Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
10-10
Miami
16-4
Fouls Spoil EMU's Upset Bid at Miami
2/6/2019 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Courtnie Lewis led the way for the Eagles with 18 points
OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - Free throws by freshman Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A Ferguson) and a transition layup by redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) gave the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team a 56-54 lead with 4:05 to go, but Miami University used a slew of free throws down the stretch to top EMU, 63-56.
Sophomore Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton) led the way for the Eagles with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a pair of triples, while Cardwell added 17 points. Cardwell was efficient, finishing 8-for-11 from the floor, while also adding five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) flirted with a double-double for the second straight game, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points and two blocks.
Free throws proved to be the difference, as Miami converted several late chances to come out on top. The RedHawks finished the night 16-of-21 from the line, while the Eagles made 6-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe. EMU outshout MU in all other facets though, holding a 46.2 to 36.7 edge in field goal percentage and hitting four triples to Miami's three.
Miami erased an early Eastern Michigan edge to take a 10-point lead, 15-5, with 3:35 to go in the opening period, but the Eagles rallied back. Using buckets from five different Eagles and a handful of strong defensive plays, EMU reclaimed the lead, 16-15, after one quarter.
The second quarter went back-and-forth early, with Miami taking a slim, 24-23, advantage midway through, but Eastern's offense continued to click. The Green and White closed out the half 6-of-7 from the floor to take a 37-28 lead into the break.
A 5-0 RedHawk run paired with a brief two-minute scoring drought allowed Miami to cut EMU's edge to one, 40-39, at the under-five media timeout. The second half of the frame was all Miami as the RedHawks took their largest lead of the night, 48-44, into the final stanza.
After Pineda and Cardwell scored on back-to-back possessions to give Eastern the two-point lead, free throws and foul trouble shifted things in favor of Miami. The RedHawks converted seven freebies in the final two and a half minutes to knock off the Eagles, 63-58.
Conference play rolls on as Eastern Michigan heads to the Glass City Saturday, Feb. 9, for a MAC West tilt against the University of Toledo. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Savage Arena.
