Miami Looks Onto the MAC Tournament, 89–79 Win Over NIU
By: Zachary Green
Photos Courtesy of Miami Athletics
The Miami RedHawks capped off their regular season with a strong 89-79 win over the NIU Huskies on senior night. The win helped solidify the RedHawks as the fifth seed heading into the MAC tournament next week in Cleveland.
“It’s fun. I mean you have a lot of emotions on senior night. I’ve been in a lot of gyms, a lot of schools, a lot of conferences, I actually had a senior night last year, but tonight for some reason it was different.” Senior Guard Maya Chandler after the game.
Maya Chandler had a career-high 26 points vs the Huskies. Her performance was geared by her 11-19 numbers from the field, along with 4-8 from deep. Chandler’s scoring wasn’t the only high number from a Redhawk. Enjulina Gonzalez had 22 shooting 9-13 while Amber Tretter had 19 shooting 7-11.
The Huskies shot very well as well shooting 51.9% from the field as a team. This was highlighted by Sidney McCrea and her 21-point showing while she shot 6-10 from the field and 5-9 from three. Chelby Koker also helped the Huskies with a 20-point performance.
The home team's defense proved to be too much for NIU. Miami forced 16 steals paired with 26 total turnovers for the Huskies seemed to be too overwhelming. Gonzalez led the team with 6 while Cori Lard had 4 herself which made it her 11th game with 2+ steals.
“For sure, you know we had to bring out the pads and do some rebounding drills. After the last game, pickup our level of aggression so we had to do our part. You know for them there weren’t as many offensive rebounds because they made everything.” Coach Glenn Box after the game talked about the team’s rebounding progression.
Miami made sure coming into today that second-chance points and rebounding would be of emphasis. NIU only had 8 second-chance points was a small win for the home team. Overall, rebounding favored the visitors 29-22, but a big improvement from their loss to CMU.
How it Happened
Back-to-back threes from Sidney McCrea started the scoring for the Huskies. NIU started on an 11-2 run, but the home team closed the gap thanks to Maya Chandler going on their own run heading into the media timeout.
After trading some possessions, Chandler kept up the scoring having a team-high 9 points through 10 minutes. The Huskies were able to close out strong going up 6 into the break, fueled by McCrea’s shooting.
Out of the break, Enjulina Gonzalez and Amber Tretter put baskets together to help give Miami the lead. Chandler kept the energy in the building after she made her last 4-5 from the field, which helped Miami extend the lead.
The hosts closed the half on a strong note going 4-5 from three while Chandler finished out with 17 through 20 minutes. McCrea kept it close through the closing minutes having 16 points herself to help the Huskies.
Tretter and Chandler extended the home team's lead out of the break with back-to-back threes. Miami’s ability to limit second-chance points helped them extend the lead to 10 into a media timeout.
Chandler opened the fourth quarter like she had all game, scoring her 26th point 20 seconds in. Some layups and fouls were able to keep the Huskies close which helped them cut the lead to 7 at one point. McCrea continued shot-making also helped the Huskies in the battle.
Gonzalez helped Miami keep the lead late in the fourth. The Huskies got into the quick foul game late and it wasn’t able to work. Miami kept their foot on the gas the whole game and finished strong.
Up Next
The Miami RedHawks will head to Cleveland for the MAC tournament. They face off against the #4 seed Kent State Golden Flashes on March 12th. Tipoff will be 30 minutes following the #1 and #8 seed game. The RedHawks have split their series with Kent State so far. The Golden Flashes won 77-63 in Oxford on January 25th, while Miami won 64-62 more recently in Kent on February 15th.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.