Amber Tretter was thrust into a leadership role early on in her Miami University women’s basketball career.

Three years ago, Tretter and teammate Núria Jurjo were among the first-year players for head coach Glenn Box, also in his first season. Miami won nine games that year, but Tretter and the RedHawks were setting the stage for things to come, a trajectory that included a 10-game jump in wins the next winter.

Fast forward to year three under Box. Fast forward to a winning culture.

Tretter, Jurjo, and the RedHawks claimed the Mid-American Conference’s Tournament championship Saturday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Their latest championship goes along with the team’s regular-season MAC Title and punches the RedHawks’ ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

“I think that year taught me a lot about who I am,” said Tretter, whose 23 points and 10 rebounds helped lift Miami past Toledo 68-58 in Saturday’s final. “Going from year to year, we really committed to what Coach Box has told us, really just creating a culture where we want to win, and we’ll do anything it takes to do that.

“That progress from freshman year to now has really just been amazing and it’s been great to be a part of that.”

Tretter was part of three huge wins this week for the RedHawks. They knocked off Kent State 65-58 in the quarterfinal round before stopping Ohio University 80-52 in Friday’s semifinals. She stepped up down the stretch against Toledo, contributing 10 of her 23 points in the final quarter.

She also connected on 9-of-11 free throws in the championship, telling herself each time “I’m making it.”

“If you say, ‘don’t miss,’ all your mind hears is ‘miss,’” Tretter said. “It’s just a free throw. Every day, we practice these all the time. I stepped up and just put them in.

“It goes to our team, too, just the confidence. Everyone is always high fiving each other and telling each other, ‘You got it.’ Everybody has each other’s back as well.”

Tretter was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Amber Scalia and Tamar Singer.

Scalia, the tournament MVP, is in her first season with the RedHawks. Miami was her choice because Scalia “knew we could win here.”

“When I came on campus, I just knew,” Scalia said. “I knew it was going to be home. I knew we had a great set of players, great coaches. I knew we could win and knew we could be a great group together.”

Have they ever. The RedHawks continue to add to their record for single-season wins, climbing to 28 after three more victories in the MAC Tournament.

The journey to get there was not always easy. Box said there have been some tough moments through the years, but being surrounded by good people and good leadership, from administration to staff, has been key.

“Without them, we wouldn’t be here,” Box said. “Really, they buy time for everything to work out, for everything to organically happen. I just knew it needed to happen; it was going to happen.”

Success doesn’t happen without a strong support system. “There is no way that happens if you don’t have good people, and we definitely have good people,” Box said. “Those good people help create an environment to have more good people, and that’s what we have in the locker room right now.”

The RedHawks’ next destination will be determined during Selection Sunday. The NCAA Tournament pairings show will be broadcast on ESPN at 8 p.m.

This is Miami’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2008. Box was part of five NCAA Tournaments during his time on the Indiana University and Akron coaching staffs.

The tournament is a special time, he said, and not to be taken for granted.

“I came here to win championships. I also came here to win in the tournament,” Box said. “I know what it’s like to be in the tournament.

“That experience, I think it’s prepared me for this tournament we’re about to be a part of. I know how to win in that tournament. They have tremendous buy-in. They know we, as a staff, know what we’re talking about. We will compete. We will be prepared, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg.