Canes Second Half Surge Falls Short Against Tennessee 79-67
The No. 23 Miami Hurricanes fell 79-67 to the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers, ending a 41-game winning streak at home. The Volunteers led the entire game, the largest lead was 27. The Hurricanes came within six with 2:30 left in the game, but it wasn’t enough.
“It was all on Miami, shots we need to make, focus wasn’t there” reflected Coach Katie Meier who put the blame on herself for not preparing the team.
Tennessee was led by Bashaara Graves who had a career-high 20 points. The Volunteers also shared the ball well with 17 assists.
The Hurricanes were 6-14 in field goals at the half, the starters shot 2-26. The score was 46-21 at the break and everybody was frustrated. Coach Meier broke down the second half into four segments and asked her team to win each by five points. The team failed to do this in the first segment, but followed through on the rest of the game.
“We put ourselves in the situation to win the game, which is amazing,” Coach Meier said.
Senior Stefanie Yderstrom didn’t make a basket until five minutes left in the game. She had a crucial three-point bucket and was the only Hurricane to make all of her free throws.
“I was really trying to not care about what happened in the first half, but it’s tough when you get a tough start,” remarked Yderstrom.
Sophomore Michelle Woods led Miami with 17 points. There was a series in the second half where she scored 10 of Miami’s 11 points. Coach Meier emphasized the need for balance between the veterans and youth on this team.
Senior Morgan Stroman led the team with eight rebounds and had 13 points. The Hurricanes had 19 offensive rebounds which showed their perseverance.
The Hurricanes will seek to restore “Bank United Center Magic” in a home game against Florida Atlantic on November 23.
