NCAA Tournament Preview: Miami vs. West Virginia

Saturday, March 21

Morgantown, W.Va.

5 p.m.

Miami University

West Virginia

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Photo by: Photo by: Ricardo Treviño Jr.

NCAA Tournament Preview: Miami vs. West Virginia

3/18/2026 8:04:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

ON TAP: For the first time since 2008, the Miami women's basketball team will be playing in the NCAA Tournament. Miami opens NCAA play by facing No. 4 West Virginia on Saturday, March 21 at 5 p.m.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Amber Tretter has 31 double-doubles (third-best in program history) in her career and is a near walking double-double in points (14.5) and rebounds (8.2) this season. She is on pace to become just the second RedHawk in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds and has scored 1,139 career points, which ranks 22nd in program history. She has scored in double figures in 27 of 34 games this season.

BALANCED SCORING: Miami has four players averaging double-digits, led by Amber Tretter (14.5 ppg.). She is joined by Amber Scalia (13.7 ppg.), Ilse de Vries (12.7 ppg.) and Tamar Singer (10.9 ppg.). Tretter has led the team in scoring 10 times, while Singer and Scalia have done it seven times apiece. de Vries is not far behind, with six.

FIRST TIME, LONG TIME: Miami will be competing in just their second NCAA Tournament game in program history. The last time Miami was dancing was back on March 23, 2008 versus Louisville (Lost, 81-67).

SEASON RECAP: Miami captured its first regular season championship since the 2003-04 season, and is 28-6 overall and 16-2 in MAC play, but those are not the only highlights this season.
• The 28 wins are the most in program history, while the 16 conference wins are second-best.
• Miami's 28 wins this year are tied for 12th most in MAC history. A win on Saturday would move them up to seventh all-time.
• Miami opened conference play 11-0, the best start in program history.
• Miami had a 13-game win streak from Dec. 20-Feb. 10, the second-best win streak in school history (best is 14).
• 22 of their 28 wins are by double digits.
• Three of Miami's six losses are by two possessions or less.

MAC TOURNAMENT RECAP:
• Miami marched through the conference tournament with wins over No. 8 Kent State (65-58), No. 5 Ohio (80-52) and No. 6 Toledo (68-58).
• Amber Scalia was named tournament MVP (averaged 17.6 ppg.), while Amber Tretter and Tamar Singer earned spots on the all-tournament team.
• The last time Miami won a conference tournament was back during the 2007-08 season.

POSTSEASON AWARDS: Miami took home six post-season MAC awards. Glenn Box was named MAC Coach of the Year (first Miami CoY since 2004). Amber Tretter (first team), Tamar Singer (third team) and Ilse de Vries (third team) earned All-MAC accolades and Singer and de Vries added spots on the All-MAC Defensive Team.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA: WVU is 27-6 overall and finished 14-4 in the Big 12. The Mountaineers captured the Big 12 Championship title with a 62-53 win over TCU. Gia Cooke (14.7 ppg.) is one of four Mountaineers that average 10-plus points/game.

SERIES HISTORY: Miami is 0-1 all-time versus WVU and last competed back on Dec. 21, 2022, a contest West Virginia won 82-51.

NCAA EXPERIENCE: When the RedHawks take the court against WVU, it will be the first NCAA experience for every student-athlete on the team. The only experience on the roster are Glenn Box (5 times) and Ben Wierzba (4 times) as assistant coaches. Assistant coach Avery Wright went twice as a graduate assistant.

COMBINING FORCES: Miami basketball has reached heights not seen in a long time in Oxford, Ohio. Combined with the women's 28-6 record and the men's 31-1 record, Miami basketball is 59-7 overall in 2025-26. The 59 combined wins are second-most in the nation, behind UConn (63).

PROGRAM BUILDER: While some may be shocked to see Miami's 28-6 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 captured their first regular season championship since the 2003-04 campaign ... not bad for a team that was picked seventh in the preseason poll.

LONG RANGE BOMBERS: Miami ranks 23rd nationally, connecting on 8.6 three-pointers per contest. The RedHawks have made double-digit three-pointers 11 times this season, including a program record 17 in the win over Ohio back on Jan. 31 (They made 16 against the Bobcats in the MAC semis). Eight different RedHawks shoot at least 33.3% from distance and as a team, Miami ranks 24th nationally in three point percentage (35.3%). Miami has also made 292 triples this season, a new program best (previous high was 233 during the 2007-08 season).

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Coach Box has preached defense since the day he has arrived on campus and this year is no different.
• RedHawks rank 42nd in the country, allowing 58.5 points per contest.
• The RedHawks held 17-of-18 MAC opponents under their season scoring average during the regular season.
• Miami is holding opponents to 37.8% shooting for the season.
• Miami is 34th nationally in turnovers forced per game (20.1).
• Are 38th in the country in steals per game (10.6) and have record 362 steals this season (school record is 364).

HOME SWEET HOME: For the first time in program history, Miami women's basketball went undefeated at home for the entire season (14-0).

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 819 games and make 411 starts. They have also combined to score in double figures 232 times.

SINGING HER PRAISES: Tamar Singer, one of the best freshmen 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 10.9 points and 7.1 assists, which ranks fourth nationally. She has surpassed 20 points four times this season (none last year) and has led the team in scoring seven times in 2025-26 (once all of last year).

PASSING RECORDS: Tamar Singer has 240 assists this season (seventh-best in MAC history), 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 370 career assists (school record is 596 assists).

PASSING RECORDS ... PART TWO: Miami has a school record 542 assists this season. The previous-high was 530, set back during the 1981-82 season. Obviously, Singer leads the way with 240 assists, but three other players have at least 50 assists this season. In all, Miami has assisted on 542 of 862 field goals this season (62.9%).

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 22 double-digit scoring contests after just three in 2024-25. She ranks 20th nationally and has a school record 63 blocks this season.

126 AND COUNTING: Amber Scalia will be competing in her 126th 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 1,570 points (12.7/game), connected on 209 three pointers and is a career 40% shooter from the field over her career. Her 1,570 points ranks 127th among active scorers in the country.

AD ASSIST?: In her first 29 games, Clara Gonzalez Planella made 10-of-41 triples ... in her last five games, she has made 11-of-17 from behind the arc, including five in last Friday's win over Ohio. What changed? Miami's Director of Athletics David Sayler suggested a small change to her shot and as they like to say ... the rest is history.