ATHENS, Ohio ? The Miami RedHawks? narrowly escaped the Ohio Bobcats with a late comeback run, 75-71, at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio Saturday afternoon, to remain atop the Mid-American Conference East division. Miami improves to 2-0 in league play, while the Bobcats fall to 1-1.

Miami?s Nicki Motto led all scorers with 22 points, while Cindi Merrill pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds.

?We?ve got to get better in handling pressure,? commented Ohio Head Coach Lynn Bria. ?We have to learn to contain better when they start to turn it on and that means playing better defense.?

Miami came out the starting blocks running, opening the game with an 8-1 run over the first three minutes but the Bobcats came alive, scoring seven unanswered points to tie the game at eight a piece at 15:31.

The RedHawks would answer with a 7-0 run of their own to go back up by seven, 15-8, at 13:59, fueled by two three pointers by Motto. Andrea Johnson (Columbus, Ohio) and Erin Isbell (Gahanna, Ohio) both hit short range jumpers to cut the Ohio deficit to four at 12:39, 15-12.

The Bobcats, who were down by six, 20-14 at 9:30, took their largest lead of the half, 29-24, with a 15-4 run over the next six minutes. Kristian Kirkpatrick (Costa Mesa, Calif.) scored nine points in the run, with freshman Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) and Simone Redd (Warrensville Hts., Ohio) each contributing a three pointer.

The remaining minutes of the game saw three lead changes and ties, including the 36-36 deadlock that would last into the break.

Kirkpatrick lead all scorers at the half with 15 points, with Motto the only other player in double figures with 12. Both teams pulled down 21 rebounds in the first frame and connected on 13 field goals but Miami out-shot the Bobcats 41.9 to 38.2 percent from the floor, including going 6-13 from behind the arc.

Amber Miller quickly put the RedHawks on top with a layup seconds into the second half but Kirkpatrick answered with a layup of her own to spark a 9-0 Bobcat run, as Ohio went up, 45-38 at 15:50.

Miami made a 5-0 run at the Bobcats to bring the score to within two, 45-43 at 14:52, forcing Ohio to take a timeout. Ward hit a deep trey out of the huddle to start a 19-4 run, giving the Bobcats their largest lead of the game, 64-47, with just under 10 minutes to play.

The veteran RedHawk line-up would march Miami right back into the game, causing four Bobcat turnovers and drawing four fouls, to cut the lead to five points, 64-59 at 6:59.

Ohio would outscore the RedHawks 5-3 over the next two minutes to push its lead back out to seven points, 69-62 at 4:19. Miami would turn the pressure on the foul trouble stricken Bobcats, who watched their lead slowly slip away, as the RedHawks would knot the score up, 69-69, with a 6-0 run.

The Bobcats held a short-lived lead with another Kirkpatrick jumper, 71-69 at 1:24 but Miami quickly regained the lead, 71-72, as Merrill drove to the basket, making a layup and drawing the foul with under a minute to go.

Ohio, coming out of a 30 second timeout, missed an outside jumper with 20 seconds on the clock, forcing the Bobcats to foul. Lindsay Wight (Waynesville, Ohio) sent Motto to the line, who went 1-1 to put Miami up, 73-71 with seconds to go.

Late turnovers and fouls would be costly to the Bobcats, as Miami went on to win 75-71.

?We did some things well through out the game,? noted Bria. ? We had a great opportunity to extend the lead but we started to turn the ball over and that really hurt us down the stretch.

Both teams shot 37.7 percent from the floor, but Miami out-shot the Bobcats 34.8 to 28.0 percent from three point range. The RedHawks forced 21 turnovers and made a season-high six blocks. Merrill, Sarah Hull and Miller joined Motto in double-digit scoring, adding 15, 15 and 10 points respectively.

The Bobcats held a 49-36 advantage in rebounds, led by Kirkpatrick and Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.), who each pulled down seven boards. Kirkpatrick held a team-high 21 points, with Ward and Wight also contributing in double-figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Ward dished out five assists for the 11th time this season and came up with a team-high three steals.

Ohio will travel to Akron for its second-consecutive MAC road game Tuesday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. The Bobcats will be back in action in The Convo next Saturday, hosting Central Michigan, as part of a double-header with the men?s basketball team. The women?s team will tip-off at 1 p.m. with the men to follow versus Kent State.