Miami Ohio University Athletics
Photo by: Ricardo Trevino
Miami University
Jurjo, No. 13 RedHawks Up for Challenge of Shutting Down No. 4 WVU
3/20/2026 4:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— There's an old adage in sports that says, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships."
In other words, fans tend to notice quickly who on a team averages the most points or hits the most three-pointers, but sometimes the unsung heroes who excel at the defensive end of the floor don't get the most headlines.
Meet Núria Jurjo.
On a Miami team that has four starters averaging double-figure scoring (Amber Tretter – 14.5 ppg, Amber Scalia – 13.7, Ilse de Vries – 12.7, Tamar Singer – 10.9), the fifth starter might only average 6.7 points per contest, but her value to the team shows up in another part of the box score.
That's because Jurjo has been one of the biggest keys to Miami shutting down its opponents defensively en route to a record 28 victories this season and two championships.
"Núria Jurjo is the best defensive player in our league," said head coach Glenn Box emphatically. "That's what Núria does: We simply put Núria on who we feel like is the best player."
In Miami's run to the MAC Tournament title last week, the RedHawks held Kent State, Ohio and Toledo to a combined 30.8% shooting from the floor (60-of-195) and yielded only 56 points per game (improving their league-leading defensive average to 58.5 ppg). From behind the three-point line, the numbers were even more staggering: RedHawk opponents shot just 19.6% from deep (11-of-56) at Rocket Arena.
"We're one of the best defensive teams in the MAC, and having to guard the best player on the other team when you play for the best defensive team in the MAC, that's really nice to do," Jurjo said.
Jurjo's teammates (and her head coach) certainly appreciate the consistency of her defensive effort. "Every time we need her, she's going to step up," said Singer. "It's nice to have someone I can count on next to me."
"We know who she is to our program and what she's about, and she's about the right things," Box said. "I'm proud of her; she relishes in this role and that's not really going to change tomorrow."
Not just a skilled defender, Jurjo is certainly more than capable of filling up the stat sheet across a variety of categories – as evidenced by a January win over UMass where she hit five threes, scored 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds, dished out five assists and collected five steals. But her number one assignment will always be holding down the stopper role for the Red and White.
"What I try to do when I'm on the floor is dictate defensively," Jurjo said. "I'm always on the best player of the other team, so that's a [big] responsibility.
"Offensively, I just try to make the right decision on every play. If I have to take a shot, I'll take it, but of course I'm going to play for the team."
As the only players on the roster who were part of the program when Box was hired in 2023, Jurjo and Tretter have led the way in Miami's recent meteoric rise – from nine wins in their debut season to 19 last year and now an NCAA Tournament appearance at 28-6.
"Going from year to year we really committed to what Coach Box has told us and just creating a culture where we want to win," Tretter added as she reflected back over the past three seasons. "We'll do anything it takes to do that, and the progress from freshman year to now has really just been amazing. It's been great to be a part of that."
"Freshman year, everyone was new, basically. It's always hard to have a good year when the coach is new and most of the team are new as well," Jurjo added. "We could guard people, but it was very hard for us to be good offensively..
"This year, we're a way better team in general than [even] last year: We play more together and we pass the ball quicker – that basically helps us to get success."
Ask any Miami player or coach about the team's identity under Box, and you'll get the same answer (although occasionally repeated for emphasis): For the Red and White, it's all about defense.
'Defense, defense, defense," as Scalia said after one win in Cleveland.
And on that front, Miami knows it has a tall task ahead trying to slow down a Big 12 Tournament champion West Virginia team that comes in scoring better than 76 points a night, but Jurjo and her teammates are looking forward to the challenge.
"They're physically stronger for sure, [coming] from a better conference: Inside, they're really big, and then they're really quick too…but we can compete for sure," she said.
Bottom line: If Miami is going to get enough stops to advance to the second round, its stopper will need to be special.
But so far this season, she's been exactly that.
No. 14 Miami and No. 3 West Virginia will tip off here at 5 p.m. Saturday, with the game set to be broadcast on ESPNU.
PACKED PLACE?: West Virginia announced Friday afternoon that tomorrow's first-round games at 14,000-seat Hope Coliseum are sold out. The Mountaineers' attendance record in Morgantown is 13,447, a mark that could likely fall when Saturday's doubleheader tips off. Fifth-seeded Kentucky will face 12th-seeded James Madison in the first game of the day at 2:30, with the RedHawks and Mountaineers squaring off 30 minutes after the opener concludes.
