Amber Tretter and Núria Jurjo each scored 16 points and Amber Scalia added 15 as Miami won its sixth straight game and improved to 5-0 in Mid-American Conference play — matching the program’s second-best start in league action. Tamar Singer dished out 10 assists for Miami (13-4).
Eastern Michigan dropped to 7-8 overall and 1-4 in the MAC.
After the Eagles jumped out to a 5-2 lead, the RedHawks responded with an 11-0 run fueled by Jurjo, who scored eight straight points during the spurt. A Clara Gonzalez Planella 3-pointer capped the run, and baskets from Scalia late in the opening quarter sent Miami into the second with a 19-14 lead.
“I thought Eastern Michigan is a really physical team,” Miami coach Glenn Box said. “They’re well-coached. They do a really good job of making you coach and make adjustments on the side. Hats off to their head coach and their staff and their team — they really made us play today.”
Jurjo opened the second quarter with a left-handed layup off a Singer assist, and Miami briefly pushed its lead to nine. Eastern Michigan answered with a 7-0 run, but Tretter knocked down a timely 3-pointer to steady the RedHawks.
Miami went to the locker room up 35-31 after a Scalia triple just before halftime.
Box credited the Eagles’ execution, noting they shot better than 40 percent for the game, something he said rarely happens against his defense.
“That’s a big deal in my book,” Box said. “We like to think we do a decent job defensively, and they were a tough out for us all day.”
Miami came out sharper in the third quarter, scoring on its first three possessions to extend the lead.
Scalia buried another 3-pointer, and Ilse de Vries added back-to-back baskets to stretch the RedHawks’ margin to double figures. Singer’s layup and a feed to Tretter helped Miami take a 12-point advantage before the hosts carried a 55-45 lead into the fourth.
With Eastern Michigan within seven midway through the final period, Miami delivered its best stretch of the night. Scalia hit a mid-range jumper, then assisted on two Tretter baskets as the RedHawks rattled off seven straight points to open their largest lead at 64-50.
“We just kept consistent,” Scalia said. “We kept going at it and digging. After every timeout it was, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ We knew we had it the whole time.”
Miami’s defensive pressure again told the story. The RedHawks forced 22 turnovers and turned them into a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers, while holding Eastern Michigan to just two field goals in the fourth quarter.
“We like to think we’re nails — tough, mean, hardcore,” Box said. “Everything has to be hard. When we do things right over the course of time, you just have to believe it’s going to work in your favor.”
Singer finished in double figures in assists for the third straight game and the sixth time this season, while Miami improved to 7-0 at Millett Hall. The RedHawks have now won nine of their last 10 games, a stretch Box says reflects steady growth rather than perfection.
“I never think we’re playing our best basketball,” Box said. “Nothing is ever good enough. But I do think we’re improving.”
Scalia echoed that sentiment, pointing to the team’s evolution since the summer.
“A lot of us are new, a lot of transfers,” Scalia said. “We’ve gotten a lot better at putting our strengths together and playing team basketball. And we can keep getting better.”
Miami travels to Bowling Green for a 4 p.m. tip on Saturday.
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