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| Tamara McCaskill |
It was a case of better late than never for the Lady Miners Saturday, as they came up with some big plays late in the game to come away with a 60-55 victory over Saginaw Valley State to sweep their two games in the season opening UMR Tip-Off Classic.
Trailing 55-53, the Lady Miners got a three-point basket from Jaime Forsberg with 1:13 to take the lead for good, then got two key defensive stops to preserve the victory in the final minute of play. UMR forced a shot clock violation, then Nicole Dierking got an offensive rebound off a missed three-point shot by Chism McEntire and hit a pair of free throws to extend UMR's lead to three with 17 seconds to go.
The Lady Miners then made one more stop, as Tricia Everett missed a contested three-pointer and Tamara McCaskill came down with the rebound; McCaskill dropped in a pair of free throws with less than a second to play to ice the victory.
UMR struggled with the Cardinals for the bulk of the afternoon, shooting only 36 percent from the field in the opening half and was tied at 22 at the intermission. The Lady Miners had a six-point lead early in the half thanks to an 11-1 run, but SVSU clawed back into the contest as they held UMR scoreless for the final 6:06 of the half.
The Cardinals then built an eight-point lead in the first six minutes of the second half, largely due to the three-point shooting of Brittany Burns who hit five three-pointers in the second half. A long-range basket by Burns with 14:29 left gave the Cards a 38-30 lead.
The teams traded three-point baskets before the Lady Miners rattled off 13 straight points to go up 46-41 with just over seven minutes to go. UMR got the lead when McEntire drilled a three-pointer out of the corner to beat an expiring shot clock with 8:24 to go.
A free throw by Jennifer Pena and a basket by Katie Bunge pushed the lead out to 46-41 before the Cardinals worked their way back on even terms on another three by Burns at the 3:47 mark to even the score at 51. SVSU took the lead when Everett made one of two at the free throw line, but McCaskill got the lead back for UMR by hitting a tough lay-up inside.
The Cardinals got their last lead on their next possession when Burns drained a three from the top of the key at the 2:10 mark, but two possessions later, UMR got the lead for good on the Forsberg three-point shot from in front of the Lady Miner bench.
McEntire and Dierking were the only Lady Miners in double figures with 15 points apiece, as UMR shot 55 percent in the second half. McEntire was named to the all-tournament team along with Bunge, Burns, Henderson State's Samantha Anglin-Smith and Lauren Hill and Wayne State's Chastidy Miller. Anglin-Smith, who averaged 13.5 points, five rebounds, 5.5 assists and three steals in the Reddies' two weekend victories, was named as the event's most valuable player.
Henderson State beat Wayne State (Mich.) 75-63 in the first game on Saturday.
The Lady Miners (2-0) will return to play in another four-team classic over the Thanksgiving weekend, as they will play at Washburn University in Topeka Friday and Saturday. UMR will face Lynn Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Cameron the following night also at 5:30 p.m.
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