Canes Return to ACC Play Thursday vs. Tigers
Jan. 3, 2012 | 7:05 p.m. | Coral Gables, Fla. | BankUnitedCenter
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THE GAME
After successfully capturing the UMHoliday Tournament championship with wins over Central Connecticut State andWisconsin, the Miami Hurricanes (10-2, 1-0 ACC) resume their conference slateThursday night at the BankUnited Center when they take on the visiting ClemsonTigers (4-8, 0-1 ACC).
After a slow startto the season, senior guard Stefanie Yderstrom has carried the Hurricanes as oflate. Since dropping a Dec. 16 matchup at Rutgers, the Swedish sharpshooter haspoured in 57 points over the team’s current three-game winning streak,averaging 19.0 points during the stretch. The 2011-12 third-team All-ACCselection ranks sixth in the conference in three-pointers (21) and No. 12 inthree-point field goal percentage (.356).
The Tigers had theirown three-game winning streak snapped by No. 16 North Carolina in theconference-opener for both teams last time out on Dec. 30. Clemson is paced bysophomore Nikki Dixon (13.9 points) and junior Quinyotta Pettaway (8.8 points,9.0 rebounds).
CANES TOUGH TO BEAT IN ACC PLAY
Since the 2010-11 season, Miami is27-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, second only to Duke (28-3). In thatspan, the Canes are flawless inside the BankUnited Center, winning 16 straightACC games.
The Hurricanes havenot been defeated at home inside conference play since a four-point loss toGeorgia Tech on Feb. 21, 2010, a span of 1,046 days.
IMPRESSIVE START TO CONFERENCE PLAY
For the first time,Miami’s ACC schedule will consist of 18 games. Due to the additional games,Miami was forced to play a conference game in December for the first time since2003 when still a member of the Big East. The Canes seemed to welcome the earlychallenge as they walloped NC State 79-53. It was the fifth straight win overthe Wolfpack for the Canes.
BIG-TIME TEAM ON THE SMALL SCREEN
The Jan. 6 meetingwith Virginia will be the first of nine regular season games that will betelevised this season.
PEPPER TOO HOT FOR NC STATE TO HANDLE
Miami’s 6-6 center Shawnice”Pepper” Wilson has faced NC State three times since transferring to UM afterher sophomore season. In those three contests, she has averaged 11.3 points and14 rebounds and even had a career-best night as a junior, scoring 17 points andgrabbing 17 rebounds in leading her team to victory.
GREAT GAME, GREAT SEASON
Morgan Stroman may have had her thebest game of her career on Dec. 8 against Davidson. The senior recorded the19th double-double of her career with 17 points and 13 rebounds. However, shefilled the stat sheet, leading the Canes with a career-high six assists, fourblocks and four steals.
On the season,Stroman is second on the team with 11.7 points and leads the Canes with 8.1rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
CANES HAND PENN STATE FIRST LOSS
Sixth-ranked PennState came to the BankUnited Center on Nov. 29 with a perfect 5-0 record.However, the Hurricanes forced the Lady Lions into 20 first-half turnovers andheld on for a 69-65 victory.
Morgan Stroman ledthe Canes with 15 points and five steals, while Stefanie Yderstrom and MichelleWoods added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
At No. 6, Penn Statewas a the second-best ranked team Miami has ever defeated (No. 5 Maryland -2012).
UM HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT HONORS
Behind back-to-back18-point performances from Stefanie Yderstrom, the Canes claimed wins overCentral Connecticut State and Wisconsin. For her efforts, Yderstrom was namedthe tournament’s MVP.
In the two games,Shawnice Wilson totaled 16 points and 19 rebounds while freshman Keyona Hayespicked up her third double-double (11 points, 15 rebounds) of the seasonagainst the Blue Devils. Each earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
After their rout of UNF, theHurricanes are 32-9 in season-opening games and are a combined 24-3 when theyopen the season at home, including a perfect 8-0 record when opening the seasonat the BankUnited Center.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR WOODS
In her first game of the 2012-13season, sophomore Michelle Woods hit five three-pointers on her way to acareer-best 19 points. In the very next game, the guard from Naples, Fla.,scored a new career-best of 20 points in a 69-63 win at Richmond.
Woods came on strongin the second half of Miami’s loss to Tennessee, helping the Canes erase a27-point deficit, scoring a team-high 17 points. After 12 games, the guard isaveraging 9.3 points per game, good for third on the team.
MEIER ENTERS EIGHTH SEASON AT MIAMI
In 2012-13, head coach Katie Meierand her staff will begin their eighth year at the helm in Coral Gables. TheHurricanes advanced to the NCAA tournament second round for the secondconsecutive season, finishing second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a14-2 record. Overall, Miami finished with a 26-6 record, the third straight20-win season for Meier.
