`Canes Ready to Face No. 3 Duke at Cameron Indoor
Feb. 2, 2011
No. 18/21 Miami (20-2, 6-1 ACC) at No. 3/3 Duke(20-1, 6-0 ACC)
Date & Tip Time: Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m.
Location: Durham, N.C. | Cameron Indoor Stadium
TV: N/A
Radio: WVUM 90.5 – wvum.org
Video Stream: GoDuke.com (Fee)
Live Stats: GoDuke.com
GAMEDAY
The No. 18 University of Miami women’s basketball team will be facing its toughest challenge to date when it travels to face No. 3 Duke Thursday at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
THE TEAMS
Miami is ranked No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the ESPN/Coaches poll and has won all but two games this season – good for the second-best start in program history.
On Monday, Riquna Williams was named the ACC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the sixth time in her career – the most of any active player.
With 3.6 steals per game, Shenise Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the ACC and second in the nation.
Duke is 20-1 on the season and is coming off its first loss of the season to No. 2 Connecticut.
The Blue Devils’ Jasmine Thomas – the ACC Preseason Player of the Year leads her team with 15.0 points and 3.4 assists per game this season.
THE NATIONALLY RANKED `CANES
After 2-1 week, the `Canes dropped to No. 18 in the AP Poll. Miami moved up one spot No. 21 in the ESPN/Coaches poll after wins over NC State and No. 25 Georgia Tech.
Miami was ranked No. 25 in the AP poll for one week last season, but prior to that the `Canes hadn’t been ranked in either poll since the 2003-04 season.
GIMME THAT
With an average of 15.5 steals per game, the Hurricanes rank second in the nation. Shenise Johnson get her hands in on 3.6 thefts per game, while Morgan Stroman and Riquna Williams are close behind with 3.3 each 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 13.3 from its opponents.
IN THE RPI
Miami is one of seven ACC teams that ranks among the Top 50 in the latest RPI rankings.
Rank Team SS Rank
1. Duke 1
13. Maryland 46
16. Florida State 45
20. Georgia Tech 28
22. Miami 116
41. Boston College 52
42. North Carolina 153
61. Virginia 14
93. Virginia Tech 27
105. Clemson 38
122. NC State 59
144. Wake Forest 108
NOS. 1 AND 2
As of Feb. 2, Miami junior Riquna Williams was leading the ACC with 21.4 points per game. In the conference the closest person to her is fellow teammate Shenise Johnson, who is scoring 19.3 points per game.
Girls and Women in Sports
The University of Miami will host a free sports clinic for girls this Sunday, Jan. 30 in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Student-athletes from women’s golf, rowing, swimming and diving, track and field, cross country, volleyball, cheerleading and dance will teach participants a variety of skills from their respective sports.
The clinic will take place at the Fieldhouse at the BankUnited Center on the UM campus prior to the Women’s Basketball game versus Georgia Tech at 3 p.m.
Clinic registration will begin at 12:45 p.m. and is open to all girls in the seventh grade and younger. Group registration for the clinic is full. However, individuals may walk-up and register.
Discounted $3 tickets for the women’s basketball game are available for this game only by visiting TicketMaster.com by entering the promotion code: MEIER. Tickets may also be purchased at the BankUnited Center Box Office beginning at 1:30 p.m. ($5 adults/$3 Youth).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Hurricanes are a perfect 17-0 at home this season and have won 21 consecutive games inside the BankUnited Center dating back to the `Canes regular season-finale overtime win over Boston College on Feb. 28, 2010. It is the nation’s sixth-longest streak.
The 21 straight wins at home is the second-longest home winning streak in program history.
UM’s longest home streak came during the 1990-91 through 1992-93 season. That
streak spanned 24 games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK PART 4
Riquna Williams earned the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor as announced by the conference office on Jan. 31 after scoring 27 points twice in back-to-back wins over NC State and Georgia Tech.
The honor is the sixth in Williams’ career after winning the award earlier this season (Dec. 13, Dec. 27, Jan. 17) and twice as a sophomore. She currently leads all active ACC players for the most weekly awards.
Williams’ third weekly honor of the season came after she scored a combined 61 points in wins over Clemson and Boston College.
The Pahokee, Fla. native earned her second weekly nod after she scored a then season-high tying 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting in Miami’s convincing 82-46 victory at Ole Miss on Dec. 21.
Williams earned her first player of the week accolade earlier in the season after scoring a game-high 23 points in a win over No.11 Georgetown (Dec.7), 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.
DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
With 23 points against Georgia Tech, Shenise Johnson has now scored in double-figures in 60 straight games – the highest active streak of any Atlantic Coast Conference player.
HISTORIC WINNING STREAK
Miami won 17 straight games overall from Nov. 17-Jan. 24 – the second longest streak in program history and at one point it was the longest active streak in the country.
