No. 7 Miami Dominates Clemson, 68-47

Shenise Johnson scored 19 points to lead the No. 7 Hurricanes to a 68-47 victory over Clemson Sunday afternoon. But the Hurricanes could be missing guard and second leading scorer Riquna Williams for Wednesday’s game against No. 23 North Carolina.

Williams, who averages 15.6 points, left the game with 14:53 in the second half after she hit her head as she collided with teammate Michelle Woods while chasing a loose ball. Williams stayed on the floor for three minutes then walked gingerly toward the locker room and didn’t return.

“They’re going to take some precautionary looks on her because anytime it’s a head and neck..,” Miami coach Katie Meier said in a post-game news conference. “We had three doctors in the locker room right now. We’ll know more. They’re concerned.”

Meier isn’t sure about Williams’ status on Wednesday.

Johnson picked up the void for Williams, who scored 15 points before her injury – including the 2,000th of her career. Johnson scored 12 points in the second half and finished with 15 rebounds.

“Coach told us in the locker room that we need to be tougher (in the second half),” Johnson said. “I had to change my whole mindset and shots started going in.”

The Hurricanes (20-3, 9-1 ACC) broke the game open with a 17-1 run midway through the first half. Williams hit two 3-pointers and Johnson and Shawnice Wilson scored five points each during the Miami surge.

Williams’ second 3-pointer with 11:09 remaining gave her 2,000 points in her Hurricanes’ career.

Johnson’s 3-pointer with 6:24 remaining ended the spurt and increased the Miami lead to 26-8. The Hurricanes held Clemson without a basket for a 9:29 stretch.

“We had really nice ball movement,” Meier said. “We played a decent game but there were some individual things that you’ve got to finish.”

“Our one consistent thing has been Shenise Johnson. She absolutely made sure that we won tonight.”

Clemson (6-15, 2-8) got to within single digits after an 8-0 spurt late in the first half. Quinyotta Pettaway’s put back basket with 1:00 ended the run and cut Miami’s lead to 27-18.

Nikki Dixon scored 16 points to lead Clemson, which has lost five of their last six.

“They pressed us and bothered us in the first half,” Clemson coach Itoro Coleman said. “In the second half we handled their pressure better than the first half.”

Williams’ 3-pointer with 15:24 remaining in the second half gave the Hurricanes their first 20-point lead at 44-24.

The Tigers got no closer than 46-31 after a 5-0 run capped by Shaniqua Pauldo’s free throw with 9:57 remaining in the second half.

“There were different points of the game that we fought,” Coleman said “I felt Miami was very physical and we were able to withstand some of that. We were able to get some shots that we were looking for. We just didn’t knock them down.”

POST-GAME NOTES

2K for Bay Bay
It took Riquna Williams just eight minutes and 49 seconds to get the six points necessary to become the fifth woman in program history to score 2,000 career points. Her teammate Shenise Johnson accomplished the feat in January. The Hurricanes are the only team in the nation this season that have two 2,000 point scorers.

First to 20
With today’s win, Miami is the first team in the ACC to reach 20 wins this season. It is the third straight 20-win season for the Canes and the 11th in the history of the program.

Double-Double Trouble
With 19 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, Shenise Johnson recorded her seventh double-double of the season. The senior now has 34 for her career, the most of any current ACC player.