CLEVELAND, Ohio—
If you out-score your opponent by 36 points from the three-point line in a game, you should win easily.
And that’s exactly what happened for the top-seeded Miami University women’s basketball team Friday morning in its semifinal against fifth-seeded Ohio.
The RedHawks knocked down 16-of-32 triples while holding the Bobcats to 4-of-29 shooting from behind the arc en route to a lopsided 80-52 victory at Rocket Arena.
Clara Gonzalez Planella (17 points) and Amber Scalia (22) each drained five threes to lead the way for the RedHawks (27-6), while Amber Tretter produced the 30th double-double of her career with 14 points and 11 boards. The RedHawks just missed matching the program record and MAC tournament records for three-pointers in a game (17) and shot better from downtown (50%) than they did overall from the floor (44.6%)
“I wanted to win so bad,” Gonzalez Planella said after the game. “It was a great team effort, for me of course to be open and shoot them, [but] I feel like everyone contributed. It was a nice game…
“We practiced a lot of zone [offense] after the loss to Ohio, so we knew what we were up to. Once we got the ball flowing, we could get open shots…when somebody shoots it, you’re motivated to keep shooting it, and we are ‘hype’ when someone makes it!
“It’s all about confidence.”
And at the other end of the floor?
Miami avenged a 15-point loss in Athens six days ago by limiting the Bobcats (18-13) to 28.4% shooting from the floor, 13.8% shooting from deep, and 52 total points Friday (even though OU came in averaging well above those numbers at 40.5% FG, 32.8% from three and 75 ppg, respectively).
“I think we contained the shooters pretty well,” Gonzalez Planella added in one of the biggest understatements of the weekend. “We studied how they play, so we were there on the catch.” Gonzalez Planella finished with four steals to match her career high.
Head coach Glenn Box used his opening statement in the postgame press conference to specifically credit his assistant coaches for their work in a short one-day turnaround to get ready for the Bobcats. The film sessions clearly paid off, as Miami’s start-to-finish domination proved the importance of an old adage from a Lion King song lyric: ‘Be Prepared.’
“I’m super-proud of my staff; I really felt like they were amazing and got the kids prepared and ready,” Box said. “We had a bunch of kids that were really hungry for information, and obviously they were well-connected because they had the answers to the test…
“I have real coaches on my staff…they all star in their roles and they are highly-intelligent people. They really positioned our kids this game to where our kids felt very confident. They were out there and they were able to be them, which is physical and fast and fly around.
“You can do that when you’re comfortable and confident…[our team] knew exactly what to look for. It was like those shots were scripted. They were ready, they were in rhythm, and that’s what you want.”
“That was really good energy for us,” Tretter added. “Just seeing the ball go through the bucket in this arena is really nice for this next game. Going forward, we’re going to know this is the attitude that we need to win this thing and just keep the momentum going and get another win.”
Miami advances to the MAC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2008 and will take on sixth-seeded Toledo Saturday at 11 a.m. with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
How it Happened:
Miami scored on its first three possessions, twice after Tretter offensive rebounds, to grab a 7-3 lead just 90 seconds into the game on a Núria Jurjo layup. The Bobcats answered back with five points in a row, but Miami immediately ripped off a 14-0 run to seize control. A Mio Sakano jumper and consecutive three-pointers from Gonzalez Planella made it 15-8. Scalia kept the hot shooting going with a left-wing triple for an 18-8 cushion at the 1:20 mark, and Tretter followed suit with a corner three the next trip down the floor. Ilse de Vries converted Miami’s final three-pointer of the period en route to a 24-13 lead after 10 minutes.
The RedHawks picked up where they left off in the second quarter, taking a 29-15 lead on an de Vries three-pointer with 8:35 to go. Although OU trimmed the score to 29-20, Miami began to pull away with a 19-2 spurt and the Bobcats would never be within single digits again. Scalia scored on back-to-back trips, cutting down the lane for feeds from Tretter, to pick up a quick five points. Tretter muscled up a two inside to extend the RedHawks’ margin to 36-20, and the lead grew to 20 after Gonzalez Planella splashed a three from one corner and Singer followed suit from the other. Tretter’s three-point play and a Scalia triple from the top gave Miami its largest margin of the half at 48-22. The RedHawks settled for doubling up the Bobcats 48-24 heading into the locker room.
