OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University women’s basketball team competed in a back-and-forth game with Western Michigan on Saturday, but the Broncos pulled away in the final three minutes to take a 61-53 victory. The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes. The RedHawks are now 3-17 overall and 0-9 in the Mid-American Conference. WMU improves to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in the MAC.
Senior point guard Courtney Larson was hot from behind the arc right from the start, draining three triples. She finished with a game-high 16 points and was 6-for-9 from the field. Freshman guard Baleigh Reid also had a strong game offensively, finishing with 13 points.
Spurred by five points from Larson and four from Reid, Miami jumped out to an early 11-6 lead. The Broncos went on an 8-0 surge to capture a 14-11 lead with 13:52 to go. Larson sunk a pair of triples and Freshman guard Ana Richter drained one as Miami manufactured an 11-0 run to seize an eight-point lead by the 8:14 mark at 22-14.
WMU retaliated with a 12-2 flurry to take the advantage back at 26-24 with 1:29 to play in the opening half. Freshman forward Molly McDonagh sunk a jumper at 1:05 to knot the game, but WMU’s Miracle Woods tossed in a layup with 54 seconds left to send the Broncos into the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
The RedHawks shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) for the half, while holding Western Michigan to a 37.9 percent (11-for-29) shooting percentage. Larson led Miami with 11 points in the period.
After the Broncos scored the opening bucket of the second half, McDonagh, Larson and Reid each hit shots to give Miami the lead back at 32-30. The lead switched four more times until a jumper from Reid made it 38-37 with 15:05 to go. Western Michigan followed with a 9-2 run that put it up, 46-40, at the 10:38 mark.
Miami did not give up as a 6-0 run featuring a three-pointer from freshman guard Kayla Brown tied the score at 46 at the 8:04 mark. The defenses clamped down as each team was able to manage only three points over the next five minutes, leaving the score tied at 49 with 3:30 to go.
WMU came out of the final media timeout scoring the next six points. Larson and Reid were able to answer with jumpers, but the Broncos hit their free throws down the stretch to pull away for a 61-53 win.
Miami finished the game shooting 40.4 percent (21-for-52). Junior forward Hannah McCue led the ‘Hawks with 11 rebounds, her seventh double-digit rebounding effort of the season. The Broncos held a slight, 33-32, advantage in total rebounding.
The RedHawks return to the road on Wednesday when they travel to Northern Illinois for an 8 p.m. (EST) tip.
