ON TAP: Miami says goodbye to 2020 and welcomes the Buffalo Bulls to Millett Hall on Saturday, January 2 to open the new year. Opening tip is slated for 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Miami University women's basketball team went into Bowling Green with just eight healthy players and went toe-to-toe with a Falcons team that is now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play. In the loss,
Kelly McLaughlin had a career-high 22 points and 18 rebounds, while
Katie Davidson added 16 and
Peyton Scott chipped in with 12.
ABOUT BUFFALO: Buffalo, one of the MAC favorites, is 5-2 on the year and 2-0 in conference play. Dyaisha Fair leads the way, averaging 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
SERIES WITH BUFFALO: Miami is 20-23 all-time versus the Bulls. Buffalo won three matchups a year ago, including a MAC Tournament contest and have won 10 straight over the Red and White. Miami's last win over Buffalo was Jan. 23, 2016.
HOME SWEET HOME: Miami returns to Oxford for its fist home game since Dec. 8 and will now play four of its next five games inside Millett Hall.
BACKCOURT PROWESS: The backcourt duo of sophomore
Peyton Scott and freshman
Katie Davidson are averaging a combined 33.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists. The duo averages nearly 35 minutes each per game played as well.
CLIPPED WING: The RedHawks have been playing much of this season with a shortened roster due to key injuries. Miami played with just eight healthy players last week at Bowling Green.
GREAT SCOTT: Peyton Scott had a banner year for the RedHawks in 2019-20, averaging 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, earning All-MAC Freshman honors, but that is nothing compared to what she is doing in 2020-21. The sophomore is averaging 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds this season. Playing much of this season as the team's point guard, Scott is also averaging 5.0 assists per game after averaging just 2.2 a year ago. In her career, Scott has started 36 contests and has scored 473 points and recorded 169 rebounds. She has scored in double figures in every game this year.
KD WHO?: Katie Davidson has made a quick impression on the basketball team. The freshman has scored in double figures in every game of her career and is averaging 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She posted 16 points and 10 rebounds at No. 22 Notre Dame in her first collegiate game. She had 18 points at Ohio State and had a career day at Evansville, scoring 22 points and adding 13 rebounds.
CAREER YEAR: While still early in the season, senior
Abbey Hoff is posting the best numbers of her career. Through her first three years with the RedHawks, Hoff averaged 4.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. This year, Hoff is averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. Over her last 16 games, Hoff is 20-of-52 (38.5%) from behind the arc.
SUPER SENIOR: Kelly McLaughlin scored 188 points and had 125 rebounds in her first three years with the RedHawks, averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. This year, the senior has already scored 74 points and recorded 57 rebounds in six games for an average of 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. She even made her first career three pointer versus Bowling Green.
POUND THE BOARDS: Despite its incredibly tough schedule, Miami leads the MAC in rebounding margin at +9.8 per game. Miami was plus-9 in rebounds at Notre Dame and plus-24 in a win over Valpo. Even at Ohio State, the RedHawks were only outrebounded by one and the RedHawks had 24 offensive rebounds versus Evansville.
LOOKING AHEAD: The RedHawks continue at home on Jan. 6 for a contest versus Ohio.
