Hurricanes Cruise into Wyndham Championship Game
Nov. 27, 2009
CORAL GABLES – Diane Barnes, Shenise Johnson and Morgan Stroman all recorded double-doubles in the University of Miami’s (6-0) 83-66 win over the Long Beach State 49ers (2-3) Friday night in the opening round of the Wyndham Miami Thanksgiving Tournament at the BankUnited Center.
Barnes has had an outstanding start to the 2009-10 season and she had the best night of her career on Friday. The Lakeland, Fla. native scored a personal-best 20 points and collected 12 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her season. Barnes was effective on both the offensive and defensive glass as she grabbed six rebounds on each end of the floor.
Stroman was also dominant on the offensive glass as eight of her 12 rebounds came there and they helped Miami hold a 23-7 advantage in second-chance points. Only six games into her freshman season, Stroman has two double-doubles as she also scored 13 points on the night.
Johnson grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and scored 18 points in her third double-double of the season. The Henrietta, N.Y. native has scored in double-figures in each of Miami’s six games. Riquna Williams joins Johnson with that distinction as she scored 15 for the game, with six points coming from two three-pointers – giving her 26 treys on the season.
Senior Charmaine Clark struggled from the floor, as she hit only 2-of-12 from the field, but she made her presence felt in other ways – finishing with six points and a career and team-high eight assists.
The Hurricanes owned the glass, as they have all season – grabbing 53 for the game, with 23 coming on the offensive end. Miami also held a huge advantage in the paint, outpacing the 49ers 38-16.
Long Beach State was led by Karina Figueroa who fell just one rebound shy of a triple-double after scoring 23 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds. Lauren Sims had a game-high 25 points, 21 coming from seven three-pointers.
Johnson had a strong first half as she had 12 points and eight rebounds at the break. Barnes was equally impressive as she scored 11 in the opening frame on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. She also added six boards.
The Hurricanes found themselves down 19-13 with 9:18 remaining in the opening half and head coach Katie Meier called a timeout to give her team a chance to regroup. On its next two possessions, Miami was able to tie the game as Johnson and Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers. After that, the `Canes found their offensive groove and held a 40-31 lead at the half.
Miami will face UMass in the championship game of the Wyndham Miami Thanksgiving Tournament after the Minutewomen defeated the Rice Owls 71-57 in their opening round contest. Kristina Danella had a game-high 21 points for UMass while adding seven rebounds.
The championship will begin at 7 p.m. or 20 minutes following the conclusion of the consolation game between Long Beach State and Rice, which is scheduled to tip a 5 p.m.
The University of Miami’s men’s team will be hosting South Carolina Upstate in the first of three games at the BankUnited Center on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
For ticket information, please call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit hurricanesports.com
