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‘Be better tomorrow’: Miami women’s basketball holds best start to conference play in 14 years

Sophomore guard Tamar Singer dribbles against Toledo at Millett Hall on Jan. 3
Sophomore guard Tamar Singer dribbles against Toledo at Millett Hall on Jan. 3

The Miami University RedHawks women’s basketball team broke a five-year streak last season, finishing with a regular season record over .500 for the first time since 2018-19. 

In head coach Glenn Box’s third year with the program, the RedHawks went 19-12 (11-7 in conference play) enroute to an appearance in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament. Miami fell in the first round to the Kent State University Golden Flashes, but the team took a step in the right direction and laid the foundations for its 2025-26 campaign. 

Miami boasted its best non-conference record in seven years, opening MAC play with four-straight wins and no losses: its best conference start since 2011-12. 

“It’s been fun,” Box said. “We all want to be a part of something special, and people want to see good, clean basketball. Our kids do everything to provide that.”

Going into the year, the RedHawks were projected to finish seventh in the MAC preseason poll. Miami returned four players from last year’s roster and brought in seven transfers from the portal, requiring the team to utilize the early slate to get everyone assimilated to Miami’s culture. 

Two months after the season started, the RedHawks are one of three undefeated teams in the conference, joining the Ball State University Cardinals, last year’s champions, and the Ohio University Bobcats at 4-0. 

After losing three games in November, Miami went 4-1 in December and took its first conference win over Kent State to close out the year. The sole loss came on the road against the University of Colorado Buffaloes, which was followed by a win at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

Miami outscored the Golden Flashes 67-63 and was led by 16 points from sophomore guard Tamar Singer. The team followed with another win against the University of Toledo Rockets before handing the University of Massachusetts Minutemen their only conference loss so far on Jan. 7. 

The RedHawks extended their streak to five games and rose to 4-0 in the MAC with their recent win over the University of Akron Zips on Jan. 10. They took the game 79-56 and held the Zips to two points while scoring 18 for the second quarter. 

Senior guard Amber Scalia, who led the roster with 18 points that game, said the team has been mostly defense-oriented this season, which has helped Miami hold opponents to an average of 59.4 points, the second-lowest in the MAC. 

“Box’s whole mentality is defense, defense, defense,” Scalia said. “I know me personally, I never used to be defensive-minded, but every single game, I’m going into it like, ‘I need to stop my player, I need to be on point for defense.’ I’m not really thinking about offense at all, I’m thinking about defense. That’s never been me, but our biggest thing as a group is we’re very defensive focused.”

Scalia and junior forward Amber Tretter lead the roster averaging 13.5 and 14 points. The team shoots 45.2% from the field and 34.4% from 3-point range, the highest and second-highest in the conference, respectively. 

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Consistency has been key for the RedHawks this season. Box said he recruited players that will buy into the program and bring their full effort every game. When they have one bad quarter, the RedHawks strive to turn things around for the next 10-minute segment. 

For Singer, this means keeping their energy high for the full game and ensuring their mentality doesn’t shift. 

“We’re not breaking down,” Singer said. “When we’re playing badly, and we had some moments that weren’t great even against Akron, we’re not breaking. We hold each other [accountable], so if one player is messing up or if one player has a bad game, we know how to help each other.”

Miami’s 4-0 start hasn’t changed anything for the team. Every day is different, and Box said while he knows the RedHawks are good enough to beat anyone, he also knows that if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, they can lose to anyone. 

The RedHawks next welcome the Eastern Michigan University Eagles to Millett Hall at 7 p.m. on Jan. 14, looking to keep their winning streak alive. With two months remaining until the MAC tournament, Box said he’s taking each day at a time with one simple goal. 

“Be better tomorrow,” Box said. “That’s the goal: simply be better tomorrow. I typically don’t even know who we’re playing after the game that’s coming up. Our mentality right now is Eastern Michigan, and we have to do everything in our power to be ready, and then we have to do even more to win.”

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu

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