No. 17 Texas Too Much for Miami in Tourney Final
Dec. 29, 2009
CORAL GABLES – The University of Miami Women’s Basketball team (10-2) couldn’t overcome a Texas Longhorns (9-3) second-half run and fell to their second Big 12 Conference opponent of the season, 76-65, in the Miami Wyndham Holiday Championship, Tuesday afternoon at the BankUnited Center.
Up by seven at the break, Texas opened the second half with a 14-0 run and built a 21-point lead with 16:45 remaining. The Hurricanes were able to cut that lead to 11 points with just over six minutes to play, but were unable to get closer as UT’s Kathleen Nash (22 points) and Brittainey Raven (17 points) were able to counter any Miami comeback attempt.
Senior Diane Barnes was a spark off the UM bench as she scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season – tying her with Shenise Johnson for the team and conference lead in that category.
Johnson, as come to be expected, had an outstanding all-around game – leading the `Canes with 17 points and three assists, while grabbing six rebounds and having her hand in on three steals.
The ACC’s leading scorer, Riquna Williams, poured in 16 points in the game. Freshman Morgan Stroman scored eight points of her own, pulling down five rebounds to go with a pair of steals.
For the first time this season, Miami lost the battle of the boards – collecting only 37, compared to 56 for the bigger and deeper Longhorns. The Hurricanes also posted their second-worst shooting performance of the season at 35.1 percent.
Texas led by as much as 12 with 8:19 remaining in the first half, but the `Canes went on a 15-2 run over the next four minutes and 33 seconds to take a 31-30 lead. However, after two Raven free-throws, Texas employed an inbounds trap, leading to two steals and eight straight points. The Longhorns headed into the half with a 42-35 lead.
The Hurricanes only other blemish on their record came to the now No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 76-71 on Dec. 5.
Miami will only have two days of rest as it plays host to the UNF Ospreys (3-7) on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m. at the BankUnited Center.
For ticket information, please call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit hurricanesports.com.
