Recap: Women’s basketball wraps up 2024-25 regular season with win against Northern Illinois

The Miami University RedHawks women’s basketball team (19-10, 11-7 in conference play) concluded the regular season with its ninth win at Millett over the Northern Illinois University Huskies (13-17, 6-12 in conference play) by a score of 89-79 on March 8.

The win sends Miami to Cleveland next week as the No. 5 seed in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament.

Graduate student guard Maya Chandler played her best game as a RedHawk, with a career-high 26 points comprising four triples. In the season, Chandler brought in 294 points, the third-most on the roster.

“I wasn’t gonna play my fifth year,” Chandler said. “I changed my mind last minute. Box had something to do with that. I’m very grateful he recruited me the way and as hard as he did.”

Sophomore guard Enjulina Gonzalez and sophomore forward Amber Tretter contributed 19 points each. After the game, head coach Glenn Box reflected on the team’s progression as the season has gone on, especially the transfer players like Chandler and Gonzalez.

“I’m blessed that I get to coach them,” Box said. “They’re fantastic basketball players and even cooler people. They’ve been great for our culture.”

Chandler brought in Miami’s first three points, but redshirt senior guard Sidney McCrea matched her with a 3-pointer for the Huskies. Northern Illinois scored two more triples, one from McCrea and another from first-year guard Lexi Carlsen, to hold a 13-12 lead over Miami after five minutes.

The Huskies added 11 points to Miami’s six to close out the first quarter. Sophomore forward Amber Tretter evened the score 24-24 early in the second quarter with two shots from behind the arc.

Both teams kept it even going into the final five minutes of the half. Gonzalez tipped in a layup and Chandler nailed a deep shot to give the RedHawks a five-point advantage with two minutes on the clock. Miami exited the court up 42-38 at half.

The RedHawks widened their lead to 10 thanks to two 3-pointers from Tretter and Chandler early in the third quarter. The Huskies started to fight back with an 11-6 run in the last three minutes, but first-year guard Tamar Singer sank a deep shot to keep Miami’s lead 65-55.

Despite 3-pointers from graduate student guard Chelby Koker and McCrea, the Huskies struggled to even the score going into the final five minutes. The RedHawks held a seven-point advantage, which they built on with a 5-2 run spanning four minutes.

The final minute commenced with Miami up 85-72 thanks to a pair of free throws from senior guard Cori Lard. She sank two more free throws, and the RedHawks took their final regular season win at Millett 89-79.