`Canes Win in a Rout on Tamara James' Special Night

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It’s been four years since she graduated from the University of Miami and on the night she had her jersey honored, Tamara James must have been proud of her old squad as the Hurricanes won the Miami Hurricane Classic with a convincing 74-47 victory over Morgan State at the BankUnited Center on Thursday night.

In a Miami Holiday Classic MVP performance, junior Shenise Johnson paced the `Canes with her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. The Preseason All-ACC selection filled the stat sheet as she scored a game-best 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and had her hand in on four steals.

Miami has dominated most of the games it has played in this season, but it let Morgan State hang around and were actually out-rebounded 19-18 in the first half. After a brief few words of encouragement from head coach Katie Meier at the break, the Hurricanes returned to their dominant selves in the second half and stretched their lead to as much as 29 points.

The `Canes rededicated their efforts to the glass and wound up with a 13 rebound edge after the final horn – scoring 20 second-chance points off of 24 offensive rebounds.

All-classic performer and reigning ACC Player of the Week Riquna Williams admittedly wasn’t in rhythm on the offensive end, so she focused on her defense and grabbed a career-high nine steals – the most since Maurita Reid (2006-08) grabbed a school-record 10 in 2007. The Pahokee, Fla. native scored eight points and added a pair of assists on the night.

Sophomores Morgan Stroman and Stefanie Yderstrom each added 11 points and Sylvia Bullock scored 10 – the second double-figure scoring effort from the Alaska native on the season.

Combined with her 10 point and career-best six rebound performance in Tuesday’s win over George Washington – Yderstrom earned a spot on the All-Classic Team.

Morgan State was led by Brittany Dodson – who also was named to the Miami Holiday All-Classic Team – as she scored 12 points. Fellow all-classic honoree, Theresa Davis grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Bears.

In their final non-conference game before heading to Virginia to open ACC play on Jan. 6, the `Canes will open the new year as they host Lipscomb at the BankUnited Center, Saturday at 2 p.m.

POST-GAME NOTES

Miami Holiday All-Classic Team
Brittany Dodson – Morgan State
Theresa Davis – Morgan State
Tara Booker – George Washington
Riquna Williams – Miami
Stefanie Yderstrom – Miami

MVP
Shenise Johnson – Miami

The win today…
-is Miami’s 12th in a row
-improves Miami’s record to 13-1
-improves Miami’s record to 12-0 at home, and is the 16th straight win at home dating back to last season.

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 14 games this year.

Threes Company
With Stefanie Yderstrom’s jumper late in the second half, Miami extended its streak to 306 consecutive games with a three-point field goal.

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

Shenise Continues the Streak
With her 22 points today, Shenise Johnson has now scored in double figures for the 51st straight game.