Miami host Western Michigan Saturday in first game of DH

1:00 in Millett. ESPN3. First game of a DH, one men’s or women’s ticket will get you in for both games. Assigned seating for the men’s game, open seating for the women. Men play at 3:30.

Western is having a big turnaround season, they are 9-4 ( 3-1). Three of their losses are to ranked Indiana and Southern Cal and Toledo who is undefeated in MAC play. 5-10 sophomore Laura Ross has turned the program around. Last year as a freshman she suffered and injury after 4 games and missed the rest of the season. She was averaging 9ppg. This year she has exploded on the MAC basketball world, averaging over 21 ppg and 8rpg and is 3rd in the MAC in scoring and even more impressive, 11th in the nation. Western also has 6-2 RS Sr Reilly Jacobson who has over 1100 career points and was honorable mention all MAC last year and 6-2 RS sophomore Taylor Williams who was on the all MAC freshman team last season and averages 12 ppg and 9rpg. Of interest, starting point guard, 5-7 Soph Megan Wagner is from nearby Mason and I presume was a hs teammate of Miami’s RS Jr Tihanna Fulton. This game will be a real challenge to our young but enthusiastic team.

Miami is 6-7 (2-2). We are going for our 3rd MAC win in 5 days. Very short turnarounds for these games. Both Monday and Wednesday ( OU and NIU), we rallied from small deficits in the 4th quarter and pulled out the win in the final minute. Teams have been going all in on stopping Peyton Scott but in the OU game freshman Edyn Battle and Sophomore Katie Davidson both had 15 or more points and in the NIU game freshmen Ivy Wolf and Maddie Cluse both had 15 or more, so some of our talented but inexperienced younger players are starting to take advantage of the openings created by all the attention being paid to Scott.

Against NIU, we held them to 56 points and had 17 steals, our best defensive effort of the year. We won by 5 by scoring the last 6 points, and we went 10 for 10 from the line.

This will be game 3 of a 6 games in 13 days grind. Monday night we will be at Ball State in a Covid make up game.

Down by 20 after 3, we have pulled to within 2 with just under 4 minutes left.

We lose by 9. 3:40 now for men’s game.