KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan weathered a late rally by Miami, defeating the RedHawks in overtime Wednesday at University Arena, 86-75. With the win, WMU improves to 4-2 in Mid-American Conference play and 8-9 overall. The Broncos are off to their best conference record since 2008 when the team lost its MAC opener and then won its next six games.
Sophomore
Miracle Woods led Western Michigan with her second double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 31 points while hauling in 12 rebounds and recording three blocks. Woods was nearly perfect from the free throw line, making her first 15 attempts before missing a 16th. Her free throw total ranks as the third most made in WMU single game history.
WMU also got notable efforts from juniors
Marquisha Harris and
A.J. Johnson, who routinely made big plays for Western Michigan down the stretch. Harris finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Johnson's final line read 15 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Western Michigan used efficient shooting and a stingy defense to build a nine-point halftime lead, 41-32. The Broncos shot 50 percent from the floor, while holding Miami to 33.3 percent. The margin would have been bigger, but the RedHawks made the most of their 3-point attempts, going 5-for-9 from behind the arc.
Jazmine Windham was an extra scoring threat for WMU in the first half, where she scored all 10 of her points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Western Michigan stretched its lead to 52-35 over the first five minutes of the second half but then hit a cold spell. After going up by 17, the Broncos didn't score for the next five and a half minutes. Miami worked its way back to within three, 52-49, by the 9:28 mark.
Harris got the offense back on track with a much needed three-point play on WMU's next possession and from there the Broncos had to fight tooth and nail to hold off the RedHawks.
Hannah Robertson hit a number of huge shots for Miami. Her three-pointer with 2:44 remaining tied the game at 65-65, knotting the score for the first time since the opening minutes. Harris however answered again with another three-point play to regain the lead for WMU.
With her team up two, Woods sank a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation. Miami got a quick bucket on an offensive putback and fouled WMU point guard
Alex Morton. Morton missed the first free throw and made the second to put WMU's lead at three. Miami took the ball over with 3.8 seconds on the clock and the length of the court ahead. The RedHawks fired a long inbounds and eventually found Robertson for the game-tying three-pointer from the right wing as time expired.
Harris stepped up once more to knock down the first bucket of overtime, which was followed by a pair of free throws by Woods and a deep 3-pointer by Johnson to give WMU an 80-73 advantage.
The defense locked down and held Miami to 0-for-6 shooting in overtime to secure the win. The quick start resurged the offense which returned to its first half form, going 4-for-7 from the floor in OT.
Jillian Spurlock led Miami with 22 points, Robertson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Miami shot 33.8 percent for the game while WMU shot 45.3 percent.
The Broncos made a season-high 32 free throws on 39 attempts.
The Broncos host rival Central Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. to conclude a three-game homestand. The Chippewas are undefeated in league play with a 6-0 MAC, 10-8 overall record. Western Michigan then heads to Ball State next Wednesday for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Cardinals.
