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OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University women's basketball team dropped its season opening game to Northern Kentucky University, 71-57, on Friday. It was the Class at the Court game and featured nearly 1,500 students from the local Talawanda School District.

Sophomore guard Baleigh Reid began her 2015-16 campaign strong, finishing with 17 points and four rebounds on 6-for-13 shooting. She was joined in double-figures by freshman guard Leah Purvis, who scored 15 points in her Miami debut, including finishing 4-for-8 from behind the arc.

The RedHawks shot 40.4 percent from the floor (19-for-47), which ended up being a similar percentage to the Norse, who finished at 40.7 percent (22-for-54). The difference came with 22 Miami turnovers, which NKU was able to turn into 22 points.

Both teams came out firing in the first quarter. After the Norse opened with a layup, Purvis drained her first 3-pointer to give Miami a 3-2 lead. NKU followed with a 9-2 run to take an 11-5 advantage, but a pair of buckets from Reid to go along with a couple of free throws pulled the `Hawks to within two at 13-11 with 4:20 to go in the period. Freshman forward Kristen Levering hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, while sophomore forward Megan Galloway recorded a layup to keep Miami to within two. The teams traded free throws down the stretch as the Norse ended the quarter with a 23-19 lead.

The RedHawks shot went cold in the second quarter. Northern Kentucky answered by scoring the first 10 points to build a 33-19 advantage with six minutes to go in the half. Reid stopped the bleeding when Galloway found her for an easy layup. She was fouled and drained the free throw for an old fashioned three-point play. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch as NKU took a 38-27 lead into halftime.

Miami came out strong in the third quarter. Reid hit another layup, while Purvis drained a three-pointer to pull the Red and White to within six at 38-32. However, the RedHawks shot would go cold again as the Norse answered with a 12-2 run that made it 50-34 at the 3:33 mark. Northern Kentucky eventually built the lead to 19 before four points from sophomore forward Ana Richter closed Miami to within 15. A jumper at the buzzer gave NKU a 57-40 advantage at the end of the period.

Trailing 59-41 early in the fourth quarter, back-to-back threes from Purvis made it 62-47 with 7:16 to go. Galloway and Reid each hit jumpers, while Galloway drained a free throw to help pull the RedHawks to within 12 at 64-52 with 4:20 left. That would be as close as Miami could get as NKU hit its free throws down the stretch to finish off a 71-57 victory.

Richter finished with eight points and five rebounds, while freshman guard Kendall McCoy scored five points and had three blocks in her debut. Miami outrebounded Northern Kentucky, 36-31, for the game. The Norse were led in scoring by senior guard Christine Roush with 24 points.

The RedHawks return to action on Monday when they host Evansville at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.