Recap: Miami basketball teams dominate in convincing fashion

The Miami University women’s and men’s basketball teams sailed to decisive victories in a double header at Millett Hall on Nov. 7. Both teams outscored their opponents by a combined 119 points.

On the hardwood, the Miami women's basketball team started the night against the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets before the men’s team faced Trinity Christian College.

WBB vs. Cedarville (88-49 win)

The RedHawks got out to an early 17-9 lead in the first quarter that they only added to throughout the remainder of the game.

Junior forward Amber Tretter led the team with 18 points while dominating the glass with 10 rebounds, good for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore forward Ilse de Vries closely followed with 15 points and eight rebounds, and redshirt junior forward Brooke Blumenfeld joined the other two in the double-digits with 14 points.

Cedarville could not compete with the length of the RedHawks, shooting 16-49 (32.7%) from the field to Miami’s 34-69 (49.3%). Yellow Jackets junior guard Regan Hubert led the team with 14 points, but 15 turnovers scuppered Cedarville's offense.

At the end of two quarters, Miami led 43-24. The defense continued to shine in the second half, and despite the Yellow Jackets’ best efforts from behind the arc, sinking 8-23 on 3-pointers, the RedHawks closed out the game up 88-49.

“I’m glad that we finished the way we were supposed to finish,” head coach Glenn Box said. “I thought the first half, we were really poor defensively. Our attention to detail was not where it needed to be … Second half, we did what we were supposed to do, and I’m very pleased with [our] effort.”

Junior guard Núria Jurjo’s four steals led Miami as she proved to be one of the RedHawks’ best defenders on the night. Ultimately, the RedHawks won comfortably by 39 points, and Box praised the special performance from his forwards. Now 2-0, Miami will travel to Oakland University on Nov. 10.

“The chemistry is getting better every practice,” De Vries said. “We’re still figuring out a lot of stuff actually because we have a lot of transfers and new people coming in, but our team is really close, and we’re really trying [to get] people in the right spots.”

MBB vs. Trinity Christian (129-49 win)

Photo by Kethan Babu | The Miami Student
Freshman forward Kyle Waltz prepares for the Trinity College offense to dribble at Millett Hall on Nov. 7

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After a quick intermission, the men’s team took to the court against the Trinity Christian Trolls. The second game of the young season allowed Miami to show off its depth, with 13 RedHawks seeing action.

Freshman forward Kyle Waltz dominated the game with 23 points, a career high. Another freshman on the team, forward Tyler Robbins, added 17 points with 10 rebounds.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Waltz said. “For me, I try to stay prepared. I think my mindset going into the game was to just be ready, stay aggressive, and I think it all worked out.”

In the first half, the RedHawks spread the wealth. No player had more points than Waltz’s 10, but the Miami offense scored 59 total points. Shooting 60% from behind the arc, the RedHawks rained down 9 triples on the Trolls to start the game.

There was not a particular player who was the focal point for the offense. Instead, fans were treated to a well-rounded effort from all of the Miami participants.

Robins and redshirt sophomore wing Brant Byers dominated the boards with 10 and seven rebounds, respectively. In total, the RedHawks controlled the glass, bringing in 30 total rebounds to Trinity Christian’s 16.

Senior guard Brandon Adorno led the Trolls in points with 11. However, the Miami defense limited Trinity Christian to 22 points at the half. It was a block party in the first half, as five RedHawks got at least one block.

In the second half, the RedHawk barrage did not stop. Miami emptied the bench, with 12 players finding the net at least once. The team came 12 points shy of breaking the program record for points scored in a game (141 against Defiance in 2024).

Overall, the Miami offense shot 70% on 3-pointers, including a 12-15 second half. Seven players finished in double figures, with two others in touching distance. Head coach Travis Steele said he was pleased by the 26 assists his offense orchestrated.

On the glass, Miami cleaned up 22 more rebounds than the Trolls, winning the battle 51-29.

“It’s early in the season, but when we do shoot well, we’re going to be in the hundreds almost every night,” Steele said. “We have the ability to get to the free throw line. We play fast. We crash the glass. We’re relentless on that end. When we do make shots, I think we become really, really hard to guard.”

Defensively, there was not much more that Steele could have asked after holding the Trolls to 49 points. Junior guard Evan Ipsaro’s four steals contributed to the lock-down defense, and the RedHawks had 13 takeaways total. In addition, Miami blocked eight shots, which contributed to Trinity Christian’s 25.7% field goal accuracy.

The RedHawks will have to wait eight days for their true depth to be tested when they travel to Colorado Springs to face off against the United States Air Force Academy on Nov. 15.

meneghcj@miamioh.edu