OXFORD, Ohio. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team fell to Miami, 71-53 on Wednesday at Millet Hall.
Western Michigan was led in double-figures by
Hannah Spitzley with 14 points. Spitzley was 4-for-10 from the field, 2-for-5 from deep, and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. The junior in 32 minutes collected nine rebounds to go along with four steals and one block.
Abby Voss,
Taylor Williams, and
Megan Wagner tallied seven points each.
Lauren Audino followed just behind the trio with seven points, with
Maggie Stutelberg (3 points)
Gabi Saxman (2 points),
Alli Carlson (2 points), and
Maddie Watters (1) combining for eight total points.
As a team, the Broncos shot 18-for-60 (30 percent) from the field, 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc, and 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) from the line. WMU held Miami to 45 percent shooting from the field, but the RedHawks capitalized from the free throw line, knocking down 12-for-14 attempts (85.7 percent).
Miami narrowly outrebounded WMU, 38-31 with the RedHawks holding the advantage on the defensive glass. The Broncos forced Miami to commit 20 turnovers on Wednesday afternoon, scoring 17 points off of RedHawk mistakes. WMU scored 28 of its 53 points in the paint while registering six assists. Western Michigan registered 20 points from the bench and 16 second-chance points.
The Broncos were off to a slow start trailing the RedHawks at the end of the first. WMU shot 3-for-16 from the field and downed one free throw for a total of 17 points. Miami shot 9-for-19 from the field, draining two three-pointers to make a 13-point deficit for the Broncos heading into the second, 20-7.
Miami downed a three-pointer two minutes into the second quarter to give Miami a 23-10 lead. The RedHawk's advantage would stretch to 30-14 with 2:36 to play in the half. In the second, the Broncos shot 3-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from the line to add 10 points to trim the Miami lead down to 32-17.
The comeback attempt was on for the Bronco in the third quarter as Audino added seven points to match another seven points by Spitzley. Audino shot 3-for-5 from the field while capitalizing another point on an and-one. Spitzley went 3-for-five from the field and downed a three-pointer. She added two steals in the quarter to pair with another two steals made by Saxman. Voss and Williams also tallied one steal each this quarter to hold Miami to only 14 points in the third. Watters added four assists to help WMU outshoot the RedHawks by seven points.
WMU added 15 points in the fourth, shot 8-for-10 from the charity stripe, and grabbed seven boards. Despite Western Michigan's best efforts, the RedHawks would respond with 15-2 runs to put the game out of reach, 71-53.
The Western Michigan women's basketball moved to 10-12 overall and 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference and will head to Eastern Michigan for its second contest against the Eagles this season on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is set for 5 pm at George Gervin GameAbove Center and will be available for streaming via ESPN+.
