Miami Ohio University Athletics
Cardinals Overcome RedHawks, 66-41
1/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Coach Wright Post Game
MUNCIE, Ind. - The RedHawks played solid defense a good chunk of the game, but struggled offensively in dropping a 66-41 decision to Ball State Saturday afternoon. Sophomore guard Baleigh Reid led the way with 16 points for Miami, which dropped to 7-7 (1-2 Mid-American Conference) on the year. The Cardinals improved to 10-4 (2-1 MAC).
Both teams experienced slow starts offensively. Ball State held a 5-2 lead as the teams entered the first media timeout 5:23 into the opening quarter. The Red & White were 1-of-7 from the field early on, while the Cardinals were 2-of-8. The latter half of the first stanza saw slightly more action than the first with Ball State opening a 10-2 lead after one quarter of play. The Miami offense continued to struggle, finishing the frame 1-of-11 from the field, while also committing six turnovers. Despite the cold start from the field, the Red & White defense held the Cardinals' top scorers in check. Ball State was 4-of-17 from the field, including just 1-of-8 from three-point range.
The RedHawks came back firing in the opening moments of the second quarter. A sophomore guard Kendall McCoy layup and back-to-back buckets by Reid quickly cut the Cardinals' lead to 13-8 with 5:56 to play in the first half. Ball State responded strongly, scoring the game's next ten points before a freshman forward Kristen Levering layup with 1:06 to go ended the Red & White's scoreless drought. The squads entered the halfway mark with Ball State leading, 23-10, combining for 22 turnovers and 15-of-50 from the field. Rebounds were knotted up at 18 apiece.
Miami's defense was the highlight of the first half after forcing eight turnovers and four shot clock violations.
The Cardinals began the second half on a 5-0 run before a Reid trey and a lay-in from sophomore guard Ana Richter brought the score to 28-15 with 7:46 left in the third quarter. However, another BSU run, 6-0 this time, opened up a 34-15 lead. Sophomore forward Molly McDonagh ended the stretch with a jumper. The Cardinals answered back with a three-pointer and a layup brought to extend their lead to 39-17 with 5:04 to go in the third. The teams traded buckets the remainder of the quarter, with Ball State eventually taking a 46-23 lead through three frames. Reid scored Miami's final six points of the quarter.
The teams traded buckets as the early minutes of the fourth quarter expired, but the Cardinals pulled ahead further and led, 61-29, with five minutes to go. The RedHawks, over the final five minutes, went on a 12-5 run courtesy of long distance strikes from sophomore guards Jazz Smith and Kayla Brown. Brown finished the game with nine points, going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Miami also got a strong performance from Smith, who scored six points, dished out two assists and swiped three boards. Levering and redshirt sophomore forward Megan Galloway combined to collect 12 boards.
The RedHawks return to action on Wednesday when they host Toledo at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.
