`Canes to End Homestand Against UC Riverside
Dec. 17, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. –
UC Riverside (6-2) at Miami (9-1)
Date & Tip Time: Saturday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m.
Location: Coral Gables, Fla. | BankUnited Center
Tickets: $5
TV: None
Radio: WVUM 90.5 – wvum.org
Video Stream: Hurricanesports.com/AllAccess/
Live Stats: HurricaneSports.com
GAMEDAY
The Hurricanes will look to end their season-long nine game homestand with an unblemished record when they host UC Riverside on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the BankUnited Center.
TICKETS
Season tickets are available for as low as $50. Tickets may be purchased online at HurricaneSports.com or by calling the UM Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES.
Single-game tickets are also available for $5 for adults and $3 for children. UM students receive free admission when presenting their valid Cane Card.
THE TEAMS
The `Canes won their 13th consecutive home game when it defeated Alcorn State 94-32 last Saturday.
A win on Saturday would give Miami its second consecutive 10-1 start to a season – which would rank as the second-best in program history.
The UC Riverside women’s basketball team is halfway through its four-game cross-country road trip after wins against Pac-10 schools Washington and Oregon – after Miami it will travel to Missouri for a game on Tuesday.
The Highlanders have reached the NCAA Tournament three times under Margaritis, including and appearance last season. UC Riverside won the Big West Tournament in dramatic fashion and finished the season with a 17-16 record.
LIVE STREAMING VIDEO
Miami women’s basketball home games will be streamed live on `Canes All-Access throughout the 2010-11 season. The only games that will not be streamed will be those televised on Regional Sports Network.
The service will be provided at a fee of $9.95 a month or $79.95 for a year. Visit hurricanesports.com/allaccess/ to sign up.
CHAT WITH FELLOW `CANES
Log onto HurricaneSports.com during Miami athletic events to chat with Miami insiders and other fans about the game and your favorite student-athletes. To join the chat, click on the Cover It Live program found online with each game’s preview beginning 30 minutes before tip-off.
Women’s Basketball: UM vs. UC Riverside
A STATEMENT WIN
Riquna Williams earned this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor as announced by the conference office on Monday.
The honor is the third in Williams’ career after winning the award twice as a sophomore. The Pahokee, Fla. native scored a game-high 23 points in a win over No.11 Georgetown, while grabbing six rebounds and swatting away a pair of shots. Williams also scored a game-high 18 points in Miami’s lopsided victory over Alcorn State on Dec. 11.
A STATEMENT WIN
The Hurricanes 81-72 overtime win over No. 11 Georgetown on Dec. 7 was the first against a ranked non-conference opponent since Dec. 29, 2005, when Miami defeated No. 25 Ole Miss, 79-70, in the Hurricane Holiday Classic.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The University of Miami hosted and won the UM Thanksgiving Tournament with victories over FAU and UNC Greensboro. Miami will also play host to the UM Holiday Classic at the BankUnited Center Nov. 28-30.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
In a special ceremony prior to the UAB game on Nov. 22, Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams were recognized by Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt and head coach Katie Meier for scoring their 1,000th career-points.
Johnson reached the benchmark during Miami’s WNIT quarterfinal matchup at Providence with a career-best 33-point performance. Williams surpassed the threshold in an 18-point effort against Miami (OH) on Nov. 20.
Johnson currently sits in 12th place all-time at Miami with 1,230 career points and needs 55 to pass Desma Thomas (1992-97) for 11th place. With 1,121 points, Williams ranks 16th all-time.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The Hurricanes won their own Thanksgiving Tournament for the fifth time in the last six years. Morgan Stroman was the named the tourney MVP as Miami cruised to wins over FAU and UNC Greensboro. Shenise Johnson was also named to the all-tournament team.
INSIDE THE PROGRAM
The 2010-11 women’s basketball season will be the first to offer multiple social media outlets for fans and loyal supporters of the program to keep current with the Hurricanes.
You can follow all University of Miami teams on Twitter by visiting twitter.com/hurricanesports or follow just women’s basketball at twitter.com/miamiwbb. Fans can also check out HurricaneSports and University of Miami Women’s Basketball on facebook.com to get up-to-date news and information on the women’s basketball program.
