`Canes Win UM Thanksgiving Tournament

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It took a little time, but after a tight first half the University of Miami followed the lead of Riquna Williams and Morgan Stroman and pulled away from UNC Greensboro for a 78-60 win in the championship game of the UM Thanksgiving Tournament.

Stroman, who scored a career-high tying 21 points in yesterday’s opening round game, poured in 15 more points and grabbed eight rebounds – earning the tournament’s most valuable player honor.

Williams couldn’t find her shooting touch against the Spartans, but the recent Naismith Player of the Year candidate showed her maturity by taking the ball to the rim and getting to the foul line. The Pahokee, Fla. native tied career-highs by hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Miami’s other Naismith Trophy candidate – Shenise Johnson – recorded her third double-double of the young season with 15 points and 10 boards. For her performance, the junior was named to the all-tournament team.

Sylvia Bullock had the best performance of her career as she scored 12 points and grabbed 10 caroms for her first career double-double – hitting four of her five shots from the field.

The final Miami starter, Stefanie Yderstrom also scored in double-figures as she added 10 points – eight coming in the first half.

The `Canes led by as much as eight point in the first half, but UNC Greensboro closed that lead to just three at the break at 39-36.

Williams led all Miami players with 11 points in the opening period in which the Hurricanes were only able to convert on 34.3 percent of its field goal attempts.

Amanda Leigh added a game-high 19 points for the runner-up and along with teammate Janae Stevenson was named to the all-tournament team.

With the win the `Canes move to 5-1 on the season and have extended its home win-streak to eight games. The loss sent UNC Greensboro to 1-4.

On Monday, Miami will play its third game in a four-day span when it plays host to Southern at 7 p.m. at the BankUnited Center.

POST-GAME NOTES

UM Thanksgiving All-Tournament Team
Shenise Johnson – Miami
Amanda Leigh – UNC Greensboro
Janae Stevenson – UNC Greensboro
Mariah King – Eastern Illinois
Lyrell Barfield – FAU

MVP: Morgan Stroman – Miami

Bullock Goes Off
Junior Sylvia Bullock set a career-high with 12 points tonight. She also tied a career-high by knocking down four free throws. Bullock pulled down 10 boards to record her first career double-double. In addition, Bullock added four assists and two steals.

Balanced Starting Lineup
All five Miami starters scored in double figures tonight, led by Riquna Williams with 18. Sylvia Bullock had her first career double-double with a career-high 12 points, and 10 rebounds. Shenise Johnson also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was her third double-double of the season and the 19th of her career.

All-Tournament Team
Junior Shenise Johnsonwas named to the all-tournament team, while sophomore Morgan Stroman was named the tournament MVP. Stroman averaged 18 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 66.7 percent from the field during the two-day event.

Champions
After beating FAU by 41 on Thursday, and taking care of UNCG tonight, Miami took home the Miami Women’s Basketball Thanksgiving Tournament Championship.

Dominating the Inside
With both starting forwards in double figures and freshman Maria Brown coming off the bench for four points, Miami was able to outscore UNCG 42-14 in the paint.

Winning at the Line
Miami got to the line 26 times and made 19 of them, while UNCG made 10-of-20 attempts from the line.

Ticket Information
Season tickets are available for as low as $50 for the 2010-11 University of Miami women’s basketball season. Tickets may be purchased online at HurricaneSports.com or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.