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Women's basketball wants more

Macy Whitaker - The Miami Student
Macy Whitaker - The Miami Student

The women's basketball team is streaking.

They beat Akron 67-61 on Saturday. They have won nine games in a row. The last time they lost was 33 days ago. They sit at the top of the Mid-American Conference.

And they want more.

"I think I drive them crazy because I keep pointing out: 'We've got to get better at this, we have to get locked into this,'" head coach Megan Duffy said last Wednesday. "You have to keep that mental focus, especially in the month of February."

The month of February has been good to the RedHawks. Five of its last nine wins have come in the past three weeks, and the 'Hawks have proven they can win when they're up and they can win when they're down.

Miami looks to win its 10th straight when it travels to take on the Toledo Rockets on Wednesday.

The last time the RedHawks won nine games in a row was during the 2011-12 season, and the last time the 'Hawks won nine games in a row in MAC play was the 2003-04 season.

"When we came in two years ago, it was not something we ever talked about -- what streaks are going to be made," Megan Duffy said. "I think we're so locked into the day-to-day process and the grind."

Game-to-game, junior guard Lauren Dickerson leads her team with 15.9 points per contest, ranking eighth in the MAC. UT senior center Kaayla McIntyre sits a close ninth, averaging 15.8 points.

The last time the RedHawks and the Rockets met in early January, Miami squeaked out a 65-64 win. McIntyre had 23 points and nine rebounds, while Dickerson had a quiet 11-point game.

Senior forwards Savannah Kluesner and Kendall McCoy stepped up for 13 rebounds and 17 points, respectively.

Five weeks later, with McCoy's latest performance on Saturday, she became only the seventh player in Miami women's basketball history to record 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.

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McCoy, like the rest of the team, has been playing really well.

"Some of the other teams at the top of the league can go and blow somebody out by 30," Duffy said. "We're not built like that. We have to be really, really good no matter who we play."

Duffy's team defense has been good. Good enough to rank second in the MAC behind only Toledo. The game will be a defensive battle, as the RedHawks' offense ranks sixth in the MAC and Toledo's ranks ninth.

Miami's middle-of-the-pack offense and stellar defense has won nine straight games.

And the RedHawks want more.

SCOUTING REPORT

THE GAME

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Savage Arena

TV/Radio: ESPN+/Miami IMG Sports Network

MIAMI REDHAWKS

Record: 19-4 (10-2 Mid-American)

Offense: 68.4 ppg

Defense: 59.5 ppg

PROJECTED LINEUP

Player (position, height, key stat)

Lauren Dickerson (guard, 5'3", 15.9 ppg)

Leah Purvis (guard, 5'6", 8.0 ppg)

Baleigh Reid (guard, 5'10", 3.1 ppg)

Kendall McCoy (forward, 6'0", 12.0 ppg)

Savannah Kluesner (forward, 6'2", 14.6 ppg)

TOLEDO ROCKETS

Record: 15-8 (7-5 MAC)

Offense: 66.4 ppg

Defense: 59.0 ppg

PROJECTED LINEUP

Player (position, height, key stat)

Mikaela Boyd (guard, 5'7", 9.7 ppg)

Mariella Santucci (guard, 5'6", 9.6 ppg)

Nakiah Black (guard, 5'10", 10.9 ppg)

Sarah St-Fort (forward, 5'10", 4.3 rpg)

Kaayla McIntyre (center, 6'2", 15.8 ppg)

NCAA NET Ranking: Miami (50); Northern Illinois (76)

simansec@miamioh.edu

@EmilySimanskis

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