RedHawks and Cardinals Battle for First Place on Saturday

Saturday, February 21

Oxford, Ohio

1 p.m.

Miami University

Ball State

Photo by: Lexie Cunningham

RedHawks and Cardinals Battle for First Place on Saturday

2/19/2026 2:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

ON TAP: The Miami women's basketball team hosts Ball State on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. It will be Miami's Love.Honor.Care game as the top two seeds in the MAC standings square off.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Amber Tretter has 27 double-doubles (third-best in program history) in her career and is a near walking double-double in points (14.7) and rebounds (8.0) this season. She is on pace to become just the second RedHawk in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds and has scored 1,030 career points, which ranks 27th in program history. She has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games this season.

BALANCED SCORING: Miami has four players averaging double-digits, led by Amber Tretter (14.7 ppg.). She is joined by Amber Scalia (14.1 ppg.), Ilse de Vries (13.0 ppg.) and Tamar Singer (10.3 ppg.). Tretter has led the team in scoring seven times, while de Vries and Scalia have done it six times apiece. Singer, who is fourth in the nation in assists (7.4), has led Miami in scoring five times.

NUMBER WATCH: Tamar Singer is seven assists shy of 200 for the season and would become the 22nd player in MAC history to accomplish that feat. Amber Scalia if sitting at 196 career three pointers, four away from 200.

BY THE MARGINS: Miami is currently fourth in the MAC in scoring (71.1) and first in defense (58.1), which results in a 13.0 point margin of victory, second-best in the conference. The RedHawks are second in the MAC in field goal percentage (45.2%), three-point percentage (34.5%), and free throw percentage (77.0%). Miami is first in turnover margin (5.2), second in blocks (3.7) and third in steals (10.7).

CMU RECAP: Four RedHawks scored in double figures as Miami picked up a 65-53 win over Central Michigan on Wednesday evening. Miami was led by 18 points from Amber Scalia, while Núria Jurjo finished with 16. Amber Tretter added 13 points and Ilse de Vries chipped in with 11. The RedHawks forced 21 turnovers and held the Chippewas scoreless from behind the arc.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Back on Jan. 31, the RedHawks played in front of 5,034 fans, the largest crowd to ever see a women's basketball game in Millett Hall. The previous high was 2,876 versus BGSU back on Feb. 23, 2019.

MAC MOMENTUM: Miami opened conference play at 11-0, the best start in program history before UMass downed the RedHawks 65-64 on Feb. 14. The loss also snapped a 13-game win streak, one shy of the all-time school record, set by the 1982-83 squad.

CHASING HISTORY: The 21 wins this season rank sixth-best in program history. A win over Ball State on Saturday would give the RedHawks 22 wins, fifth-most for Miami women's basketball. The all-time record is 24 wins, set back during the 1981-82 campaign.

ABOUT BALL STATE: Since falling to the RedHawks back on Jan. 24, the Cardinals have responded with seven-straight wins and sit atop the MAC standings at 22-5 overall and 13-1 in conference play. Bree Salenbien leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (7.4 rpg.).

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 77th meeting between the two programs with Miami holding a 42-34 all-time series advantage. Miami snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Cardinals earlier this year, but have not downed BSU at home since Jan. 19, 2019.

TOUGH STRETCH: The RedHawks, who are currently second in the MAC standings, are in the middle of a three-game stretch against the other top teams in the conference. Miami fell to No. 3 UMass last Saturday and beat No. 4 Central Michigan earlier this week. The contest with No. 1 Ball State wraps up the difficult three-game stretch.

PROGRAM BUILDER: While some may be shocked to see Miami's 20-5 record, since Coach Box's arrival, the RedHawks have seen improvement each year. In his first year the RedHawks went 9-20 (6-12 MAC) and followed that up with a 19-12 (11-7 MAC) record, the second-best single-season turnaround in program history. This season the RedHawks are three wins away from matching the program record for wins in a season.

50-PLUS LEAGUE: A win on Saturday would be Glenn Box's 50th of his career in just 87 games coached. The only Miami coaches to win 50 games faster were Linda Wunder, 1988-90 (50 wins in 73 games) and Lisa Bradley, 1993-95 (50 wins in 79 games).

MID-MAJOR MONSTER: Miami currently ranks 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, which was last updated on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

COMBINING FORCES: Miami basketball has reached heights not seen in a long time in Oxford, Ohio. Combined with the women's 21-5 record and the men's perfect 26-0 record, Miami basketball is 47-5 overall in 2025-26. The 47 combined wins are second-most in the nation, behind UConn (52).

LONG RANGE BOMBERS: Miami ranks 39th nationally, connecting on 8.2 three-pointers per contest. The RedHawks have made double-digit three-pointers in seven games this season, including a program record 17 in the win over Ohio back on Jan. 31. Eight different RedHawks are shooting at least 30% from distance and six RedHawks have already made 10+ three pointers this season (Ashton Elley and Clara Gonzalez Planella have nine).

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Coach Box has preached defense since the day he has arrived on campus and this year is no different.
• RedHawks ranks 40th in the country, allowing 58.1 points per contest.
• The RedHawks have held all 13 MAC opponents under their season scoring average.
• Miami is holding opponents to 38.3% shooting for the season.
• Miami is 32nd nationally in turnovers forced per game (20.6).
• Are 42nd in the country in steals per game (10.7).
• Miami is forcing 21.0 turnovers per game in MAC play.

HOME SWEET HOME: The RedHawks are a perfect 11-0 at home this season and have out-scored their opponents 841-604 (21.5/game). Miami is shooting 39.4% from long range and are averaging 18.9 assists per game on its home court.

NOTHING BUT NET: The RedHawks are only attempting 15.4 free throws per contest, but are making the most of their opportunities. Miami ranks 26th nationally at 77.0% from the foul line. Six different RedHawks shoot at least 75% from the charity stripe.

NEW, BUT NOT YOUNG: Despite eight new players on the roster, the RedHawks feature an experienced squad. Overall, the 12 players have combined to play in 743 games and make 371 starts. They have also combined to score in double figures 206 times.

SINGING HER PRAISES: Tamar Singer, one of the best freshman in the MAC a year ago, has taken her game to another level in 2025-26. Last season she averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 assists per game while running the point. This year she is averaging 10.3 points and 7.4 assists, which ranks fourth nationally. She has surpassed 20 points twice this season (none last year) and has led the team in scoring five times in 2025-26 (once all of last year).

PASSING RECORDS: Tamar Singer has 193 assists this season, which is a single season record for the RedHawks. She has posted 12 assists in a game twice (school record is 13) and is currently on pace to finish her sophomore campaign with 351 career assists (school record is 596 assists).

DE VRIES PLAYS OVERSEAS: This summer, sophomore Ilse de Vries represented the Netherlands as a member of the U20 National Team at the annual FIBA U20 EuroBasket League. In seven games, she averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. This season de Vries is averaging career bests in points, rebounds and assists. She has already posted 17 double-digit scoring contests after just three in 2024-25 and was named MAC Player of the Week on Jan. 27. She also leads the MAC in blocks/game (1.9).

118 AND COUNTING: Amber Scalia will be competing in her 118th career game on Saturday. Prior to joining the RedHawks, Scalia played in 91 games over three years at St. Thomas, where she scored 1,091 points and shot 34% from long distance. She has scored 1,472 points (12.5/game), connected on 196 three pointers and is a career 41% shooter from the field over her career. Her 1,472 points ranks 125th among active scorers in the country.