A big shot from Sydney Lambert helped prevent a late Miami RedHawks rally as the University’s women’s basketball team got the narrow 61-59 win on the road.
Leading all scorers was sophomore guard Sydney Lambert with 20 points that included shooting 5-8 from three-point range.
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Also contributing for the Falcons were seniors Ashley Tunstall (11 points, six rebounds) and Abby Siefker (10 points, nine rebounds).
“The momentum really turned in the late portion of the second quarter,” said head coach Jennifer Roos. “Slow starts have been a problem for us, not only this year, but also historically here (at Millett Hall). But, we really got the momentum on our side late in the first half, and we were able to carry that momentum through much of the second half.”
In the first quarter, each team traded baskets in the first seven minutes of the game with Miami leading 14-10.
Miami went on a quick 6-0 run following a layup by Leah Purvis and a left corner three from Kendall McCoy.
Purvis was fouled shortly after being fouled in the act of shooting and knocked down one of her free throws.
Freshmen Andrea Cecil knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the quarter as Miami led 20-12.
In the second quarter, Miami got off to another quick 6-0 start as they got easy layups by good ball movement that led them to easy back door baskets as Miami led 26-12 with 8:06 left.
BG turned up the offense significantly as they answered with an 11-2 run led by Lambert and Siefker to cut the deficit to five with 5:04 left in the half.
With Miami leading 30-26 with four minutes left, Lambert made three straight three-point shots to cut the deficit even further. The game eventually tied at 35 at the half.
It was a sloppy third quarter offensively for both teams in the third as both teams shot 6-28 from the field with BG scoring just four points in a nine-minute span as Miami lead by five.
With 25 seconds left in the quarter, junior Haley Puk knocked down a three from long distance to cut the deficit to just two points as Miami led 44-42 going into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, BG and Miami were tied at 46 with 6:30 minutes to go.
BG got off to a 5-0 run following baskets by Siefker and Tunstall to put the Falcons up 51-46 with five minutes left.
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However, Miami’s Lauren Dickerson responded with a quick three coming out of the timeout that put the pressure back on BG’s side.
BG led by six with 1:38 remaining in the game until Miami’s Kayla Brown made a layup to keep Miami in it. BG responded in what was the biggest shot of the night as Puk found Lambert at the right wing to knock down a three-point shot to give BG a seven-point lead with 55 seconds left.
However, Miami rallied late with Dickerson hitting two big threes to cut the deficit to just two as BG led 61-59 with 30 seconds left.
Dickerson then stole the ball away from Tunstall and Miami got the final possession.
The final shot attempted by Miami’s Kendall McCoy hit the rim and bounced out as BG held on to win.
The Falcons will return back home as they face the Kent State Golden Flashes on Wednesday night with tipoff beginning at 7 p.m.
