Hurricanes To Host 10th-Annual UM Holiday Tournament

Hurricanes To Host 10th-Annual UM Holiday Tournament

Dec. 28, 2008

CORAL GABLES – The University of Miami women’s basketball team will host the 10th-Annual UM Holiday Tournament at the BankUnited Center, Dec. 29-30. Duquesne and Auburn get things underway at 5 p.m. on Monday with the Miami/Brown match-up set for 7 p.m.

Brown at Miami
Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 / BankUnited Center / Coral Gables, Fla. / 7 p.m.

TV: None
Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM
Web/Live Stats: www.hurricanesports.com
Internet Video: None
Internet Audio: www.wvum.org

Miami comes into the 10th-Annual UM Holiday Tournament with three consecutive victories and are five games over .500 since the 2006-07 season, when they were also 8-3. The Hurricanes are led offensively by two double-digit scorers, Shenise Johnson (13.0 ppg) and LaToya Cunningham (10.5 ppg). On the defensive end, Johnson is the star. The freshman leads the team in defensive rebounds (62), blocks (13) and steals (33).

In their last contest the Hurricanes were too much for the Grambling State Tigers, outscoring the visiting team by 13 in the second half. Senior Lames James scored a career-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and a pair of steals. Also in that game freshman Riquna Williams scored 10 of her 11 points came in the second half as she matched her career-high.

A Look at Brown
Brown enters the tournament with a 1-8 record with its lone victory over Maine (65-52).

The Bears are led by Natalie Bonds who is averaging 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Karly Grace and Hannah Passafuime score 8.7 and 8.6 points per game respectively.

Brown is averaging 50.9 points and 33.8 rebounds per game as a team. It is shooting 35.1 percent (171-487) from the floor, 28.1 percent (39-139) from beyond the arc and 55.0t (77-140) from the free throw line. The Bears also register 7.7 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per outing, while holding their opponents to 68.2 points per game and a shooting percentage of 45.6 (226-496).

The Series
These two teams met exactly nine years ago in their only previos meeting. The Hurricanes won that game 79-62 in the first UM Holiday Tournament.

Special Note
Miami’s Jan. 5 ACC opener against Clemson has been moved up to a 4 p.m. tip. The game was originally scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Following the women’s game The Hurricane men will be taking on Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m.