Women's Basketball Edges Miami, 54-51, in Conference Action

Postgame Audio.

OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team rallied from 12-point first half deficit to post a 54-51 victory over Miami University Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Mid-American Conference contest at Millett Hall. The Eagles, who trailed 22-10 at the 8:24 mark of the first half, closed the opening stanza on a 16-6 run to head into the locker room down just a pair at the intermission. Following the break the momentum continued in the Eagles favor as a 23-10 spurt built the advantage to as many as 11 points. The host RedHawks would not go quietly as they held EMU to just two field goals the final six minutes, however, their rally fell just short despite a pair of attempts to tie the game with the clock winding down.

The Eagles (13-10, 6-6 MAC) shot just 31.1 percent from the floor, going 22-for-71, while two players notched double-digit scoring. For the third-straight contest, sophomore Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) saw a double-digit performance, scoring a team-best 16 points for the Green and White, while senior Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College) had 12 points. EMU earned the slight edge on the boards, 48-43, with Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds and Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word-(Illinois State) pulling down 10. Eastern's bench added 22 points in the victory, while the Eagles scored 14 points off of second chance opportunities and 19 off Miami miscues.

The RedHawks (4-20, 1-12 MAC) shot 33.9 percent from the floor with Baleigh Reid scoring a team-best 15 points. Ana Richter added nine points for MU, while Hannah McCue pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds, nine of which were defensive. The Eagles kept Miami to a 28.6 shooting percentage in the second half, making just eight shots.

The RedHawks pulled ahead early in the contest with a 12-0 run to take a 20-8 lead as they held the Eagles scoreless for seven minutes. A layup from freshman Tori Easley (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) ended the Green and White drought, while the EMU offense responded with a 16-5 run of its own to knot the score, 25-25, in large part due to eight points from Sweeney, with 3:49 remaining in the first half.

After a series of turnovers from each team, Miami's Courtney Larson knocked down one final jumper with eight second left in the opening half to allow the RedHawks to carry the small 28-26 advantage into the second half.

Sweeney led the Eagles with 10 first half points, while Puni added seven points. Puni and Webb led the Green and White on the glass with six boards apiece and Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) had three steals for EMU. Eastern shot 26.2 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, making 11-of-42 shots.

Miami had the upper hand from the floor in the first half, going 11-for-28 for a 39.3 percent shooting percentage. Reid notched 10 points in the first half to lead all RedHawk players, while Larson and Richter had five points apiece. Eastern forced MU into nine first half turnover, compared to its four miscues in the opening 20 minutes.

The two teams opened up the second half matching basket for basket before the Eagles found their offensive groove. The Green and White went on its second big run of the contest, going up as many as 11, 49-38, on a Bucknor free throw with 6:17 left to play.
Following the free throw, Miami started to claw its way back into the game with a 9-0 run to come within three of the Eagles. Back-to-back points from Bucknor and Sweeney extended the EMU lead to 54-49, but again the RedHawks battled back to a three-point deficit with 1:01 left on the clock.

With 16 second left to play, Miami Head Coach Cleve Wright called a timeout to try and draw up the winning play. The RedHawks got off two quick three-pointers immediately following the timeout before Puni fouled Kayla Brown with four seconds left. Brown missed both free throws allowing EMU to escape with the narrow 54-51 win at Millett Hall.

Eastern Michigan will head straight to Athens, Ohio for a Wednesday match up with the Bobcats of Ohio University. Game time from Ohio's Convocation Center is slated for 7 p.m.

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Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Tori Easley

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Tori Easley

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics