Hurricanes Too Much for UC Riverside in 81-59 Win

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s basketball team jumped to a 10-0 lead to open the game and never looked back in its 81-59 victory over visiting UC Riverside Saturday at the BankUnited Center.

Miami used its pressure defense throughout to keep the Highlanders off balance – forcing 26 turnovers that led to 35 Hurricane points. UC Riverside only scored 12 points off of Miami’s 13 miscues.

For the fourth time of the season, sophomore Morgan Stroman led her team in points – scoring 19 on Saturday. The Hopkins, S.C. native connected on 6-of-10 field goal attempts and was 7-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Shenise Johnson, Riquna Williams and freshman Krystal Saunders each scored in double-figures as well. Johnson poured in 18 and extended her consecutive game with double-digit points to an ACC best 48 straight games.

In her first action on the court since being named the ACC Player of the Week on Monday, Williams scored 11 points and had her hand in on a game-high five steals.

Saunders scored an early career-best 10 points, hitting on five of her nine field goal attempts.

The athleticism and discipline possessed by the Hurricanes, especially in the early going, was just too much for the visitors. Before the second media timeout, the `Canes were already in the bonus and had yet to commit their first foul.

The `Canes ended its season-long nine-game homestand with a perfect record and moved to 10-1 to start the season. Miami opened the 2009-10 season in the same fashion and ended its year with an appearance WNIT Championship game.

UC Riverside (6-3) was led on the offensive end by guard Tre’Shonti Nottingham’s 13 points. Brittany Palmer came off the bench for the Highlanders and scored 11 points of her own. However, UCR was held to only 40 percent shooting and were dominated in the paint – where Miami held a 42-24 advantage.

The Hurricanes will face Ole Miss on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss. at 1 p.m. EST. A win would equal the third best start in program history and momentum headed into the week-long holiday break.

POST-GAME NOTES

The win today…
-is Miami’s ninth in a row
-improves Miami’s record to 10-1
-improves Miami’s record to 10-0 at home, and is the 14th straight win at home dating back to last season.
-Marks the second straight season Miami has started 10-1

Today’s Starters
Starting for Miami today was Riquna Williams, Shenise Johnson, Stephanie Yderstrom, Sylvia Bullock, and Morgan Stroman. The Hurricanes have used the same starting lineup in all 11 games this year.

Threes Company
Shenise Johnson hit a three-pointer from the top of the key early in the first half – extending the `Canes streak to 303 straight games with a three-pointer made. Miami ended the game with four three-pointers.

Today’s Opponent
UC Riverside visited the Bank United Center for the first time in program history today.

Defensive Pressure
The Hurricanes, who have forced at least 20 opponent turnovers in every game this season, did it again, forcing the Highlanders into 26 turnovers to just 11 assists.
The 62-point margin of victory is the largest of the year and the largest since a 111-44 win over Morris Brown on Nov. 25, 2002.

Shenise Continues the Streak
With her 18 points today, has now scored in double figures for the 48th straight games.

Balanced Attack
Today, the Hurricanes had four players in double-figures, Shenise Johnson, Riquna Williams, Morgan Stroman and Krystal Saunders. Saunders set a new career-high with 10 points.