@MiamiWBB Faces No. 2 Notre Dame in Quarters
March 6, 2015 | 2:00 p.m.
Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro, N.C.
TV: RSN (Coverage map available Here, available locally on SUN Sports)
TV: ESPN3 (Subject to blackout)
Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM
Miami (19-11, 8-8 ACC) vs. 2/2 Notre Dame (28-2, 15-1 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
The Game
After a first round bye in the ACC Tournament and a 62-52 win over ninth-seeded Virginia Thursday, Miami will meet top-seeded and second-ranked Notre Dame Friday. The matchup between the ninth-seeded Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Series
The Hurricanes trail 14-4 in the all-time series against the Fighting Irish, but defeated them earlier this season. Miami took down Notre Dame, then ranked fourth in the country, 78-63 on Jan. 8 at the BankUnited Center behind a career-high 32 points from Adrienne Motley and a program record nine blocks by Jassany Williams. That is the only loss for Notre Dame in ACC regular season or ACC Tournament play since joining the conference last year (34-1 overall).
The Broadcasts
The game will be televised live on regional networks, with SUN Sports carrying the action in South Florida. It can also be seen on ESPN3 at this link (subject to blackout). Mike Hogewood and LaChina Robinson will be on the call for the broadcast, as they were for Miami’s game against Virginia.
WVUM 90.5 FM will carry the game as well and it will also be streamed online at WVUM.org.
The Team
Head coach Katie Meier has eight players back on the roster from the 2013-14 season, including starters Suriya McGuire, a senior guard, and Adrienne Motley, a sophomore guard. Junior forward Keyona Hayes started last season, but has yet to play in 2014-15 due to injury.
A Blue Ribbon Panel First Team All-ACC selection, Motley has scored double digits 27 times in 30 games this season and was named both the espnW National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week Jan. 12. The Newport News, Va. native is one of two players to start every game this season, along with redshirt senior forward Jassany Williams. Sophomore guard Jessica Thomas has started 29 games, while senior forward Necole Sterling is a key part of Miami’s frontcourt and is the team’s third leading scorer of the last 20 games.
Redshirt freshman guard Nigia Greene and redshirt junior guard Michelle Woods are back after missing the 2013-14 season due to injury and have combined to average 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
Additionally, the Hurricanes have four new faces this season, featuring a mix of local and talent. Miami’s newcomers are all freshmen and consist of forwards Erykah Davenport, Keyanna Harris and Khaila Prather, as well as guard Aisha Edwards, who is redshirting with a torn ACL.
Miami is giving up just 58.9 points per game and has allowed over 71 points just twice all season. The Hurricanes rank fourth in the ACC with a +4.3 turnover margin.
The Coach
Katie Meier is in her tenth year at the helm in Coral Gables, Fla., and is continuing to build upon the team’s many recent successes. The Hurricanes have made five consecutive postseason appearances, three in the NCAA Tournament and two in the WNIT, and have also had over 20 wins in four of the past five seasons. Meier holds a career record of 258-177, including 182-132 at Miami.
Meier picked up her 250th career victory in Miami’s win over Boston College Jan. 4 and she got the 100th conference victory of her career in the Hurricanes’ win at Virginia Tech Jan. 11. She has guided the Hurricanes to a 53-27 record (.663) in ACC play over the last five seasons, the second best mark of the 11 current ACC schools in the conference since then.
Last Time Out
The Hurricanes began the ACC Tournament by taking down Virginia for the second time this season. The game was back and forth for the first 27 minutes, but then Miami took over. The Hurricanes used a 10-0 second half run to create some separation and never looked back, en route to a 62-52 victory. Motley led all scorers with 15 points and tied for the game high with three assists. Sterling came up big off the bench for Miami with 13 points, while Williams stuffed the stat sheet, scoring eight points, tying for the game high with eight rebounds and leading all players with five blocks. The Hurricanes held the ACC’s fifth leading scorer, junior guard Faith Randolph, to six points on 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) shooting and did not allow a fast break point all game.
Up Next
Should Miami defeat Notre Dame, then the Hurricanes would move onto the ACC Tournament semifinals and meet either fourth-seeded Duke or 13th-seeded Wake Forest. That contest would be Saturday at 12:00 p.m. on ESPNU at the Greensboro Coliseum.
