OXFORD — Maya Chandler received a transition pass from teammate Tamar Singer. Chandler stopped and popped and sunk a 3-pointer that ultimately propelled the Miami RedHawks in the fourth quarter.
Chandler later made it known that Miami is a better team with Singer on the court.
“We have Tamar back,” Chandler said. “That’s huge in transition for us. She’s so fast, and it makes everybody else faster. Then we can get out and score some buckets.”
Chandler scored a career-high 25 points to lead the RedHawks to a 78-63 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday afternoon inside Millett Hall.
Miami second-year coach Glenn Box also sent a tip of the cap to Singer, who returned to the court after sustaining an ankle injury two games ago.
“Tamar makes a difference for this team,” Box said. “She gets us up-tempo. She gets us playing fast — which is much more fun to watch, let alone coach. So it was good to get her back.”
Amber Tretter had 17 points and six rebounds, while Enjulina Gonzalez also finished with 17 points. Singer had seven points, seven assists and two steals.
Miami (9-5, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) raced out to a 10-4 lead with the help of five points from Chandler and a three-point play by Tretter prior to the first media timeout.
Bowling Green closed the gap at 12-9, but a trey from Gonzalez and a layup by Katey Richason to close the quarter gave the RedHawks a 17-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
“You have good days, and you have bad days where it comes off your hands,” Chandler said. “I could feel early it was coming off my hands right, and so I was just trying to take advantage of that.”
Bowling Green opened the third quarter on a 10-4 run to close it to eight. The RedHawks allowed just one field goal in the final five minutes of the third, while Tretter, Singer and Chandler combined for 10 points in a 14-5 run that gave Miami a 58-41 lead with 10 minutes to play.
The Falcons began the fourth on a 9-1 run, forcing Box to call a timeout with 7:25 to play. Chandler connected on the transition 3-pointer assisted by Singer, and moments later, Gonzalez drilled her second triple of the game to push the Miami lead to 15.
“You go into quarters and halves knowing that each team is going to make a run,” Chandler said. “It’s just a matter of stopping their run and starting yours. I knew Tamar was looking at me. We had the connection. I knew what was going down, so I was ready for it.”
Bowling Green would get no closer than 12 as the RedHawks converted 8 of 8 from the foul line to close the game.
The takeaway
Miami made shots on Saturday. The RedHawks shot 55.1% from the floor, including 8 of 15 (53.3%) behind the arc, and 16 of 17 at the free throw line.
It was the best shooting performance of the season for the RedHawks.
“First thing is we made layups,” said Box, who emphasized the lack of offensive production in the paint in Miami’s 47-46 loss at Central Michigan on Wednesday.
“I thought our kids were tremendous today,” Box added. “They followed the scouting report to a T. I was very pleased with them. They’re a resilient bunch. They showed up today. They did what they needed to do. I love what I saw from my team today — our team today.”
Fleming takes over
Bowling Green’s Lexi Fleming didn’t see much of the court the last two years due to two ACL injuries.
But the fifth-year senior has powered through and is making a profound impact for the Falcons this season. Fleming scored a team-high 23 points against Miami on Saturday.
“With the help from my teammates and my coaches, the support staff that we have, it’s making it real easy coming back — physically and mentally,” said Fleming, the younger sister of Badin boys basketball coach CJ Fleming. “I’m trying to better myself. When you’re out for two years, you see the court, you see the game a little bit differently.”
Fleming, a Mercy McAuley graduate, averages 9.3 points in just seven games this season.
“Sometimes you have to become a better version of yourself, and it doesn’t always have to come physically,” Fleming said. “It can be mentally and in other ways.”
Winning ways
Miami’s win over Bowling Green moves the RedHawks to nine wins on the season — matching last year’s total (9-20). Miami did not pick up its ninth win last season until March 9.
“We just move the ball around more,” Chandler said of what is key to Miami’s success this season. “We focus on that — getting quick reversals, flipping the sides of the floor, actions on both sides.”
Up next
Miami travels to Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
