Following a second quarter that saw the Eastern Michigan women’s basketball team only score three points in 10 minutes and enter halftime trailing by 23, things looked bleak for the Eagles up against the fifth-best team in the conference.
However, instead of peacefully accepting their 24th defeat of the season, the Eagles chose not to go down without a valiant fight.
Thanks to a 34-point explosion in the third quarter, during which the team hit 8 of 11 three-point attempts over the 10 minutes, Eastern Michigan gradually clawed its way back into the game. They tied it up early in the final frame and even took a four-point lead at a couple of points down the stretch.
With the game on the line and the score tied at 65 in the closing seconds of regulation, the Eagles forced a turnover on Miami’s (OH) last possession and had the ball with three seconds left, a chance to win the game with a made shot.
Mackenzie Amalia’s (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania/Blackhawk/Canisius) three-point attempt fell short, though, and the game was pushed to overtime - an extra period dominated by the Redhawks to ultimately pull away down the stretch and win 82-72.
“Proud of our effort in the second half and our execution in the second half,” Eastern Michigan head coach Sahar Nusseibeh said regarding her team’s comeback that almost was.
“We made a really big offensive adjustment—with Miami being as physical as they were defensively and our lack of toughness in the first half, we just decided not to fight it and kinda spread them out,” she added.
Brooklyn Thrash (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood/Canisius) led the team in scoring with a career-high 16 points, including shooting 50% from beyond the arc (4/8). At the same time, Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) added 14 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out towards the end of regulation.
Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Indiana/South Side) and Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne) also both managed to put up double figures and helped energize the second-half comeback, Smith added 13 to the stat sheet while Westphal supplied 11 points.
With the win, Miami (OH) improved to 17-9 (9-6 MAC) and clinched its spot in the MAC Tournament, while Eastern Michigan fell to 2-24 (1-14 MAC).
The Eagles will return to action this Saturday at 2 p.m., traveling to face the Buffalo Bulls. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
