Box Score OXFORD, Ohio – Lauren Dickerson put up her first-career double-double and the Miami women's basketball team forced 21 turnovers to top Ball State, 60-57, on Saturday afternoon.
The RedHawks improve to 12-4 (3-2 Mid-American) with their second-straight victory.
The RedHawks got off to a hot start, hitting four of their first five shots with a different player contributing each bucket in an 8-2 start. Ball State eventually trimmed the gap to 12-11 midway through the quarter, but Miami would finish with a 6-2 spurt capped by Dickerson getting a rebound from her own miss and making a nice move in the lane to beat the buzzer and leave it 18-13 Miami after one.
A 9-2 Ball State (6-11, 1-4 MAC) run put it in front 22-20 with 5:35 left in the first half after a Jasmin Samz trifecta, but strong ball movement led to a tying layup for
Savannah Kluesner. Purvis got to the hoop for a layup to make it 24-22 before the lead began changing hands down the stretch of the first half. The Cardinals scored the final four points of the frame to take a 29-26 lead into the break.
Baskets from Kluesner and
Leah Purvis put the Red & White back in front 30-29 in the opening moments of the second half. After a Kluesner free throw made it 31-29, the Cardinals countered with seven in a row to nab a 36-31 advantage with 6:39 left in the third quarter.
Dickerson started a 7-0 run the other way with a hoop in the lane. After a Purvis make, Dickerson stole the ball from a Ball State player and converted a three-point play the other way to make it 38-36. The run extended to 9-0 when
Baleigh Reid got fed in tight for a layup to make it a 40-36 ballgame.
Five-straight BSU points put it back in front 41-40 with over three minutes to play in the third. Dickerson responded with five-straight points of her own, hitting MU's first three of the game with 2:55 left in the frame and putting in an impressive turnaround hook to bump the lead to 45-41 with two and change left in the quarter. The Cardinals closed out the quarter with a three of their own to leave the RedHawks nursing a one-point lead entering the fourth.
A steal and a score for Maliah Howard-Bass gave Ball State a 46-45 lead to start the fourth. Howard-Bass later hit a three to make it a 49-45 game and forced Miami into a timeout.
Kluesner split a pair of free throws and made a layup to pull the Red & White within a point and the junior post then dished to
Kennedy Taylor for a go-ahead bucket with 6:24 left to play. The Cardinals followed with a bucket of their own, but Dickerson connected from beyond the arc to make it a 53-51 contest.
After BSU pulled within a point, it took the lead on a three by Jasmin Samz. Purvis countered with a trifecta of her own on the next possession, leaving the Red & White up one (56-55) with 2:42 remaining.
Following a brilliant 30-second defensive sequence that forced a Ball State shot clock violation, Dickerson drew contact on her way to the hoop and sunk a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 58-55 with 32 seconds to go.
An Oshlynn Brown jumper pulled the Cardinals within one and the RedHawks split a pair of free throws to leave it a two-point game with 22 seconds left. MU responded defensively by forcing a turnover and then split another pair at the charity stripe before digging its heels defensively again to secure the victory.
The RedHawks forced 21 Cardinal turnovers to overcome shooting just 39.7 percent and 3-for-20 from three-point range. Ball State outrebounded Miami by a 38-34 margin and shot 40.7 from the floor and hit 6-of-16 threes. Dickerson's 24 points and 11 rebounds led all players while she also led the way with three steals. Kluesner also poured in double figures for the Red & White, finishing with 18 points.
Miami returns to the court on Jan. 26 when it begins a One Miami Weekend tripleheader against Kent State at 1 p.m.
