Junior guard Jenna Schone continues her record-setting trend this season with her 29-point performance in Saturday's game against Akron.
The Miami University women's basketball team continued its tear towards the postseason, knocking off the University of Akron Saturday afternoon, 89-79.
Junior guard Jenna Schone became the 18th player in school history to score 1000 career points. Schone solidified her spot in the record books on a night in which she also set a personal record, leading the 'Hawks with a career high of 29 points. She later reverted back to her under-the-radar self by humbly downplaying both achievements.
"I didn't know anything about (how close I was to the record) until after we played Kent State," Schone said. "I think it's a great accomplishment and I'm pretty proud, but I'm more excited that we got the win."
Head coach Maria Fantanarosa had nothing to offer but praise for her talented guard.
"She's such an unselfish player," Fantanarosa said. "She'd probably have 1500 points if she wasn't so unselfish. She's a great scorer but she loves the assist. She does whatever we need her to do and today we needed her to score."
Schone's big night came as result of her scorching hot shooting. She drained five of her seven three pointers and eight of her ten free throws. Senior forward Laura Markwood then supplied the inside power, picking up 16 rebounds and 15 points on her way to a double-double.
"I had a lot of looks in the second half and I was knocking them down," Schone said. "I was just really feeling it."
The win was Miami's 19th this year, keeping the team on the inside track for a first round bye in the MAC tournament. The Red and White will now return home for the season finale against Ohio University. In this year's second installment of the Battle of the Bricks, the RedHawks will be looking for revenge. Ohio defeated the Red and White earlier in Athens during a game in which both Schone and junior center Stephanie Ford missed with the flu. Now at full strength, the RedHawks will look for an important victory as they head into the postseason.
"Ohio is our rival," Fantanarosa said. "It's a game right now that could come down to determining if we get a first round bye in the tournament, so it's going to be the difference between possibly a championship. This is just a huge game."
Wednesday night will prove to be a fast-paced, high-scoring affair, featuring two of the conference's most efficient offenses. Both Miami and Ohio average over 70 points scored per game, ranking second and third in the MAC respectively.
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"We're going to have to stop their transition game," Fantanarosa said. "They're very up-tempo. They're a very aggressive three-point shooting team, so we're going to have to make sure that we get out on all their shooters. They get a lot of their energy from those three-pointers that go in so we have to make sure that they don't get on any kind of a momentum run emotionally."
What is seemingly taking a backseat to the great rivalry, all of the postseason implications and intriguing match-ups is the fact that Wednesday night will be senior night for the RedHawks. Miami's two seniors, Amanda Jackson and Laura Markwood, will be playing their last game in Millett Hall and their last regular season game in a Miami uniform.
"There will be a lot of mixed feelings," Jackson said. "I'm obviously excited and maybe a little sad. I guess I won't really know until that day gets here."
Miami will be saying goodbye to two of its key players. Jackson has been the team's leader all season and Markwood has been a dominant force inside the paint, especially when it comes to rebounding.
"Leadership is a big part of (Jackson's) game," Schone said. "She leads in many different ways; not only is she our leading scorer, but she's our best defender too. Laura Markwood has consistently been our best rebounder on both ends of the floor. She takes a lot of pride in that and she's really done some big things for us this year just by her rebounding."
The RedHawks carry a lot of confidence coming into Wednesday's game, seeking their 20th victory of the year against the Bobcats.
"If we do what we know how to do and what we do well, we can beat any team in the MAC," Schone said.
The RedHawks are hoping for an encouraging turnout from the fans. A win would secure that all important first round bye and send the 'Hawks flying into the postseason with momentum. Having a large and rowdy crowd to give them home court advantage send the Red and White on to a championship.
"I really hope the Miami community can come out and support us," Fantanarosa said. "We won 19 games this year. It's an exciting team to watch. Really it's going to come down to the 40 minutes on Wednesday to position us for the tournament."
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