January 28, 2001

Miller beats buzzer for victory over Redmen

BELLEVUE -- Alex Miller stuck a putback at the buzzer to lift Columbian to 58-56 Northern Ohio League victory over Bellevue.

The end was fitting for Miller, whose game-winner put the finishing touch on a 28-point, 14-rebound game.

The Tornadoes also came up big at the buzzer at the end of the second and third periods. Just before halftime, Whtiney Nahm banked in a 3-pointer to give TC a 24-19 halftime advantage. At the end of the third, a clear-out play for Miller resulted in a bucket and a 43-37 lead.

"The other thing that was big for us was that we only had 13 turnovers," Columbian coach Larry Kisabeth said. "I told the girls on the bus ride home that there were 25 turnovers in the game and they all said 'That's about how many we average.' But then I told them only 13 were from us and they let out a big cheer.

"Whitney Nahm gave us a big boost with a couple of 3-pointers. She adds that quickness dimension (to the backcourt)," he said. "And Kaila Dunn hit a big 3 down the stretch, so we got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people."

Bellevue trailed much of the game, but tied the score at 56-56 with 19 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Megan Redd. Columbian took the ball down court and signaled for time with 5.6 seconds showing.

Coming out of the timeout, TC set up Katie Kobelt for a baseline jumper, but the shot was no good. Kaila Dunn grabbed the rebound and missed her ensuing shot before Miller answered with the game-winner.

Nahm (10) was the only other double-figure scorer for Columbian (9-7, 7-4 NOL).

Alisha Hackenburg (13), Ashley Hill (12) and Steff Kath (11) all scored in double figures for the Redmen, who fell to 4-12, 4-7.