Preview: Women’s basketball plays penultimate game of the regular season against Central Michigan

The Miami University RedHawks women’s basketball team (18-9, 10-6 in conference play) plays its penultimate regular season game at 7 p.m. tonight against the Central Michigan University Chippewas (12-16, 7-9 in conference play) at Millett Hall.

Miami concluded its road slate for the season with two wins against the Eastern Michigan University Eagles on Feb. 26 and the Ohio University Bobcats on March 1.

The Red and White’s overtime victory over the Eagles solidified the RedHawks’ spot at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament, which begins on March 12. Miami followed this with its second Battle of the Bricks win of the season.

Ohio held a 27-25 advantage at halftime. The RedHawks fought back by outscoring the Bobcats 21-13 in the third quarter. The Bobcats struggled to close the gap in the final 10 minutes, allowing Miami to take its victory 62-53.

Three RedHawks scored in the double-figures, including a season-high 13 points from sophomore guard Lakresha Edwards. Graduate student guard Maya Chandler led the roster with 14 points, her 11th game in MAC play with 10 or more points.

Miami enters tonight’s matchup as the conference’s best defense. The RedHawks allow opponents to score 57.2 points on average, the lowest in the MAC. Sophomore forward Amber Tretter also ranks third with her nine rebounds per game average.

The RedHawks will need a strong defensive performance against Central Michigan first-year guard Madi Morson, who averages 16.4 points, good for fifth in the MAC.

Morson has scored more than 20 points in her last three games, including 26 points each against Western Michigan and Ball State. She leads the roster with a .364 3-point percentage.

Senior guard Jess Lawson (11.3) and first-year forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (10.7) average more than 10 points per game as well. Darrington shoots 113-201 (.562) from the field, the highest in the MAC.

The Chippewas have won double-digit games for the first time since the 2020-21 season, but they have been unable to win more than two games in a row this season.

Central Michigan dropped its first two games of conference play before defeating the RedHawks 47-46 on Jan. 8. Morson and Darrington combined for 21 points, and the Chippewas held every Miami player to under 10 points except sophomore guard Enjulina Gonzalez, at 11.

Since then, the Chippewas have matched their seven wins with seven losses. They sit at seventh in the MAC, just inside of tournament contention but not immune to getting eliminated.

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While Miami is guaranteed to play in Cleveland, a win tonight and a Kent State loss can push the RedHawks to fourth in the MAC. The RedHawks hope to defend home court for the second-to-last time of the regular season.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at Millett. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

@thekethan04

babukc2@miamioh.edu