Nov. 24, 2015 Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
| Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Ohio - Three players scored in double figures and the Miami women's basketball team led by as many as 12 points, but Eastern Kentucky rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter and pulled out a 77-72 overtime win at Millett Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
The RedHawks drop to 2-2 with the setback while the Colonels are now 2-1.
After an uneven start for the offenses, Ana Richter opened the scoring with a corner three-pointer 1:39 in, though Jalen O'Bannon countered with a layup and a turnaround jumper in the lane to put the Colonels up 4-3. The RedHawks answered back with consecutive offensive rebounds and put backs by Kristen Levering and Molly McDonagh to hold a 6-3 lead nearly midway through the first quarter.
Leading 7-6, the Red and White tallied six-straight points on a Leah Purvis layup and jumper along with a Megan Galloway hoop to open a 13-6 lead. The Colonels whittled the lead down to 15-12 on four-straight Shameekia Murray points, but Baleigh Reid canned a long jumper from the corner in the final minute to give the RedHawks a 17-12 lead after the first quarter.
Miami opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to balloon its lead to 24-14, forcing an Eastern Kentucky timeout with 7:29 left in the half. MU got three free makes in four trips while buckets by Reid and McDonagh forced EKU into a huddle.
Michaela Hunter stopped the Miami surge with a three-pointer, though Purvis answered with a trifecta of her own with 4:54 to go until the break. The Red and White's lead stretched as large as 12 (32-20) with 1:58 left in the half and eventually took a 33-25 lead to the locker room. MU connected on a solid 46.2 percent of its shots while holding EKU to 31.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
A three-pointer by Abby Wright made cut Miami's lead to five, but MU rattled off the next six points on a pair of Reid free throws, a jumper by Galloway and a transition bucket by Purvis to go up 39-28. That hoop was the RedHawks' last point for over three and a half minutes as the Colonels went on a 6-0 run over the next 3:54 before Reid got to the basket for a layup to quiet the rally a little. Jessica Rupright then hit a three-pointer with 2:21 to go in the third quarter to get the lead back to double digits at 44-34, but Eastern Kentucky scored on its next three possessions to claw back to within four points. However, Reid made two free throws and Jazz Smith grabbed an offensive board and scooped it in to finish out the third quarter with Miami still on top by eight, (48-40).
O'Bannon opened the fourth with a basket, though Miami countered with a bucket by Galloway and two free throws by McDonagh bumped the lead back to 10. Murray followed those free throws with a three-pointer to get the `Hawks' lead down to seven. The Colonels eventually pulled within 54-49, though Purvis and McDonagh each split trips to the line to extend the lead to seven. A Hunter triple and Murray put back cut the lead to three, but Ana Richter made a layup to make it a two-score game at 59-54.
Hunter scored three the old-fashioned way with a score through contact and a free throw make to cut the gap to two. EKU then forced a turnover and tied it up on a pair of Murray free throws to even the score at 59.
The teams traded defensive stops and the RedHawks called timeout with 29.6 seconds showing on the clock to draw up a play. The RedHawks tried to drive to the hoop and dish it outside, but ultimately turned it over to give the Colonels 16.5 seconds to work with on offense.
With 22 points to her name, EKU called Hunter's number and she pulled up from the right elbow, but her shot was just a hair off the mark and MU grabbed a defensive rebound, then called timeout with 0.3 seconds remaining to advance the ball for a quick inbound play. The RedHawks worked around the ball well enough to create an opening for Reid cutting to the hoop, but her attempt was just a hair short as the teams entered overtime tied at 59.
EKU won the opening tip of overtime and got a quick hoop from Murray to grab its first lead since early in the first quarter. Reid answered with a layup, but Miranda Maples nailed a three from the top of the arc to put the Colonels on top 64-61. Reid split a pair of free throws and Miami tried to engage in a press. While it appeared to force an errant pass out of bounds, O'Bannon made a leaping catch near the baseline and scored to up the lead to four.
McDonagh and Reid each split on trips at the line to pull to within two, but Murray scored on a runner in the lane to make it 68-64 with two minutes left in the extra session. A baseline jumper by Purvis found the bottom of the net to cut the deficit in half. Alexus Cooper calmly hit a pair of free throws to answer. The Colonels then got a stop and Murray scored in transition to give them a 72-66 lead with under a minute to play. After a Miami miss, Cooper hit an open three in the corner to put the game away.
The RedHawks shot 42.1 percent from the floor and held the Colonels to 35.1 percent shooting. The teams were similar in three-point shooting with EKU holding a slight edge at 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) against MU's 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) mark. Foul shooting plagued Miami down the stretch as it finished 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) after a 10-of-12 start while Eastern Kentucky hit 18-of-25 (72 percent) from the charity stripe. The Colonels had a slight edge in rebounding (43-42) and forced 21 RedHawk turnovers against 16 of their own.
Purvis led three Miami players in double figures with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point range) while Reid added 16 points and McDonagh notched 10 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs, for her first career double-double. Murray led all scorers with 25 points while adding nine rebounds, Hunter chipped in 22 and O'Bannon had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double for EKU.
Miami finishes up its home heavy month of November against Morehead State on Sunday at 4 p.m.