Miami University
Morehead State
RedHawks Ground Eagles, 59-57
11/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Ohio - A strong performance defensively down the stretch and a career-high 20 points from sophomore guard Ana Richter helped push the Miami University women's basketball team to a 59-57 victory over Morehead State Sunday evening. The win improves Miami's record to 3-2 in the early part of the season, while the Eagles dropped to 3-4.
Both team's started off quickly as they exchanged three-pointers on their opening possessions. However, it was Miami who held the lead early on, beginning the game on a 9-3 run over the first 2:40 of play.
Just over five minutes into the first quarter, a three-pointer from freshman forward Kristen Levering and a Morehead State offensive foul brought the teams into the first media timeout. Miami held a 16-7 lead, making six of their first ten attempts from the field early on, including a 2-of-4 mark from beyond the arc. MSU hit just three of their first ten shots from the field.
Following the media timeout, a bucket by senior forward Tamira Ford helped Miami reach its largest lead up to that point, an 18-7 advantage. A small run by the Eagles kept things close, but the Red & White held a 21-14 lead after one quarter of play, shooting 50 percent from the field in the contest's opening frame.
A more defensive matchup appeared in the opening moments of the second quarter as the first point did not occur until Morehead State hit a free throw attempt 3:20 in. A couple solid performances at the free throw line by Richter and Ford built the Miami lead to 27-20 with just under two minutes to go in the half. After the Eagles scored the next five points, sophomore forward Molly McDonagh beat the buzzer by sinking a bucket as time expired, giving the RedHawks a 29-25 lead at the halfway point.
Morehead State shot slightly better than the Red & White in the first half, making 10-of-29 from the field, while Miami went 10-of-30. Rebounds were knotted up at 21 apiece. Richter led the way for the RedHawks with seven points, while McDonagh and Ford followed closely with six points each.
Neither team experienced extended runs in the third quarter as the Eagles and RedHawks traded buckets throughout. Richter led the Miami charge, scoring the team's first three baskets. Amid Richter's hot hand, the Eagles collected five points of their own. The teams came into the quarter's first media timeout with the RedHawks leading, 35-30.
The trend of back-and-forth action continued the rest of the quarter, with the two teams eventually being tied through three quarters of play at 45-45. Richter scored 10 of Miami's 16 points in the third quarter.
The Eagles opened the final frame with an early field goal, but back-to-back buckets by Levering and McDonagh gave the RedHawks the lead again at 49-47. However, Morehead State responded back with two straight scores from beyond the arc, giving them a 53-49 advantage. The back-and-forth continued as Miami fired right back with buckets from Ford and sophomore guard Jazz Smith. With 4:20 left, the teams were deadlocked at 53 apiece.
A cold streak stuck both teams in the few minutes following, but it was Morehead State that eventually jumped back in front. Miami responded with a basket of their own as the game remained tied with 1:57 to go. After a MSU missed three-point attempt, Miami pushed the ball down the floor, where freshman guard Leah Purvis was fouled and headed to the line. Purvis made 1-of-2, giving the Red & White the lead back at 56-55. After both teams traded misses, a Morehead State field goal thrusted the Eagles back in front, 57-56. With just 25 seconds to go, Miami took a timeout.
The timeout paid dividends as the inbound pass went to sophomore guard Baleigh Reid, who took it right in for the go-ahead score as Miami was clinging to a 58-57 lead with 21.2 seconds remaining. The Eagles' next possession came up short as the RedHawks got a key stop. With 10.2 seconds remaining, the Red and White took their final timeout. After a successful inbounds pass, Miami was able to kill a couple seconds off of the clock before the Eagles eventually committed the foul, sending Richter to the line. Richter hit 1-of-2 to widen the Red & White lead to 59-57.
Morehead State had an opportunity as the final seconds ticked down, but they were unable to get the shot off, giving Miami the 59-57 victory.
The Red & White finished the game 23-of-60 from the field, while Morehead State went 24-of-64. Aside from Richter, another RedHawk who stood out was McDonagh, who finished with ten points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in 31 minutes of action. Levering also added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Ford finished with eight points and four rebounds.
Miami gets back in action this Wednesday as they travel to Valparaiso for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off. It then returns home to host Oakland on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. Both games will air live on ESPN3.
