CLEVELAND (AP) — Amber Tretter scored 23 points to help the top-seeded Miami of Ohio women beat No. 6 seed Toledo 68-58 on Saturday to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament title and clinch an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2008.
The win marks the second MAC Championship title in program history for the Redhawks and the first for third-year head coach Glenn Box.
Tretter recorded her 31st career double-double and 10th of the season. Ilse de Vries added 17 points for Miami, while Amber Scalia scored 14 and Singer had 13 points.
Miami took control early, holding Toledo scoreless for more than seven minutes while building a 16-0 lead in the first quarter. The RedHawks led 28-16 at halftime as the Rockets posted their lowest-scoring half of the season.
Toledo (17-15) answered in the third quarter, outscoring Miami 24-19 to trim the deficit to seven entering the fourth. Patricia Anumgba, who came in averaging 24.0 points in the MAC Tournament, led the rally and finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. She helped the Rockets cut the margin to 56-50 on a 3-pointer with 3:50 remaining.
Miami responded from there, though, as Tamar Singer converted a three-point play with 3:24 left, and the RedHawks closed the game at the free-throw line to seal the win.
Miami (28-6) defeated Toledo for the second time this season after earning a 63-55 win in the teams’ only regular-season meeting on Jan. 3 in Oxford.
Up next
Miami clinched an autobid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on March 20.
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