The Hurricanes have only reached a winning streak of at least 10 games five times previously and it was the first such streak for the `Canes since the 1992-93 season, when they won 10 consecutive games.
The longest winning streak in team history occurred during the 1991-92 season, when Miami won 30 straight games.
JOHNSON’S DOMINANCE
In claiming her third career ACC Player of the Week award (Jan. 3), Johnson may have had the best week of her collegiate career. In three straight wins over Morgan State, Lipscomb and Virginia, the junior matched a career-best with 11 made field goals – scoring 22, 25 and 30 points respectively. She also grabbed double-digit boards in those games, and now has seven double-doubles this season – most among ACC guards.
ALL-AROUND PLAYER
Everyone knows that Miami junior Shenise Johnson is a great talent. However, there are plenty of numbers to back that up. As was the case last season, Johnson is currently the only player in the ACC to rank in the Top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. Below are some of her conference rankings.
3.6 spg – 1st
.845 free throw % – 1st
19.3 ppg – 2nd
7.8 rpg – 7th
.505 field goal % – 8th
3.5 apg – 10th
HOLIDAY CLASSIC CHAMPS
The Hurricanes won Miami Holiday Classic at the BankUnited Center with decisive wins over George Washington and Morgan State.
Junior Shenise Johnson was named the classic’s MVP while Riquna Williams and Stefanie Yderstrom were named to the Miami Holiday All-Classic Team.
A BIG WIN
Miami was dominant in its 82-46 win over Ole Miss on Dec. 18. In fact, the 36-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a game against a BCS Conference opponent on the road and the most in any game since an 80-43 win at home against St. John’s on Feb. 14, 2001.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The `Canes 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-tourney team.
TJ’S HONORED JERSEY
The greatest player in Miami women’s basketball history had her jersey honored prior to the Morgan State game on Dec. 30.
Tamara James’ jersey is just the third to be honored at Miami, joining Maria Rivera (1984-88) and Frances Savage (1988-92).
James still holds the school scoring record at 2,406 points. The South Florida native is the only player from the University of Miami to be taken in the first round of the WNBA Draft, going to the Washington Mystics as the seventh overall pick in 2006.
THREE-POINT STREAK
With six three-pointers against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes have made at least one three-point field goal in 314 straight games dating back to the 2000-01 season.
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 Networks.
The service will be provided at a fee of $9.95 a month or $79.95 for a year. Visit hurricanesports.com/allaccess/.
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.
A WINNING STATEMENT
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.
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 8th place all-time at Miami with 1,494 career points and needs 219 points to pass Sylvia Wilson (1979-82) for sixth place. With 1,404 points, Williams ranks 10th all-time.
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.
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.
ANOTHER HURRICANE FIRST
In its 77-48 win over Clemson on Jan. 14, Miami did something that it had never done since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004.
The 29-point margin of victory was the largest over an ACC team and the 35 forced turnovers in that game was also the most since joining the league.
`CANES LOVE FREE BASKETBALL
So far this season, Miami has played in two overtime games, both coming against ranked teams. On Dec. 7, the Hurricanes outscored No. 11 Georgetown 13-4 in the extra frame en route to an 81-72 victory.
On Feb. 30, the `Canes trailed by as much as 11 points to No. 25 Georgia Tech but rallied in the second half. In that overtime period, Miami didn’t allow a field goal and outpaced the Yellow Jackets 14-4 in the extra time. In all, the `Canes have outscored its opponents 27-8 in overtime.
Chanivia Broussard: ACC LEGEND
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its seventh annual class of ACC Women’s Basketball Legends to be honored at the 2011 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 3-6 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The University of Miami’s representative is forward Chanivia Broussard (2000-04).
A two-time All-Big East selection, Broussard ended her University of Miami career with 1,482 points, currently seventh all-time for the program. She still ranks among the best in program history in made field goals (7th, 621), field goal attempts (7th, 1,398), rebounds (10th, 583), and blocks (3rd, 132). She also ranks highly with single game achievements including field goals made (t-6th, 15), and free throw percentage (t-1st, 1.000, 10-10). She was named to the Big East Second Team after the 2001-02 season and third team in 2003-04. Broussard was also Big East First Team All-Freshman in 2000-01 and a Big East Preseason First Team member prior to the 2002-03 season. As a senior she was second on the team in scoring and rebounding at 15.2 points and 6.2 boards per game. Broussard scored in double-digits in 24 games during her senior season. She became the 15th Miami player to record 1,000 career points, reaching the plateau as a junior. Broussard was the Hurricanes’ leading scorer in both her freshman and junior campaigns. After finishing her freshman season averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game, Broussard was named to the All-Big East Freshman team, the first player in six years to earn the recognition.
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.
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
`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.
