TOLEDO, Ohio – The Miami University women’s basketball team suffered through a tough shooting night as Toledo took a 68-52 victory on Sunday. The RedHawks fall to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets improve to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the MAC.
After scoring 248 points in its previous three games, a strong defensive effort by Toledo held Miami to 14-for-46 (30.4 percent) shooting for the contest. The Red and White had a strong performance from the free throw line, finishing 19-for-22 (86.4 percent). Sophomore forward Jessica Rupright led the ‘Hawks with nine points.
Freshman forward Nicole Anderson drained a jumper, while senior guard Haley Robertson followed with a three-pointer, but Toledo opened an early 6-5 lead at the 16:40 mark. Miami’s shot went cold as it was only able to hit jumper by sophomore forward Hannah McCue over the next 10 minutes. During that stretch the Rockets were able to expand their lead to 21-7.
Buckets from senior center Kelsey Simon and freshman guard Jillian Spurlock got the RedHawk offense going again. A basket from senior guard Hannah Robertson cut the lead to 30-15 with 2:29 to go. Toledo pushed the advantage to 20 at 35-15, but the RedHawks closed the half with a pair of free throws from senior forward Erica Almady and four more from the charity stripe by junior guard Courtney Larson to cut the deficit to 16 going into the break at 37-21.
Miami shot 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) during the first half, while the Rockets shot 13-for-27 (48.1 percent). Almady led the RedHawks with six points after going a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
A three-pointer by junior guard Kindsay Brandt made it 45-27 with 16:18 remaining in the game. The Rockets responded with a 10-5 run to push the lead to 55-32 before Rupright answered with a jumper and a three-pointer. Hannah Robertson followed with five straight points of her own to make it 62-42 with 3:54 remaining. Three-pointers by Spurlock and sophomore guard Maddie McCallie helped the RedHawks close on a 10-6 run as the Rockets took a 68-52 win.
In addition to Rupright’s nine points, Hannah Robertson and Brandt each had seven. Almady finished with six points. Toledo had a slight, 37-35, advantage in rebounds.
Miami returns home on Wednesday when it welcomes Akron for a 7 p.m. game. Tim Bray has the call and it can be seen live on Miami All-Access for those who have a subscription.