A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Junior Maria Brownmade her first career start in the UM Thanksgiving Tournament final againstRadford. The forward responded with eight points and nine rebounds.
On the season, Brownis averaging 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percentfrom the floor.
HITTING THE BOOKS
Stefanie Yderstrom has been namedto the ACC All-Academic Team each of the last two seasons. The senior is asports administration major, has earned an overall 3.28 GPA and a was named tothe dean’s list last semester with a 3.66 GPA.
WELCOME BACK
In her first game onthe court since an Achilles’ tendon tear midway through the 2011-12 season,senior forward Morgan Stroman scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and led herteam with eight rebounds.
UM THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT HONORS
Seniors Stefanie Yderstromand Morgan Stroman were recognized for their outstanding play in leading theHurricanes to a UM Thanksgiving Tournament title with wins over FAU andRadford.
Yderstrom led allscorers with 19 points against FAU and Stroman finished each contest with 11rebounds. Against Radford, Stroman also poured in 22 points, just one shy ofher career-best. It was her first double-double of the season. For her efforts,Stroman was named the tournament’s MVP, while Yderstrom earned all-tourneyhonors.
1,000 POINT CLUB
Miami senior MorganStroman became the 22nd Hurricane to score 1,000 points in her career, as shescored seven points against FAU in the first game of the UM ThanksgivingTournament. Riquna Williams and Shenise Johnson were the last two Canes tosurpass the milestone.
Senior StefanieYderstrom is just 18 points shy of becoming the 23rd player in program historyto join the club.
RETURNING ALL-ACC PERFORMERS
Miami returns two All-ACC playersfor the 2012-13 campaign. Sharp-shooting point guard Stefanie Yderstrom earnedthird-team conference honors last season, leading the ACC with 68 3-pointers.Morgan Stroman was well on her way to earning conference honors for the second consecutiveseason. However, midway through the season, the 2009 McDonald’s All-Americantore her Achilles tendon, ending her junior campaign. As a sophomore, theforward earned third-team honors.
STARTING A NEW STREAK
Prior to its Nov. 18 loss vs. No.20 Tennessee, the Hurricanes held the nation’s second-longest home win streakat 41 games. Miami had gone 1,001 days without dropping a game inside theBankUnited Center. Since the loss, Miamihas won eight straight home games.
UM STUDENT-ATHLETES SET GSR RECORD
The University ofMiami recorded a department-wide school-record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of93 percent, according to the rates released Oct. 25 by the NCAA.
As a department,Miami’s 93 percent GSR ranks fourth among ACC schools and is eighth overallamong FBS schools. Overall, the University of Miami athletic department hasimproved from 77 to 93 percent from 2005 to 2012, a year after UMstudent-athletes posted a then-record 89 percent GSR in 2011. UM has exceededthe NCAA average GSR in each of the last eight years.
Six UM teamscompiled GSR marks of 100 percent; men’s diving and golf posted its eighthconsecutive perfect GSR mark, while women’s tennis recorded its fifth straightGSR score of 100 percent. Also adding perfect GSR scorers were women’s rowing,women’s golf, women’s swimming and volleyball.
The most recentDivision I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from2002-2003 through 2005-06.
UM BRINGS IN 11TH-RANKED CLASS
Head coach KatieMeier officially announced the program’s signees on Nov. 15. The group,comprised of three high school standouts, is Adrienne Motley (Newport News, Va.),Nigia Greene (Atlanta, Ga.) and Jessica Thomas (Gainesville, Fla.). The triowill join the Hurricanes for the 2013-14 academic year.
Motley, a 5-9 guardfrom Woodside High School, has been ranked the No. 27 overall prospect and theseventh best point guard in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz.
Greene is afour-star prospect according to ESPN HoopGurlz. She is ranked No. 41 overall,and the ninth-best guard in the nation.
Thomas is ranked the48th best point guard in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz. In 2011, the 5-6 guardled the Buchholz High School Bobcats to the semifinals of the Florida GirlsState Basketball Playoffs. She is the younger sister of Hurricane legend LamarThomas.
THE NEWCOMERS
The Canes welcome freshmen CapriceDennis (G, 5-9) from Detroit, Keyona Hayes (F, 6-1) from Marietta, Ga., andMacy Keen (C, 6-6) from nearby Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to the 2012-13 squad.
In their debuts,Dennis finished the night with five points, three assists and two steals. Hayeshad four points and Keen added three rebounds and a free throw.
CANES ENTER SEASON IN THE POLLS
For the secondconsecutive season, the Hurricanes enter their year with a spot in each the APand the ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Miami was ranked No. 23 in the coachesand No. 24 in the AP according to the voters. UM is currently receiving votesin both polls.
