Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami University
Fort Wayne
RedHawks Down Mastodons, 69-47, to Open Wright State Invite
12/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
DAYTON, Ohio - The Miami University women's basketball team used a balanced effort in taking down Fort Wayne, 69-47, on Monday evening at the Wright State Invitational. The victory marked the team's second in a row and improved their record to 4-6, while the Mastodons fell to 2-9.
Lauren Dickerson was the lone RedHawk in double figures with 13 points. Kendall McCoy posted eight points while Jazz Smith, Abbey Hoff and Kristen Levering gathered seven points apiece. Molly McDonagh and Megan Galloway chipped in six points each. Every player who got in the game for Miami scored at least two points.
The Red & White jumped on the Mastodons early, scoring the game's first 14 points. Fort Wayne finally got their first points on two free throws with 5:11 remaining in the opening frame. Carrying a 20-8 lead with 2:38 to go, Miami ended the quarter just how they started it - by dominating. The RedHawks captured the final nine points and held a 29-8 advantage after one. It marked the highest-scoring quarter of the season for MU.
The second frame saw much of the same as the `Hawks came out firing again. A Smith three-pointer got things started as Miami opened on a 10-0 run. A Mastodon bucket just over five minutes in ended Fort Wayne's drought, which lasted a combined 7:46 going back to the opening quarter. They would only hit three more baskets the rest of the quarter as Miami took a 45-17 lead into the locker room. The RedHawk defense held the Mastondons to just six first half field goals.
Fort Wayne opened the second half with a more spirited effort offensively. The Mastodons totaled 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the third quarter, while the RedHawks garnered 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Despite the improved output from Fort Wayne, MU took a 21-point lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth one with the teams trading chances. When all was said and done, MU scored 13 points to Fort Wayne's 12. Overall, the RedHawks finished the night with a season-high .490 shooting percentage to go with their largest margin of victory thus far in the 2016-17 campaign.
Miami wastes little time getting back on the court as they take on Eastern Kentucky at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in game two of the Wright State Invitational. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN3.
