Cardinals defeated Miami 77-56. REDHAWKS PUNCH TICKET TO BIG DANCE: Miami earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament with a 67-56 win over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference Championship game on March 15. The game marked Miami's first MAC Championship game since the 1994-95 season when the RedHawks lost to Toledo in overtime. It was Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa's first trip to the MAC Championship game. REDHAWK TRIVIA: Miami's MAC Championship win over Ohio marked the fourth time in Mid-American Conference history that a team went from a losing record one year to winning the MAC Championship the next season. Central Michigan won the 1983 MAC Tournament after going 11-18 in 1982, Ohio won the 1986 MAC Championship after going 11-16 in 1985 and Eastern Michigan won the 2004 MAC Championship after going 13-16 in 2003. Miami posted a 12-18 record last season before earning its first trip to the NCAA Tournament this season. ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Following their impressive performances throughout the Mid-American Conference Tournament, junior guard Jenna Schone and senior guard Amanda Jackson were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team. Jackson was also named the MAC Tournament MVP, becoming the first RedHawk player in school history to earn the award. RACKING UP THE HARDWARE: Miami's trio of experienced players earned All-MAC honors this season as each player has put up career numbers. Senior guard Amanda Jackson was a First-Team All-MAC selection, her second in a row, after averaging a conference-high 21.6 ppg. Jackson ranked in six statistical categories in conference-only action this season. Junior guard Jenna Schone was a Second-Team all-conference selection after averaging 13.9 ppg and 5.2 apg this season. Schone ranks nationally in assists, 3-pt. FG percentage, 3-pt. FG's made and assist-to-turnover ratio. Finally, senior forward Laura Markwood earned Third-Team All-MAC honors. Markwood has led the league in rebounding since the first game of the season and she is almost averaging a double-double this season (9.3 ppg; 10/6 rpg). DYNAMIC DUO: Through March 17, junior guard Jenna Schone and senior guard Amanda Jackson are the top scoring duo in the MAC and the eighth leading scoring duo in the country. Schone averages 13.9 ppg, while Jackson averages 21.6 ppg. 20/20: Miami finished its regular season with a 23-10 record, giving the RedHawks their sixth 20-win season in program history and their first since the 2003-04 season. Miami's 23 wins are three more wins than its previous two seasons combined and the RedHawks are one win away from tying the 1981-82 Miami team for the most wins in school history (24). MAC-NIFICENT SEASON: Miami recorded a 12-4 Mid-American Conference Record this season, which are the most conference wins since the 2003-04 Miami squad went 14-2 in league action. The RedHawks were 7-1 on the road in MAC play, giving the RedHawks two more conference road wins than its previous three conference campaigns combined. GRAND THEFT: Senior guard Amanda Jackson averaged five steals per game in the MAC Tournament, which included a career-high tying seven steals against Western Michigan. Jackson's seven steals against Western Michigan made her the second player in Mid-American Conference history to eclipse 1,900 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals in a career. Jackson snuck her way into elite company with Toledo's Kim Knuth as the only MAC players to record those career numbers. REBOUNDING CROWN: Senior forward Laura Markwood became Miami's single-season rebounding leader during Miami's win over Kent State on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Markwood currently has 351 rebounds this season, making her the 11th player in MAC history to grab 300 rebounds in a season. Markwood needs three rebounds to become the MAC's single-season rebounding leader and she currently is second on the MAC's single-season rebounding list. ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior guard Amanda Jackson, junior guard Jenna Schone, senior forward Laura Markwood and junior center Stephanie Ford have had career seasons and they have set or made their way onto several single-season Miami charts. JACKSON -- Ranks 1st on the Miami single-season points list (690) -- Ranks 1st for most 20-point games in a season (19) -- Ranks 1st on free throws made chart with 171 this season -- Ranks 1st on single-season field goals attempted chart (587) -- Ranks 1st on the single-season field goals made chart (232) -- Ranks 1st on single-season free throws attempted chart (201) -- Ranks 4th on single-season free throw percentage list (.851) -- Ranks 5th on single-season steals chart (87) -- Ranks 7th on 3-point attempts