Miami’s ball movement against the Ohio zone set up Scalia for a three-pointer from the right wing for a 51-24 lead, and a steal and uncontested layup from Gonzalez Planella made it 53-28 three minutes into the second half. Tretter made a post move, followed by open threes from Scalia and Gonzalez Planella, to extend the margin to 63-36. Scalia buried one more shot from downtown in the third quarter as Miami led 66-39 after 30 minutes of action.
Scalia and Gonzalez Planella drained jumpers in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter, and the RedHawks were content to run plenty of time on subsequent possessions as the clock ticked down toward a blowout victory. Anna Hurst hit her first career three-pointer to make it 74-41 with 5:19 to go, and Macie Taylor drove the lane for a layup to put the Red and White up 76-46. Emily VanTimmeren got on the scoresheet with a minute to play, diving down the lane for an 80-51 advantage. Miami was never threatened in closing out its 27th win of the season, the most in program history.
DAILY DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Tretter pulled down offensive rebounds on the first two trips down the floor to set the tone and nearly had a double-double by halftime (12 points and nine rebounds). She moved into seventh place on Miami’s career rebounding list with 776 boards with her performance, passing Laura Markwood (767 from 2004-08).
“Going into it, we knew we could rebound heavily, especially because they play a lot of zone,” Tretter explained. “Just having that attitude going into it, trying to get those extra rebounds turns into extra points…[it’s about] playing with that effort.”
AD ASSIST?: Gonzalez Planella had not made multiple three-pointers in a game for Miami until knocking down two and four in back-to-back games last week to end the regular season, but is clearly on fire from distance. Box credited Miami Director of Athletics David Sayler when referencing Gonzalez Planella’s recent torrid outside shooting. “First of all, Clara has scored before, so it’s in her,” Box pointed out. “She didn’t say it, but she can credit my AD because he saw something in her shot; I relayed it to her, she started working on it, and she’s been much better since.” (Sayler said later that the minor adjustment was related to the difference in the arc on the senior’s shooting form from her previous seasons at Jacksonville State to now).
“She’s very confident…it’s been a beautiful thing to watch her evolve here, because she’s a much better player than where she was before,” Box continued. “I told her she would be, and I’m glad that it came to fruition.”
MOVIN’ ON UP: Tamar Singer dished out seven assists to give her 235 on the season and extend her team record. She also moved into ninth place on the MAC single-season list.
HURST, HOMETOWN HERO: Box was asked about Hurst’s contributions after the game and praised the sophomore walk-on, who hails from 35 miles away in Silver Lake, Ohio. “The thing that I talk about on our team all the time is that every one has value,” Box said. “Anna has been the perfect walk-on; she doesn’t get any practice time…but she gets lots of mental reps, and at the end of the day I don’t want any excuses.
“Your job is to do your job – if you’re out there for 20 seconds and you’re supposed to defend, you’d better defend. And she works hard and our kids recognize her value, so when you see them celebrate, it’s genuine because they know what she goes through every day.
“That role is very difficult and she shows up every day. She’s been a wonderful kid to be around. I think she’s great for our atmosphere…I just don’t have enough good things to say.”
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME: Miami made at least four three-pointers in each of the first three quarters and averaged 14 made threes in three meetings against OU this year (including breaking the program record in January vs. the Bobcats).
“We simply took what they gave us. We didn’t come out of those character for those shots,” Box said after Friday’s sharp-shooting effort. “This team can really shoot the basketball…all you can do is put yourself in the best position possible to do what you do and let your work speak for itself…
“Those opportunities presented themselves and our kids were ready to take advantage…this is a beautiful game when it’s played right and when you have everyone working in synchronization. You definitely felt that today…it’s not every day you’re hitting on all cylinders.”
SATURDAY SHOWDOWN: Miami will play sixth-seeded Toledo at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rocket Arena; tickets are available here. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.