Jan. 13, 2018 Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
OXFORD, Ohio - After a strong start, the Miami women's basketball team went cold from the field and dropped a 74-59 decision to Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The RedHawks (9-7, 1-4 Mid-American) scored 37 points in the final three quarters in dropping their fourth-straight.
The new look starting frontcourt asserted itself early as Kendall McCoy and Savannah Kluesner combined for all but three of Miami's 22 first quarter points. Trailing 11-6 early on, the Red and White embarked on a blistering 13-2 run to snag a 19-13 lead late in the first quarter. McCoy led the way with 13 points while a three-pointer by Lauren Dickerson put MU up 22-16 as the RedHawks held a 22-18 lead after 10 minutes.
Points proved more difficult to come by for the RedHawks in the second as the Eagles tied it up at 22 apiece moments into the quarter. A Megan Galloway layup put MU back in front, but with the score tied at 26 apiece later on, EMU (7-9, 3-2 MAC) rattled off seven straight to grab a 33-26 advantage with under five minutes left in the half.
The Eagles' lead eventually grew as large as 39-30. Molly McDonagh made a couple free throws and after allowing another EMU bucket, Dickerson made a long jumper at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 41-34 at the break.
A Sasha Dailey three upped Eastern Michigan's lead to 44-34 in the first minute of the second half, but buckets by McCoy and Kayla Brown drew Miami back within six. That was as close as the RedHawks were able to get in that frame as the Eagles eventually ballooned their advantage to 16 points at 60-44 with a minute and a half left in the third and ended the quarter ahead by a 60-47 count.
After hitting a trifecta at the end of the third, Dickerson caught fire from long range to bring the RedHawks back within single digits in the fourth, draining a trio of three-pointers in the fourth to make it a 64-56 ballgame.
EMU's Courtnie Lewis countered with a three ball of her own to extend the lead back to 11 with 6:22 remaining in the contest. That trey spurred a 10-0 run by the Eagles that gave them an 18-point lead, their largest of the day at 74-56 with 3:57 left to put the game away.
After making 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) first quarter field goals, the RedHawks shot just 28.9 percent from the floor the rest of the way to finish at 39 percent to the Eagles' 49.2 percent clip. EMU also held a 43-29 edge on the glass while committing 19 turnovers to MU's 16. Dickerson led all scorers with 23 points while McCoy (17 points) and Kluesner (11 points) also scored in double figures.
The RedHawks are back in action on Wednesday when they host Akron at Millett Hall. Opening tip is at 7 p.m.
