Women's Basketball

Miami Downs Austin Peay, 75-60

Nov. 19, 2015

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OXFORD, Ohio -- For the second consecutive game the Miami University women's basketball team was able to drive the ball inside and shoot at high percentage as it downed Austin Peay, 75-60, Thursday evening. The RedHawks improve to 2-1 on the year, while the Governors fall to 2-2.

As a team Miami shot 50 percent (27-for-54) for the game, as well as 50 percent (4-for-8) from behind the arc. That and a huge 47-31 advantage in rebounding allowed the Red and White to overcome a season-high 26 turnovers.

Sophomore guard Baleigh Reid and freshman point guard Leah Purvis continued their strong starts to their respective seasons. Reid finished with a team-high 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, her second-straight 20-point effort. Purvis scored 19 points and also had seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.

The victory was also a milestone for head coach Cleve Wright in that it was his 250th career victory. Combining his time at Gannon and Miami, Wright is now 250-146 in 14 seasons coaching.

The teams battled early, but layups from Purvis, sophomore forward Molly McDonagh and sophomore forward Megan Galloway helped Miami take an early 8-4 advantage. After APSU scored a bucket, the RedHawks turned up the defense and kept the Governors scoreless over the next six minutes. During that stretch Miami went on an 8-0 run to take a 16-7 lead. Austin Peay scored at the buzzer but the Red and White led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Miami opened up the second quarter on a 12-1 run to take a 28-10 advantage with 7:45 to go. Reid scored six points in the paint during that stretch. The Governors scored the next five to cut into the deficit, but a three-pointer from Reid got MU's offense going once again. An old-fashioned three-point play from sophomore guard Ana Richter and a three-pointer from freshman guard Kendall McCoy helped close out the scoring for the `Hawks as they took a 37-22 lead into the break.

Miami shot 53.8 percent (14-for-26) during the half and was led by Reid with 14 points. Freshman forward Kristen Levering was strong on the boards, bringing in eight caroms to go along with six points.

Free throws by Purvis and a three-pointer by Richter gave the RedHawks their largest lead at 44-22 with 6:24 to go in the third quarter. Despite jumpers from Galloway and Purvis, Miami's offense went cold the remainder of the period and Austin Peay took advantage. The Govs finished the quarter on a 19-6 run and Miami's lead was cut to nine at 50-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

A layup by Reid and another three-point play by Richter quickly pushed the RedHawks advantage back to 14 at 55-41. Austin Peay would close the gap back to 10 at 57-47, but a bucket from Purvis and two layups by Galloway put the score out of reach at 63-50 with 4:36 to go. Miami hit its free throws down the stretch to finish off a 75-60 win.

Galloway finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Richter scored nine points and had four rebounds, a block and a steal. Levering brought in a team-high 11 caroms and also had four blocks and two steals in 26 minutes of action. Austin Peay was led by Tiasha Gray with 18 points.

Miami returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Eastern Kentucky for a noon contest. That will be the annual Goals for Life game and will feature the students of Talawanda Middle School in attendance. The game will air live on ESPN3.

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