LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Miami University women's basketball team (4-1) fell to No. 5 Louisville (6-0) by a 95-73 margin on Monday, ending the longest undefeated start to the season in program history.
Nia Clark led the RedHawks' offense with 17 points while
Kristen Levering led with nine rebounds.
Nia Clark,
Lauren Dickerson,
Kristen Levering and
Savannah Kluesner all scored double figures. Clark and Levering had new career-highs in points, scoring 17 and 14, respectively. Dickerson and Levering each had new season-highs in rebounds. Dickerson also had a season-high four three-pointers.
Kennedy Taylor scored the first points of her collegiate career.
The Cardinals began the game with an 8-0 run before the RedHawks got onto the board with a jumper from
Lauren Dickerson. She had the next Miami basket as well before Louisville went on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 15 points with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Louisville's lead remained at 15 as Miami trailed 27-12 after 10 minutes of play.
Kendall McCoy sunk her first basket of the game to start the second quarter before Levering scored twice in a row. McCoy hit a shot from behind the arc to decrease Louisville's lead to 10 with 5:55 left in the second quarter. McCoy made another three-pointer two minutes later to increase her point total to eight.
Louisville led Miami by a 46-28 margin at halftime. The Cardinals shot .500 from the field during the first half. The RedHawks shot .400 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of play, compared to the Cardinals' .125 from three-point range.
The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter. Levering was the first RedHawk to reach double figures with 4:31 left in the third quarter. Clark immediately followed. Dickerson also hit double figures less than a minute later with a three-point shot.
Louisville went on a 7-0 run before Kluesner broke Miami's scoring drought to end the quarter. The RedHawks trailed 74-50 after three quarters of play.
The Cardinals continued to hold onto a double-digit lead despite the RedHawks scoring more points and outshooting the Cardinals in the fourth quarter. Kluesner scored three baskets in a row for Miami to put herself in double figures as well. Taylor totaled five points to end the fourth quarter.
Miami's next game is on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the University of Illinois – Chicago. Tip-off is scheduled for noon ET.
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