No. 7 Canes Win in Rout on Special Night

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – The start of a stretch against top-tier conference teams started dreadfully for Prairie View.

After a season-opening win against Rice, the Panthers lost 107-26 at No. 7 Miami on Thursday night.

The Hurricanes (2-1) ran off to a 19-0 start in the opening 5:17 and eventually built a 39-2 lead with 10:30 remaining in the first half. Johnson scored 10 points in Miami’s early surge and finished the half with 17 points.

Prairie View, a 2011 NCAA tournament qualifier from the Southwest Athletic Conference, was held without a field goal until Jeannette Jackson’s short jumper with 9:40 remaining that made the score 39-4.

“They played at a different speed,” Panthers coach Toyelle Wilson said. “The girls were shell shocked a little bit. It’s hard to prepare for a team like the University of Miami in practice.”

Miami led 60-9 at halftime. The Hurricanes forced 26 Panthers turnovers and allowed three field goals on 22 attempts in the first half. Their pressure defense also resulted in 17 first half steals.

The 81-point margin of victory set a Miami school record, beating the time the Hurricanes beat Homestead Air Force Base, 100-20, on Jan. 14, 1976.

“I thought that was a tremendous performance by our bench but it was initially a statement from our starters,” Miami coach Katie Meier said. They played very angry, very determined and with a ton of confidence but with an absolute focus of fixing what we didn’t do well at Tennessee.”

Tennessee outscored the Hurricanes by 16 in the second half and defeated Miami, 92-76. Meier praised her team’s defensive effort against Prairie View.

“We didn’t like having 92 points scored against us,” Meier said. “So we had a mission we were going to shut down and play defense.

Meier substituted freely early. The Miami reserves played 52 minutes and the starters 48 in the first half.

“Those veterans, the starters, set the tone. They were the teachers.”

Johnson struggled offensively against Tennessee and made up for it by shooting 10-of-12, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range. Johnson played only 20 minutes.

“I was disappointed with my effort at Tennessee,” said Johnson, who shot 8-of-19 and converted only one 3-pointer against the Volunteers. “I was just focused on hitting shots.”

The Hurricanes (2-1) ran off to a 19-0 start in the opening 5:17 and eventually built a 39-2 lead with 10:30 remaining in the first half. Johnson scored 10 points in Miami’s early surge and finished the half with 17 points.

Prairie View, a 2011 NCAA tournament qualifier from the Southwest Athletic Conference, was held without a field goal until Jeannette Jackson’s short jumper with 9:40 remaining that made the score 39-4.

Miami led 60-9 at halftime. The Hurricanes forced 26 Panthers turnovers and allowed three field goals on 22 attempts in the first half. Their pressure defense also resulted in 17 first half steals.

The Hurricanes outscored the Panthers, 15-2, in the first 8:10 of the second for a 75-11 lead. Morgan Stroman and Sylvia Bullock scored four points each during the run.

The Panthers reached double figures with 16:07 remaining in the second half after Michaela Burton’s jumper for a 68-11 Miami lead. Burton led the Panthers with 14 points.

“I told (the players) we were going to throw them in the fire early,” said Prairie View coach Toyelle Wilson coach. “Miami is ranked number seven for a reason.”

Johnson’s 3-pointer with 4:16 remaining gave the Hurricanes their first 80-point lead, 101-19. Johnson finished 5-of-5 from behind the arc.

For the game, the Hurricanes converted on 10-of-17 3-pointers.

Stefanie Yderstrom scored 13 points and Stroman finished with 12 points for the Hurricanes

Before the game, the Hurricanes players and coaches were presented with their 2010-11 ACC regular season championship rings. Two new banners also were displayed from the rafters recognizing the team’s the conference regular season title and its berth in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

CANES IN DA’ HOUSE
University of Miami junior offensive lineman Brandon Washington was in attendance of tonight’s game rooting on his fellow Canes. Injured Miami Men’s Basketball center Reggie Johnson was also spotted in the building along with Julian Gamble. University president Donna E. Shalala was also in attendance.

PUT A RING ON IT
Tonight the Hurricanes were presented with rings for their 2010-11 ACC regular season title. It was their first title since joining the ACC and banners were lifted into the rafters for their accomplishment within the conference as well as for their participation in the NCAA tournament.

THE BUC ON LOCKDOWN
With tonight’s victory over Prairie View A&M the Hurricanes have extended their record-breaking home winning streak to 26 games.

MOVIN ON UP
With tonight’s 5-of-5 3 point performance Shenise Johnson moved up to seventh all-time among Hurricanes. She now has 119 for her career, passing Renee Taylor (2005-07) and just 15 behind Shelia James (1998-02).

START IT UP
Miami’s Shenise Johnson recorded her 102nd straight start tonight, starting every game she has played in. She trails the current national leader Shekinna Stricklen of Tennessee by four starts.

THE 3-POINT DIAL
Miami began tonight’s game with nine three pointers on the season. Tonight the Canes hit 10-of-17. The Three-Point Dial in Section 111 now stands at 19. Miami more than doubled their three point total from the previous two games combined.

CANES ON THE RUN
Miami started the contest off to a 19-0 run before Kiarra Etienne hit her free throws at 14:29 remaining. They followed up with a 20-0 run before Jeanette Jackson hit a floater with 9:40 remaining in the first half. Then a 10-0 run before Michaela Burton hit a 3. The Canes started the contest on a 49-7 run.