The biggest crowd Miami has played in front of this season was 5,034 (Jan. 31 vs. Ohio in Millett Hall), but the RedHawks are looking forward to what will certainly be a noisy postseason environment in Morgantown.
"One of the most exciting things as a player is to almost quiet a crowd," Tretter said. "If we can do that tomorrow, I think we'll be pretty happy."
"It sounds exciting for us to be the underdog and try to make the upset," Jurjo commented. "It's definitely going to be a hard place to play, with all the crowd they have, but at the end of the day, it's still basketball.
"We just have to focus on what we can control: On the court."
'PRESS VIRGINIA?': The Mountaineers are known for their pressure, ranking in the top 20 in the country in both turnovers forced and turnover margin, so taking care of the ball will be of crucial importance for Miami Saturday. The RedHawks spent plenty of time working on that aspect of the game this afternoon.
"Obviously their pressure game is pretty good," Box said as he previewed the matchup with WVU. "They're able to force a lot of steals and create a lot of havoc, especially at home, so our ability to handle their pressure is paramount.
"We've been prepping for a week; I feel very confident that we're going to do what we need to do."
NOT JUST 'HAPPY TO BE HERE': Although this is Miami's first trip to the Big Dance in 18 years, the RedHawks are certainly not just content to hang a 'participation' banner in Oxford. Within a matter of minutes after Miami secured its NCAA berth by beating Toledo in the MAC Tournament title game last Saturday, Box was pointing to the next goal on the team's checklist.
"I came here to win championships. I also came here to win in the tournament," he said. "I don't want to be like a lot of these programs that were just super happy about getting there…
"Our goal is to be in the Sweet 16."
Tretter echoed those comments: "We're not just going in there just to play in March Madness," she said. "We want to win games as well, and we have the capabilities to do so."
"It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Scalia, a senior who is accomplishing her lifelong dream by wrapping up her prolific college career in the NCAA Tournament.
"I think we're really excited to be here and we're ready to make some noise."
Bookmark MiamiRedHawks.com for continued behind-the-scenes coverage from March Madness. Recent stories include:
Men's Friday game story vs. Tennessee (3/20)
Men's Thursday notebook from Philadelphia (3/19)
Men's Wednesday game story vs. SMU (3/18)
Women's postgame ice cream tradition (3/18)
Men's Tuesday notebook from Dayton (3/17)
In other words, fans tend to notice quickly who on a team averages the most points or hits the most three-pointers, but sometimes the unsung heroes who excel at the defensive end of the floor don't get the most headlines.
Meet Núria Jurjo.
On a Miami team that has four starters averaging double-figure scoring (Amber Tretter – 14.5 ppg, Amber Scalia – 13.7, Ilse de Vries – 12.7, Tamar Singer – 10.9), the fifth starter might only average 6.7 points per contest, but her value to the team shows up in another part of the box score.
That's because Jurjo has been one of the biggest keys to Miami shutting down its opponents defensively en route to a record 28 victories this season and two championships.
"Núria Jurjo is the best defensive player in our league," said head coach Glenn Box emphatically. "That's what Núria does: We simply put Núria on who we feel like is the best player."
In Miami's run to the MAC Tournament title last week, the RedHawks held Kent State, Ohio and Toledo to a combined 30.8% shooting from the floor (60-of-195) and yielded only 56 points per game (improving their league-leading defensive average to 58.5 ppg). From behind the three-point line, the numbers were even more staggering: RedHawk opponents shot just 19.6% from deep (11-of-56) at Rocket Arena.
"We're one of the best defensive teams in the MAC, and having to guard the best player on the other team when you play for the best defensive team in the MAC, that's really nice to do," Jurjo said.
Jurjo's teammates (and her head coach) certainly appreciate the consistency of her defensive effort. "Every time we need her, she's going to step up," said Singer. "It's nice to have someone I can count on next to me."
"We know who she is to our program and what she's about, and she's about the right things," Box said. "I'm proud of her; she relishes in this role and that's not really going to change tomorrow."
Not just a skilled defender, Jurjo is certainly more than capable of filling up the stat sheet across a variety of categories – as evidenced by a January win over UMass where she hit five threes, scored 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds, dished out five assists and collected five steals. But her number one assignment will always be holding down the stopper role for the Red and White."What I try to do when I'm on the floor is dictate defensively," Jurjo said. "I'm always on the best player of the other team, so that's a [big] responsibility.
