`Canes Return to the BankUnited Center Against NC State
Jan. 26, 2011
NC State (9-10, 1-4 ACC) at Miami (18-2, 4-1 ACC)
Date & Tip Time: Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.
Location: Coral Gables, Fla. | BankUnited Center
TV: N/A
Radio: WVUM 90.5 – wvum.org
Video Stream: HurricaneSports.com/AllAccess
Live Stats: HurricaneSports.com
GAMEDAY
The University of Miami women’s basketball team returns home to the BankUnited Center on Thursday to face NC State at 7 p.m. It will be the first contest for the `Canes since they saw their 17-game win-streak snapped at Florida State on Monday.
THE TEAMS
Miami is ranked No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the ESPN/Coaches poll and has won all but two games this season – good for the second-best start in program history.
Riquna Williams and Shenise Johnson are Nos. 1 and 2 in the Atlantic Coast in scoring with 20.8 and 19.2 points per game respectively.
NC State is averaging 74.7 points per game this season – the most in 14 years for the Wolfpack. Their 45.1 rebounds per game is also the highest since the 1978-79 season.
NC State has four players on its roster that have scored 20 or points in a game this season. Holston, Kastanek, Strachan and White.
GIMME THAT
With an average of 15.5 steals per game, the Hurricanes rank first in the nation. Shenise Johnson get her hands in on 3.6 thefts per game, while Riquna Williams and Morgan Stroman are close behind with 3.3 and 3.2 per outing respectively. Stefanie Yderstrom, Sylvia Bullock, Krystal Saunders and Shanel Williams each average one or more steals per game and as a team, Miami has scored 29.6 points per game off of turnovers – compared to only 12.1 from its opponents.
THE NATIONALLY RANKED `CANES
After a No. 17 ranking in the AP poll last week, the `Canes have moved up to No. 16 this week even though they were idle. Miami moved up from remained No. 22 in the ESPN/Coaches poll after its loss at Florida State.
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.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK PART 3
Riquna Williams earned the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor as announced by the conference office on Jan 17 after scoring a combined 62 points in wins over Clemson and Boston College.
The honor is the fifth in Williams’ career after winning the award earlier this season (Dec. 13, Dec. 27) and twice as a sophomore. She currently leads all active ACC players for the most weekly awards.
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.
NOS. 1 AND 2
As of Jan. 26, Miami junior Riquna Williams was leading the ACC with 20.8 points per game. In the conference the closest person to her is fellow teammate Shenise Johnson, who is scoring 19.2 points per game.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Hurricanes are a perfect 15-0 at home this season and have won 19 consecutive games inside the BankUnited Center dating back to the `Canes regular season-finale overtime win over Boston College on Feb. 28, 2010.
The 19 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.
Shenise 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.
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.
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
10. Maryland 25
19. Georgia Tech 29
23. Florida State 54
24. Miami 146
36. Boston College 57
39. North Carolina 131
50. Virginia 15
101. Virginia Tech 43
120. Clemson 56
124. NC State 90
144. Wake Forest 126
JOHNSON: 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
.875 free throw % – 1st
19.2 ppg – 2nd
8.0 rpg – 5th
1.4 assist/turnover ratio – 7th
.505 field goal % – 8th
3.7 apg – 8th
MIAMI 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.
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.
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/ 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.
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.
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.
DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
With 21 points against Boston College, Shenise Johnson has now scored in double-figures in 57 straight games – the highest active streak of any Atlantic Coast Conference player.
THREE-POINT STREAK
With four three-pointers against Florida State, the Hurricanes have made at least one three-point field goal in 312 straight games dating back to the 2000-01 season.
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.
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.
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.
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 9th place all-time at Miami with 1,452 career points and needs 11 points to pass Kym Hope (1995-99) for eighth place. With 1,350 points, Williams ranks 11th all-time.
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.
