The University of Miami women’s basketball team defeated the 19th/24th ranked Florida State Seminoles, 86-82, in the Watsco Center on Thursday night to earn their third top-25 victory of the year.
“Does that [game] not tell you how good the ACC is? Florida State, in the first half, I thought, ‘they’re going to the Final Four,’” head coach Katie Meier said. “They’re really good, but it turns out that Miami is really good, too. For us to have to outscore them in the second half and drop 53 was just necessary. I’m really happy, this was a huge win for us.”
The Hurricanes (16-8, 9-4 ACC) were staring down an 11-point deficit at halftime when Haley Cavinder, a senior guard and LifeWallet athlete, scored 24 points in the second half to lead Miami to a comeback victory.
Haley Cavinder recorded a career-high 33 points against Florida State (20-6, 9-4 ACC), the most points scored by a Hurricane since Riquna Williams notched 34 points of her own against 5th ranked Maryland on January 12th, 2012. In addition to Cavinder tying her career high in 3-pointers made with seven, she would shoot 7-for-10 from outside the arc.
“It was an incredible performance by Haley and she stayed faithful,” Meier said. “When Hanna [Cavinder] played with Haley, she got Haley’s timing on time and on target and that started Haley catching fire.”
Miami, as a team, shot 50 percent from 3-point range over the duration of Thursday night’s game, by converting 10-plus threes (11-for-22) their third time this season. They would attack the glass with much success, the Hurricanes out-rebounded their opponent for a third straight game, hauling in 47 rebounds in comparison to the Seminoles 28 rebounds.
Other Hurricane players joining Cavinder in double-digit scoring on Thursday evening – sophomores Jasmyne Roberts with 19-points and Ja’Leah Williams with 14-points and graduate student Destiny Harden recorded 10-points of her own. Senior Lola Pendande led the Hurricanes on the boards with nine rebounds.
Sophomores Roberts and Williams entered the game in the first quarter and would record 11 of Miami’s 18 first-quarter points. Williams also added four points, six rebounds and three assists in the first quarter.
The Seminoles found success early on, draining six 3-pointers and increasing their advantage to a 21-18 lead after one quarter. Florida State would extend their lead to 10 with 6:41 minutes remaining in the second quarter mostly credited to a 7-0 run and the Seminoles seventh three-pointer of the contest.
Haley Cavinder would ignite a run of her own for the Hurricanes, adding a pair of 3-pointers to cut the Florida State lead to nine. The Hurricanes dominated the Seminoles in rebounding during the first half, 26-14, and the Seminoles would benefit from an 8-of-14 shooting effort from the three-point line and head into the locker rooms at halftime with a 44-33 lead.
Ja’Leah Williams would score back-to-back buckets to open the second half for the Hurricanes, initiating an 9-0 scoring run for the team to pull them within two, 44-42. Roberts and Haley Cavinder would chip in on the scoring in the third quarter, totaling nine and eight points.
Miami would go on to outscore Florida State, 26-21, in the third quarter to pull the Canes within a five-point deficit with 10 minutes left in the game.
The Seminoles and the Hurricanes would trade scores throughout the fourth quarter until Haley Cavinder knocked down a 3-pointer to give Miami its first lead since the 1:21 minute mark of the first quarter.
Freshman Lazaria Spearman was resilient in the post, placing in a putback for two and drawing a foul to complete a three-point play. Haley Cavinder finished the game, shooting a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line to seal her 16-point fourth quarter performance.
On Sunday, Miami will play its second straight ranked opponent as it travels to Durham, North Carolina, to play the No. 9/11 Duke Blue Devils. The matchup will air on Bally Sports and tip off at Cameron Indoor at 2 p.m.
“It’s February and it’s a home game against a ranked team and those look really good on your resume,” head coach Katie Meier said. “But we’re going to have a couple on the road, at least Duke for sure, and that’s the next statement we have to make to separate ourselves.”
