Another slow start was a concern for Miami University’s women’s basketball team. Another dominant second half was not.

The RedHawks trailed visiting Eastern Michigan by eight points 13 minutes into Sunday’s contest, then ran off 44 of the next 56 points to crush the Eagles 70-48 at Millett Hall.

“We’re playing strong, athletic teams that have nothing to lose, so they come out and try to dictate things,” MU coach Maria Fantanarosa said. “The beginning of this game was called very close, so when you’re trying to be aggressive, we get hesitant because we want to play. I don’t want to say it had us on our heels, but it allowed them to hang around.”

Courtney Osborn scored 18 points, Hannah Robertson had 13 and Kirsten Olowinski hit for 12, with Olowinski only playing 21 minutes because of foul trouble.

Miami improved to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference East Division. The RedHawks are tied for first place with Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron, and a trip to BGSU looms Thursday.

“It’s going to be fun,” Osborn said. “We really haven’t talked much about them, but if we come out here and play defense like we did in the second half today, we’re going to be right there. Our offense started to kind of click today. You saw our timing get a little bit better.”

Erica Almady continued to progress in her return from a knee injury, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring six points. Olowinski had nine boards and Robertson added eight.

“I like to think I’m 100 percent, but I don’t know. I’m getting there definitely. Every day in practice I’m just pushing myself to get there even more, and having teammates to support me means a lot,” said Almady, a 5-foot-11 junior. “Just getting O-boards for my team, kicking it back out so they can get shots — that’s the role I had to play tonight, so that’s what I did.”

“She set some great screens as well,” Osborn added. “She’s one of those players that will do the things that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but that every team needs.”

MU’s depth was simply too much for Eastern (3-14, 1-3 MAC West) to handle. Freshman Jessica Rupright (six points, seven boards) was among those playing well for the hosts, who ruled the boards by a 50-30 margin.

The RedHawks played without sophomore guard Courtney Larson, who re-injured her right knee in last Thursday’s win over Ohio. She’s expected to return to action at some point in the next two weeks.

“I think we’re just scratching the surface of seeing how good we can be,” Fantanarosa said. “I’ve chosen to enjoy the journey, so I’m going to enjoy this game. But there’s no doubt that everyone in our locker room knows that we go to Bowling Green next. That will be the toughest place to play.”