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YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Miami University women’s basketball team jumped to an early lead, and after falling behind, it nearly finished off a spirited comeback. The RedHawks last couple of attempts to hit the tying three-pointer fell short however, as Eastern Michigan took a 54-51 victory on Tuesday. Miami falls to 4-20 overall and 1-12 in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles improve to 13-10 overall and 6-6 in the MAC.
Freshman guard Baleigh Reid was aggressive from the beginning of the game as she consistently was able to get to the rim for layups. She finished with 15 points, her sixth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Trailing 49-38 with 6:17 to go, Miami began to make its comeback attempt. Reid started the run with a jumper. On the next possession, freshman guard Kayla Brown stole the ball and was fouled as she made her layup. She hit the free throw to finish off the three-point play and make it 49-43 with 5:50 to go. A jumper by freshman guard Ana Richter and a free throw from Brown pulled the ‘Hawks to within three at 49-46 at the 4:55 mark.
Eastern Michigan hit a three-pointer followed by a jumper to push the advantage back to eight at 54-46 with 2:52 to go. Miami did not give up as it did not allow the Eagles to score again. A layup from junior forward Hannah McCue and three free throws closed the Red and White to within three at 54-51. Miami forced a missed shot with 37 seconds to go and had two good looks at a tying three-pointer, but was unable to get it to go down.
The RedHawk offense had been sharp right from the beginning as Reid drained a three-pointer on their opening possession. Eastern Michigan scored the next six points before a three-pointer from senior point guard Courtney Larson tied the score. A jumper by the Eagles gave it an 8-6 lead with 17:00 to go in the first half.
Miami’s defense turned on the pressure as it held EMU without a point over the next 7:31. During that stretch, the RedHawks scored 14 points to take a 20-8 lead. Reid continued her hot start with a pair of layups, while Brown and Richter each contributed three-pointers.
After junior point guard Jessica Rupright made a nice move to hit a layup that gave the ‘Hawks a 22-10 advantage, an 8-0 run by the Eagles pulled it to within four at 22-18. McCue ended the drought with a layup, but a 7-1 run by EMU tied the score at 25 with 3:39 to go. Tied at 26 apiece, Larson hit a 15-foot jumper with eight seconds to go to send Miami into the break with a 28-26 lead.
The RedHawks shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28) for the half, while holding the Eagles to 26.2 percent (11-for-42) shooting. Reid led Miami with 10 points in the period.
The teams traded buckets early in the second half. Tied at 34 with 14:20 to go, the ‘Hawks went cold from the field, only scoring four points over the next eight minutes. The Eagles went on a 15-4 run during that time frame, taking a 49-38 lead before Miami began that comeback attempt that would fall just short.
McCue finished the game with eight points and a team-high 13 rebounds, her eighth double-digit rebound effort of the season. Richter finished with nine points and six rebounds.
For the game, Miami shot 33.9 percent (19-for-56), while holding the Eagles to a 31.0 percent (22-for-71) shooting percentage. Eastern Michigan held a 48-43 rebounding edge, and was led by Cha Sweeney with 16 points.
The RedHawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Buffalo for a 2 p.m. contest. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