"Offensively, I just try to make the right decision on every play. If I have to take a shot, I'll take it, but of course I'm going to play for the team."
As the only players on the roster who were part of the program when Box was hired in 2023, Jurjo and Tretter have led the way in Miami's recent meteoric rise – from nine wins in their debut season to 19 last year and now an NCAA Tournament appearance at 28-6.
"Going from year to year we really committed to what Coach Box has told us and just creating a culture where we want to win," Tretter added as she reflected back over the past three seasons. "We'll do anything it takes to do that, and the progress from freshman year to now has really just been amazing. It's been great to be a part of that."
"Freshman year, everyone was new, basically. It's always hard to have a good year when the coach is new and most of the team are new as well," Jurjo added. "We could guard people, but it was very hard for us to be good offensively..
"This year, we're a way better team in general than [even] last year: We play more together and we pass the ball quicker – that basically helps us to get success."
Ask any Miami player or coach about the team's identity under Box, and you'll get the same answer (although occasionally repeated for emphasis): For the Red and White, it's all about defense.
'Defense, defense, defense," as Scalia said after one win in Cleveland.
And on that front, Miami knows it has a tall task ahead trying to slow down a Big 12 Tournament champion West Virginia team that comes in scoring better than 76 points a night, but Jurjo and her teammates are looking forward to the challenge.
"They're physically stronger for sure, [coming] from a better conference: Inside, they're really big, and then they're really quick too…but we can compete for sure," she said.
Bottom line: If Miami is going to get enough stops to advance to the second round, its stopper will need to be special.
But so far this season, she's been exactly that.
No. 14 Miami and No. 3 West Virginia will tip off here at 5 p.m. Saturday, with the game set to be broadcast on ESPNU.
PACKED PLACE?: West Virginia announced Friday afternoon that tomorrow's first-round games at 14,000-seat Hope Coliseum are sold out. The Mountaineers' attendance record in Morgantown is 13,447, a mark that could likely fall when Saturday's doubleheader tips off. Fifth-seeded Kentucky will face 12th-seeded James Madison in the first game of the day at 2:30, with the RedHawks and Mountaineers squaring off 30 minutes after the opener concludes.The biggest crowd Miami has played in front of this season was 5,034 (Jan. 31 vs. Ohio in Millett Hall), but the RedHawks are looking forward to what will certainly be a noisy postseason environment in Morgantown.
"One of the most exciting things as a player is to almost quiet a crowd," Tretter said. "If we can do that tomorrow, I think we'll be pretty happy."
"It sounds exciting for us to be the underdog and try to make the upset," Jurjo commented. "It's definitely going to be a hard place to play, with all the crowd they have, but at the end of the day, it's still basketball.
"We just have to focus on what we can control: On the court."
'PRESS VIRGINIA?': The Mountaineers are known for their pressure, ranking in the top 20 in the country in both turnovers forced and turnover margin, so taking care of the ball will be of crucial importance for Miami Saturday. The RedHawks spent plenty of time working on that aspect of the game this afternoon.
"Obviously their pressure game is pretty good," Box said as he previewed the matchup with WVU. "They're able to force a lot of steals and create a lot of havoc, especially at home, so our ability to handle their pressure is paramount.
"We've been prepping for a week; I feel very confident that we're going to do what we need to do."
NOT JUST 'HAPPY TO BE HERE': Although this is Miami's first trip to the Big Dance in 18 years, the RedHawks are certainly not just content to hang a 'participation' banner in Oxford. Within a matter of minutes after Miami secured its NCAA berth by beating Toledo in the MAC Tournament title game last Saturday, Box was pointing to the next goal on the team's checklist.
"I came here to win championships. I also came here to win in the tournament," he said. "I don't want to be like a lot of these programs that were just super happy about getting there…
"Our goal is to be in the Sweet 16."Tretter echoed those comments: "We're not just going in there just to play in March Madness," she said. "We want to win games as well, and we have the capabilities to do so."
"It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Scalia, a senior who is accomplishing her lifelong dream by wrapping up her prolific college career in the NCAA Tournament.
"I think we're really excited to be here and we're ready to make some noise."
Bookmark MiamiRedHawks.com for continued behind-the-scenes coverage from March Madness. Recent stories include:
Men's Friday game story vs. Tennessee (3/20)
Men's Thursday notebook from Philadelphia (3/19)
Men's Wednesday game story vs. SMU (3/18)
Women's postgame ice cream tradition (3/18)
Men's Tuesday notebook from Dayton (3/17)
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