OXFORD, Ohio – The trio of sophomore Sydney Shafer, redshirt senior Reilly Jacobson and redshirt freshman Taylor Williams combined to score 58 points as the Western Michigan women's basketball fell short at Miami 73-64 on Wednesday night inside Millett Hall.

The trio of Broncos scored 58 of WMU's 64 points against the RedHawks with Shafer, Jacobson and Williams shooting a combined 44 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free-throw line. Leading the way for WMU was sophomore Sydney Shafer with 23 points, one shy of her career-high.

Shafer notched 20 or more points for the second straight game and third time this season. The sophomore guard was 6-of-16 from the field to go along with four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Over the past three games Shafer is averaging 21.6 points per game.

Redshirt senior Reilly Jacobson posted a double-double against the RedHawks with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Jacobson was 9-of-18 from the field and a staggering 11-of-14 from the free-throw line.  Along with 10 rebounds the redshirt senior forward also had two assists, two steals a team-high three blocks.

Rounding out the trio for the Broncos was redshirt freshman Taylor Williams who also posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Williams was 7-of-16 from the field and had one assist and two steals.  

Along with Williams, Jacobson and Shafer, junior Maddie Watters recorded six points off the bench. Watters in 17 minutes was 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line and registered one block.

As a team the Broncos shot 38.7 percent from the field and was just 3-of-15 from long distance. Miami narrowly out rebounded WMU, 37-36 with the Broncos holding a 12-10 advantage on the offensive glass. Western Michigan forced Miami to commit 16 turnovers, scoring 15 points off of RedHawk mistakes.

Western Michigan has dropped four straight contest and now has an overall record of 2-11 and 1-10 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos return home on Saturday, Feb. 6 for a match-up against in-state rival Central Michigan. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. inside University Arena.

To begin the game both teams went back and forth as Miami held a 9-7 lead at the halfway point of the first quarter. Over the next four minutes the RedHawks made seven of their next eight field goals and embarked on a 13-4 run to gain a 20-11 lead with 1:20 remaining.

The Broncos ended the first strong with five straight points as Maddie Watters knocked down a three-pointer followed by two free-throws from Sydney Shafer. WMU trailed 20-15 after 10 minutes of action as Miami shot a staggering 52.9 percent from the field in the first quarter.

It was a slow start for WMU in the second quarter as the Broncos began the quarter just 2-of-8 from the field and trailed 26-19 with six minutes remaining. After a scoreless streak from both teams lasting over two minutes a lay-up from Reilly Jacobson cut the Bronco deficit down to five with 3:50 left to play.

Down the stretch of the second quarter it was the play of Jacobson that kept the Brown & Gold close. Jacobson made four of her final five field goals to end the quarter. Western Michigan forced Miami to make just one of their final eight field goals as the Broncos trailed 32-29 heading into the locker room. The duo of Jacobson and Shafer led the Broncos at the break with 11 points each.

The Broncos and RedHawks got off to a furious start to begin the third quarter as WMU made four of its first five field goals while Miami made three of its first four. Despite the fast start from the Broncos, Miami held a 39-35 advantage with 6:54 remaining. Out of the media timeout midway through the third quarter, Miami jumped out to a 45-37 lead thanks to a two-minute scoreless streak from the Broncos.

Neither team was able muster up offensive momentum late in the third quarter as the RedHawks took a 49-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

Miami jumped used a 10-2 run early in the fourth to grab its largest lead of the game at 57-42 as WMU went scoreless over three minutes. The Broncos countered midway through the fourth with a 9-2 run to cut its deficit down to 59-51 with 4:34
remaining.

Late in the fourth the Broncos once again embarked on a run, scoring seven straight points with four coming from Taylor Williams to cut the Miami lead down to 68-62 with 50 seconds left to play. After a RedHawk turnover, Reilly Jacobson got a lay-up to fall to trim the deficit down to 69-64 with under 30 seconds remaining.

However, that was the closest WMU got late in the fourth as Miami made its final four free-throws to earn a 73-64 victory and clinch its first MAC win of the season.