chart (191)SENIORS MAKE IT A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Playing their last game in Millett Hall, senior forward Laura Markwood and senior guard Amanda Jackson carried the RedHawks to its 20th win of the season. Markwood scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds, one rebound short of her ninth double-double of the season. Jackson scored 19 points and eclipsed 1,900 career points. Trailing by five points with 3:18 to play in the game, Jackson and Markwood carried Miami by scoring its final 20 points over the final 8:18 of the game. FIVE MORE MINUTES: The RedHawks had lost its two previous overtime games this season, but Miami pulled out an overtime win against Ohio in its regular-season finale. The win marked Miami's first overtime win since defeating Central Michigan on Feb. 21, 2004. HOME SWEET HOME: Miami finished the regular season with a 12-4 home record, which matches the most wins at home in a season in program history. Miami's 1994-95 team went 12-2 at Millett Hall. ROCK AND ROLL: Miami has won 12 of its last 13 games and the RedHawks are averaging 74.9 ppg over that stretch and three Miami players are averaging over 10.0 ppg led by senior guard Amanda Jackson's 19.1 ppg. Senior forward Laura Markwood is averaging a double-double over that stretch (11.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg). The key to Miami's recent success is its defense. Over the past 13 games, Miami has forced 59 more turnovers and blocked 12 more shots than its opponents and Miami is holding its opponents to 32.6-percent shooting from three. NEWEST MEMBER OF 1,000 POINT CLUB: Scoring 24 of her 29 points in the second half of Miami's 89-79 win at Akron on Saturday, March 1, junior guard Jenna Schone became the 17th Miami women's basketball player to eclipse 1,000 career points. Schone accomplished the feat 87 games into her career, making Schone the seventh fastest player in Miami history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. ROAD WARRIORS: After a 1-4 road record in non-conference play, the RedHawks went 7-1 on the road in conference play this season. Miami's seven road wins are two more road wins than the RedHawks registered in its past three conference seasons combined (5-20). In its seven conference road wins, Miami shot 43.8-percent from the field and 40.4-percent from three. Miami also had six players averaging six points per game or more in road conference wins. ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RECORD: Senior guard Amanda Jackson is having one of the best seasons in Miami history. This season alone, Jackson has broken the Miami single-game scoring record, the single-season scoring record and the all-time scoring record. Jackson currently ranks first on six of Miami's single-season charts after breaking Linda Mallender's record of 211 made field goals in Miami's 82-72 overtime win over Ohio. Jackson has 232 made field goals this season. PATROLING THE BOARDS: Miami's frontline starters, senior forward Laura Markwood and junior center Stephanie Ford, have been a force on the boards for Miami in conference play. Markwood and Ford are first and second, respectively, in offensive rebounding in MAC-only games and first and fourth, respectively, in rebounding in overall games. One of the two have grabbed at least 10 rebounds in 14 of the past 16 games and Miami is 6-0 this season when both players grab 10 or more rebounds in a game. BEHIND THE ARC: Miami has had its best season behind the arc in school history this season. The RedHawks have hit 224 three-pointers this season, which shattered the previous team record of 184 three's set during the 1999-2000 season. Junior guard Jenna Schone and senior guard Amanda Jackson have combined to hit 137 trey's this season, accounting for 61.2-percent of Miami's made three-pointers. MAC-NIFICENT CAREERS: Senior guard Amanda Jackson and senior forward Laura Markwood have had fantastic senior seasons. The two have climbed their way up not only Miami charts, but Mid-American Conference charts. Amanda Jackson: -- Ranks 2nd in career FG attempts (1,717) -- Ranks 3rd on single-season points chart (690) -- Ranks 9th in career steals (312) -- Ranks 10th in career points (1,957) -- Ranks 13th in career FG made (678) -- Ranks 13th in free throws made (460)JACKSON SETS SINGLE-GAME SCORING RECORD: Senior guard Amanda Jackson could not be stopped as she put up a Miami single-game record, 43 points, against UTSA on Dec. 29. Jackson was 12-of-19 from the field and 16-of-19 from the line. Kim Lancaster previously held the single-game scoring record when she put up 40 points against Ball State on March 6, 2001. A MIAMI WIN WOULD: -- Give Miami it's first NCAA Tournament win -- Tie for the most wins in a season in program history -- Be Miami's seventh win in a row |
