Hurricanes Blow Past Ole Miss, 82-46

OXFORD, Miss. – The Hurricanes were looking for an impressive road victory coming into Tuesday’s game at Ole Miss and that’s what they got in a dominant 82-46 win at the Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Miss.

Miami’s pressure defense – like it has been all season – was too much for its opponent to handle. The Rebels turned the ball over 29 times, which the `Canes turned into 33 points. Every Miami opponent this season has turned the ball over at least 20 times.

Junior Riquna Williams led all scorers with season-high tying 28 points – many coming on the fast break as she simply outran the Ole Miss defense down the court.

Shenise Johnson, who extended her double-figure scoring streak to 49 straight games, added 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore Stefanie Yderstrom scored a season-best 16 points, the sixth time this season that she has reached double-figures on the season. Her four field goals from beyond the arc were also season-high.

Maria Brown scored a career-best nine points off the bench for Miami, which improved its record to 11-1 on the season – the third-best start in school history after 12 games.

Ole Miss (7-5) was led by Valencia McFarland and Kayla Melson as they each scored 11 points. Melson also led her team with three assists, while three players grabbed five rebounds for the home team.

Miami asserted its dominance from the start – scoring the game’s first 19 points and it led by 28 points at the half. Ole Miss was held without a field goal for the first 9:49 of the game and under the intense Hurricane pressure, turned the ball over 19 times in the opening frame.

To cap off the first half -Williams hit an improbably shot at the buzzer that was reviewed and changed to a three-pointer. The Pahokee, Fla. native ended the half with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting – including three three-pointers.

The Hurricanes have a week off for their holiday break before they host the University of Miami Holiday Classic. George Washington and Morgan State will visit the BankUnited Center and will play in a round-robin format.

The `Canes face George Washington on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., Morgan State will play George Washington on the 29th at 7 p.m. and Miami will close out the classic as they face Morgan State at 8 p.m.

POST-GAME NOTES

The win today…
-is Miami’s 10th in a row
-improves Miami’s record to 11-1 – the third-best start after 12 games in program history.

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 12 games this year.

Threes Company
Stefanie Yderstrom hit a three-to open the game – extending the `Canes streak to 304 straight games with a three-pointer made. Miami ended the game with eight three-pointers.

Defensive Pressure
The Hurricanes, who have forced at least 20 opponent turnovers in every game this season, did it again, forcing the Rebels into 29 turnovers to just nine assists.

Shenise Continues the Streak
With her 14 points today, Shenise Johnson has now scored in double figures for the 49th straight game.

No. 1
Miami leads the nation with a +10.3 turnover margin.