By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

After clinching a first-ever Mid-American Conference East Division regular-season title, the Miami University women's basketball team advances Wednesday to its fourth straight MAC Tournament quarterfinal at Cleveland's Gund Arena.

The No. 2 seed RedHawks, who earned a first-ever first-round bye, will play either No. 7 Eastern Michigan (12-15, 9-7 MAC) or No. 10 Bowling Green (12-15, 5-11) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The semifinals are Friday, and the championship is at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Miami (16-11, 11-5) defeated Marshall 89-81 in overtime Tuesday to win its first conference crown since 1990, when MAC teams were in a single division.

"The talent and execution of this team is better than any Miami team I've coached," fifth-year coach Maria Fantanarosa said. "The players are very unselfish, offensively and defensively, and different people always step up at different times."

Depth and experience have been on Miami's side from the start. The program returned every scholarship player from last season, including leading scorer and 2002 MAC Player of the Year Heather Cusick (15.6 points a game).

Fantanarosa's nine-player rotation keeps everyone rested when it counts. Junior forward Colleen Day scored 24 points and senior guard Beth Roederer added 22 points in the Marshall win - but junior center Kim Lancaster played a pivotal role, coming off the bench for 12 points.

Miami enters the MAC Tournament with defeats of its potential opponents, having beaten Eastern Michigan 83-79 in Oxford Jan. 28 and Bowling Green 75-65 on Feb. 15. Should it advance to the semifinals, Miami will face the winner of No. 3 seed Ball State and Central Michigan/Buffalo.

"I like our chances (in the tournament)," Fantanarosa said. "We've been very competitive in every conference game we've played."

Toledo (19-8, 12-4) and Ball State (18-8, 12-4) share the overall MAC regular-season and West Division titles. The Rockets, who defeated Ball State twice in the regular season, claimed the tournament's No. 1 seed for the third time since 1999.

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com

MAC Tournament

What: Quarterfinals

Where: Gund Arena, Cleveland

When: Wednesday

Miami vs. Eastern Michigan/Bowling Green: 5:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: None

MAC Semifinals: Friday, noon and 2:30 p.m. (TV: Fox Sports Net Ohio)

MAC Finals: March 15, 1 p.m.

(TV: Fox Sports Net Ohio)