OXFORD, Ohio – Junior forward Hannah McCue scored a career-high 26 points and hit seven of the Miami women’s basketball team’s 14 three-pointers to key a dominant 82-59 over Valparaiso on Wednesday afternoon.
The junior forward also grabbed 15 rebounds for her second double-double of the season to help the RedHawks (2-3) snap a three-game losing skid.
MU scored five quick points on a pair of junior forward Jessica Rupright free throws and a three-pointer by McCue. After missing their first three shots, the Crusaders hit seven of their next 10 field goal attempts as part of a 16-5 run that put them up 16-10 5:48 into the contest. Rupright drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 17-16, but five more Valparaiso points put Miami down 22-16 after the second media timeout.
A 10-4 spurt by the Red and White was capped when freshman guard Jazz Smith picked Jessica Carr’s pocket and found freshman guard Kayla Brown for a transition layup, evening the score at 26 apiece. McCue knocked down two trifectas and Rupright hit a jumper to account for the rest of Miami’s points during that surge. The tie was short lived as Haylee Thompson put back her offensive rebound.
Two possessions later, Brown dialed long distance for a three-pointer that gave the Red and White a 29-28 lead. That began a back-and-forth final 7:44 of the half that featured six lead changes. With Miami on top 36-33, Valparaiso scored seven-straight points with under two minutes remaining to go ahead 40-36, but freshman guard Baleigh Reid canned a trifecta at the buzzer to leave the Red and White trailing by one at the break.
Rupright worked for position and scored down low on the first possession of the second half to put the Red and White back on top 41-40. That started an 8-0 run that also featured threes by senior point guard Courtney Larson and McCue. After Haylee Thompson banked in a turnaround jumper, McCue hit another three, Brown hit a running jumper and redshirt sophomore forward Tamira Ford knocked down two free throws to put the RedHawks on top 54-42 as part of a 15-2 run in the first 3:07 of the second half.
That run expanded to 24-4 with the RedHawks grabbing a 63-44 lead seven minutes into the second half. Miami’s lead grew to 72-48 with 7:31 remaining as it held Valparaiso to just 2-of-15 (13.3 percent) from the floor to that point after the break. That advantage ballooned to as much as 30 with under five minutes remaining and the lead was never less than 20 the rest of the way.
With 15 rebounds, McCue pulled down double-digit boards for the third time this season. She was one of three RedHawks in double figures, joining Rupright (12 points) and freshman guard Ana Richter (11).
Miami shot 38.4 percent from the floor as Valparaiso countered with a 34.4 percent clip. The RedHawks won the game from beyond the arc by nailing 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) three-pointers while holding the Crusaders to 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from long range. MU had a near-perfect 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) mark at the foul line. The Red and White held a 48-41 advantage on the glass and committed just nine turnovers while forcing 10 Crusader miscues.
The RedHawks are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Evansville. Opening tipoff is at 5 p.m. (EST).
