OXFORD, Ohio – Western Michigan women's basketball earned their third consecutive road victory, and fourth MAC win of the season this afternoon over the Miami RedHawks (6-8, 2-3 MAC) by a final tally of 63-54. This marks the first time WMU has won three straight away MAC contests since the 2014-15 season, during the playing days of Bronco assistant coach Meredith Applin. 

The game opened with an 8-0 run courtesy of the Broncos (10-4, 4-1 MAC). Redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Williams got things started with the game's opening basket to beat the shot clock buzzer, and back-to-back threes from redshirt senior forward Reilly Jacobson and sophomore guard Lauren Ross forced Miami into an early timeout. The RedHawks settled in as the quarter progressed, but after one quarter of play, the Broncos held an early 14-8 lead.

The second quarter also belong to Western Michigan, as the Broncos outscored Miami 13-7 in the period. Back-to-back threes from junior guard Sydney Shafer off of consecutive feeds from sophomore guard Megan Wagner gave WMU a boost with just over a minute left in the second. Going into the locker room, the Broncos held a 12-point advantage by a score of 27-15. Taylor Williams had a strong first half, posting six points on a perfect 3-3 from the field, as well as seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of game time. Reilly Jacobson had a productive half herself, adding five points, four boards, and a pair of assists to the Bronco campaign.

The third quarter was more of the same. The Broncos won the ten-minute stretch 21-13 thanks to a balanced scoring effort on the WMU side of things as five different players found ways to put the ball in the hoop. Taylor Williams and Reilly Jacobson were catalysts in the third, each contributing five points while Williams grabbed five rebounds and Jacobson snatched four. Williams also secured her fifth double-double of the season with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter made things interesting as Miami began to chip away at the Western Michigan lead, but could not climb out of the hole they dug themselves in. Reilly Jacobson secured her second double-double of the season as well, with her tenth board coming at the 5:33 mark in the final period. The WMU defense once again proved to outlast the opposition, holding Miami to eight first quarter points and seven second quarter points on a field goal percentage of 26.5 for the game.

As a collective, the Broncos pulled down a season-high 48 rebounds, while limiting Miami to 33 boards of their own. Entering the contest, Miami led the MAC in ORPG and offensive rebound percentage, but were thwarted on the boards this afternoon. The Broncos also got comfortable down low for 24 paint points, and got a nice 20-point boost from the reserves, all while shooting a team clip of 46.7 percent from three-point territory.

Leading the way this afternoon was the post tandem of Taylor Williams and Reilly Jacobson. Williams finished the game with 18 points on 7-10 shooting, while ripping down a season-high 15 rebounds and earning a +/- efficiency rating of +20. Jacobson notched 13 points of her own, and tracked down 12 critical boards during her time on the floor. The two forwards also each had double-doubles against the RedHawks last season on the road, but were able to capture victory this year in addition to strong individual performances.

Lauren Ross rounded out the WMU double figure afternoons with 11 points and five rebounds. Sydney Shafer cashed in on three of her five attempts from beyond the arc for nine points, and grabbed four rebounds in the outing. Junior forward Abby Voss also made some great plays for the Broncos off the bench, contributing nine points of her own via a perfect 3-3 shooting day from the field, and 3-4 from the charity stripe.

Western Michigan heads back on the road this coming Wednesday, when they travel back to the state of Ohio for a matchup with the Bowling Green Falcons. Tip-off on Jan. 26 inside the Stroh Center is set for 7 p.m.

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