HurricaneSports.com will also have all the most recent bio information and stats for all the team’s players.
For even more exclusive content – including video interviews, photos and more – be sure to visit the UWomen’s Hoops Blog at
uwomenshoops.tumblr.com.
JOHNSON ALL-ACC
Miami guard Shenise Johnson was named to the Preseason All-ACC team as announced by the conference office on Oct. 26 from the ACC Women’s Basketball Media Day held at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Johnson becomes the first Hurricane since Tamara James in 2005 to be named a preseason all-conference member.
Duke’s Jasmine Thomas was named the Preseason Player of the Year.
Preseason Player of the Year
Jasmine Thomas, Sr., G, Duke
2010-11 Preseason All-ACC Team
Jessica Breland, Sr., F, North Carolina
Shenise Johnson, Jr., G, Miami
Carolyn Swords, Sr., C, Boston College
Jasmine Thomas, Sr., G, Duke
Courtney Ward, Sr., G, Florida State
THREE-POINT STREAK
With four three-pointers against Alcorn State, the Hurricanes have made at least one three-point field goal in 302 straight games dating back to the 2000-01 season.
DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
With a 16 points against Alcorn State, Shenise Johnson has now scored in double-figures in 47 straight games – the highest active streak of any Atlantic Coast Conference player.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR?
University of Miami junior guards Riquna Williams and Shenise Johnson have been named to the 2010-11 Naismith Preseason Watch List as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Williams, known as `Fire’ for her explosiveness and ability to score in bunches is garnering national attention for the first time in her impressive career. Johnson, who has embraced the moniker `Ice’, because of her calm, cool and collected playing style, had previously been named to the Wade and Wooden Preseason Watch Lists.
Never before in program history has a pair of teammates been named to the list, but Johnson and Williams may come to expect national attention like this more often. In arguably the best women’s basketball conference in the country, the duo finished the 2009-10 season as the second- and third-best scorers in the ACC – Williams with 19.6 and Johnson with 19.0. Johnson was also the only player in the conference to rank among the Top 10 in scoring, rebounding (7.7 rpg) and assists (4.6 apg) from her guard position.
In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.
GIMME THAT
With an average of 15.2 steals per game, the Hurricanes rank fourth in the nation. Shenise Johnson and Morgan Stroman get their hands in on 3.2 and 3.0 thefts per game respectively, while Riquna Williams is close behind with 2.7 per outing. Stefanie Yderstrom, Sylvia Bullock, Krystal Saunders and Shanel Williams each average one or more steals per game and as a team, Miami has scored 29.1 points per game off of turnovers – compared to only 11.5 from its opponents.
`CANES INK THREE TO 2011 CLASS
The Hurricanes have signed Michelle Woods of Naples, Fla., junior college transfer Jessica Capers of Gastonia, N.C. and Tyler Hobgood of Oxford, N.C. to their 2011 incoming class.
Woods, out of Naples Community School has been ranked as high as the No. 44 overall prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz and as the 10th best shooting guard by All Star Girls’ Report.
Capers signed to play at West Virginia in 2007, but a knee injury sidelined her for her freshman season. During the Mountaineers’ 2009-10 campaign, the 6-2 forward saw action in 18 games, but she decided to transfer to Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla. at the conclusion of the season.
Capers is ranked as the No. 3 overall junior college power forward in the country and 10th overall JC prospect according to the Dan Olson Collegiate Report.
Hobgood, a 6-1 power forward from JF Webb High School enters her senior season with a long list of accolades. She has already been named an all-conference performer on three occasions and has led her league in rebounding each of the last three seasons. Behind her aggressive play, JF Webb has won its conference’s regular season championship three straight years.
You can follow all University of Miami teams on Twitter by visiting twitter.com/hurricanesports or follow just women’s basketball at twitter.com/miamiwbb . Visit HurricaneSports.com and Miami Hurricanes Women’s Basketball on facebook to get all the up-to-date news and information on the women’s basketball team.
