Miami University
Providence
Miami Drops UNCW Thanksgiving Tournament Finale to Providence
11/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The Miami University women's basketball team dropped its tournament finale to Providence, 75-59, at the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday. The RedHawks fall to 2-4 overall, while the Friars improve to 6-0.
Miami held tough against undefeated Providence early, but could not overcome a 28.3 percent (17-for-60) performance from the field. Sophomore forward Kristen Levering and freshman guard Lauren Dickerson each scored 11 points to lead the RedHawks.
"We have to be more consistent," said head coach Cleve Wright. "You are not going to shoot under 30 percent and win that game. I thought we did well from free throw line and took good shots, we just have to knock them down. Defensively, we did not take a good job on the boards. Providence got more offensive rebounds than they usually did and they took advantage."
It started out well for Miami as triples from junior guard Kayla Brown and sophomore guard Kendall McCoy, along with a layup from Levering staked the `Hawks to an 8-4 lead with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter. Providence answered with a 10-2 run to take a 14-10 advantage, but two Dickerson free throws and a jumper from junior forward Molly McDonagh tied the score. The Friars drained a three-pointer late to end the first quarter on top, 17-14.
Brown, Levering and sophomore guard Leah Purvis kept the RedHawks in it early in the second quarter each making buckets. Two free throws from McDonagh pulled Miami to within three at 28-25 with 6:01 remaining. At that point a 12-2 run from Providence put it in control of the contest. Levering hit a layup at the buzzer, but the Friars took a 40-29 lead at the break.
Providence scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to put the score out of reach. The Friars built the lead to as big as 26 points before the RedHawks began hitting some shots in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Jazz Smith had back-to-back triples, while Levering also hit a three-pointer, but PC finished off the 75-59 win.
Brown finished the game with nine points, while McCoy had eight. McDonagh scored seven points and brought home a team-high eight rebounds. The RedHawks finished 18-for-20 (90.0 percent) from the line, while the Friars won the rebounding battle, 46-37.
Miami returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Indiana State at 2 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.
