Women's Basketball

No. 1 Miami Advances to Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Behind 16-Made Three Pointers

Story Courtesy of Miami Athletic Communications

CLEVELAND, Ohio– The top-seeded Miami University women's basketball team buried 16 three-pointers and cruised to an 80-52 blowout victory over fifth-seeded Ohio in Friday's MAC Tournament semifinal matchup.

Amber Scalia led the Red and White with 22 points, while Amber Tretter produced her 30th career double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds). Clara Gonzalez Planella (17 points) and Ilse de Vries (11) also finished in double figures for the RedHawks (27-6), who advance to Saturday's 11 a.m. championship game against either Ball State or Toledo. The Bobcats fall to 18-13 with the result.

How it Happened:

  • Miami scored on its first three possessions, twice after Tretter offensive rebounds, to grab a 7-3 lead just 90 seconds into the game on a Nuria Jurjo layup. The Bobcats answered back with five points in a row, but Miami immediately ripped off a 14-0 run to seize control. A Mio Sakano jumper and consecutive three-pointers from Gonzalez Planella made it 15-8. Scalia kept the hot shooting going with a left-wing triple for an 18-8 cushion at the 1:20 mark, and Tretter followed suit with a corner three the next trip down the floor. de Vries converted Miami's final three-pointer of the period en route to a 24-13 lead after 10 minutes.
  • The RedHawks picked up where they left off in the second quarter, taking a 29-15 lead on a de Vries three-pointer with 8:35 to go. Although OU trimmed the score to 29-20, Miami began to pull away with a 19-2 spurt. Scalia scored on back-to-back trips, cutting down the lane for feeds from Tretter, to pick up a quick five points. Tretter muscled up a two inside to extend the RedHawks' margin to 36-20, and the lead grew to 20 after Gonzalez Planella splashed a three from one corner and Singer followed suit from the other. Tretter's three-point play and a Scalia triple from the top gave Miami its largest margin of the half at 48-22. The RedHawks settled for doubling up the Bobcats 48-24 heading into the locker room.
  • Miami's ball movement against the Ohio zone set up Scalia for a three-pointer from the right wing for a 51-24 lead, and a steal and uncontested layup from Gonzalez Planella made it 53-28 three minutes into the second half. The Bobcats were unable to get any closer than 21 points the rest of the morning. Tretter made a post move, followed by open threes from Scalia and Gonzalez Planella, to extend the margin to 63-36. Scalia buried one more shot from downtown in the third quarter as Miami led 66-39 after 30 minutes of action.
  • Scalia and Gonzalez Planella drained jumpers in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter, and the RedHawks were content to run plenty of time on subsequent possessions as the clock ticked down toward a blowout victory. Anna Hurst drained her first career three-pointer to make it 74-41 with 5:19 to go, and Macie Taylor drove the lane for a layup to put the Red and White up 76-46. Emily VanTimmeren got on the scoresheet with a minute to play, diving down the lane for an 80-51 advantage. Miami was never threatened in closing out the lopsided win.