MARCH ON! @CanesWBB Knocks off No. 14/10 FSU

No. 21/21 Miami7456No. 14/10 Florida State

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Led by a season-high 21 points by junior guard Jessica Thomas, the University of Miami women’s basketball team earned its second berth in the ACC Tournament semifinals with an impressive 74-56 win over No. 14/10 Florida State Friday.

No. 21/21 Miami (24-7, 10-6 ACC), the fifth seed in the field, outscored the fourth-seeded Seminoles 37-19 in the second half, including 22-11 in the fourth period at the Greensboro Coliseum.

“We did the old Yoda line there, ‘there is no try, just do,’” Miami head coach Katie Meier said of beating the Seminoles in the third matchup with them this season. “Coming close wasn’t going to be good enough. I said, ‘don’t you dare have the mentality where after the game, you get a hug from your family, saying nice try, baby.’ We’re not ‘nice try, baby,’ anymore. It’s time.”

After a back-and-forth first period that saw Miami jump out to a 10-5 lead after a 10-1 run, Florida State (23-7, 13-3 ACC) took a 17-16 lead into the second stanza.

The Seminoles scored the first eight points of the next period to go up by nine, but Miami immediately answered. The Hurricanes scored 10-consecutive points in under two minutes to regain the lead, 26-25, with five minutes and 47 seconds left before halftime.

Seesaw action the rest of the way led to an even score at the break. Florida State senior guard Emiah Bingley, who had a game-high 11 points in the first half, hit a jumper to beat the buzzer and make it 37-37 through 20 minutes. Redshirt junior forward Keyona Hayes led Miami with nine points at the intermission.

Miami scored 11 of the first 13 points to open the second half, racing out to a 48-39 lead with 5:02 on the third quarter clock. The Seminoles scored just two points, and did not make a field goal, in the first six minutes and 50 seconds of the period.

Junior guard Adrienne Motley made a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the third session to give Miami a 52-45 edge entering the final period.

The Hurricanes pushed their lead to 15, 65-50, on the second of Thomas’ three fourth quarter 3-pointers with four minutes and 34 seconds to play. Miami continued to dominate the last stanza, extending, on two occasions, its edge to as many as 18 points, which would be its margin of victory. The Hurricanes made six of their final eight shots of the game.

Not only was Thomas’ 21-point output her best of 2015-16, she also set a career high in 3-pointers made (five), tied her career high in blocked shots (two) and minutes played (38), and a set season high in field goals made (eight). The Gainesville, Fla., native, who scored a career-high 24 points in the quarterfinals of last year’s ACC Tournament against No. 2/2 Notre Dame, logged five assists, two steals and just two turnovers in the victory over the Seminoles. The four highest scoring games of Thomas’ career have all come in the ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.

“She’s like [MLB Hall of Famer] Reggie Jackson,” Meier said of Thomas. “She’s not Mr. October, she’s Ms. March.”

Freshman forward/center Emese Hof posted her fourth double-digit scoring game in the last four contests, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Motley, who had a game-high and career-high-tying five steals, both logged 13 points. Redshirt senior guard Michelle Woods had a game-high six assists and sophomore forward/center Erykah Davenport pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.

Junior guard Leticia Romero and sophomore forward Shakayla Thomas posted 14 points each for Florida State, while Bingley ended the game with 11 after being held scoreless in the second half.

“It was always a rivalry,” Meier said of Miami and Florida State, “but now both teams are in the top 20 and it’s talked about nationally. You’ve got All-Americans on both teams and stuff like that. I’m really proud, and Sue [Semrau, the Seminoles’ head coach] is just as proud.

Miami forced Florida State into 25 turnovers and tallied seven blocked shots to the Seminoles’ one. Meier’s team also led 16-9 in steals and 34-22 in points in the paint.

The Hurricanes are now set to face No. 2/3 Notre Dame, the top seed in the event, Saturday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

To learn more about the University of Miami women’s basketball program, follow @CanesWBB.

MIAMI HURRICANES POSTGAME NOTES

·         For the 17th time this season and the third-straight game, Miami’s starting lineup was Davenport, Hayes, Motley, Thomas and Woods.

·         The all-time series between Miami and Florida State is now 39-13 in favor of the Seminoles, who have a 2-1 lead in ACC Tournament play. The Hurricanes’ last win over Florida State was 2/16/14, a 76-73 road victory.

·         Meier is now 283-186 in her 15 seasons as a head coach, including 207-141 in her 11 years at Miami.

·         The Hurricanes’ last win over a ranked team was an 85-71 victory at No. 23/22 Syracuse on 2/12/15.

·         Miami’s last victory against a top-15 team or a team in the top 10 of at least one poll was a 78-63 win over No. 4/4 Notre Dame on 1/8/15.

·         The last time Miami beat a top-15 team away from home was an 83-30 triumph at No. 6/6 North Carolina on 2/2/14.

·         Miami’s last win by 15-plus points was a a 61-37 victory against No. 22/RV North Carolina on 2/8/12.

·         This is the first time Miami has won multiple ACC Tournament games in the same season. It is the second time Miami has reached the ACC Tournament semifinals.

·         The Hurricanes are now 6-11 all-time in ACC Tournament play, including 2-7 as the lower seed and 3-1 as the No. 5 seed.

·         Miami’s previous win as the lower seed came in its first ACC Tournament in 2004-05 when the ninth-seeded Hurricanes beat eighth-seeded Georgia Tech, 60-58.

·         This is the first time the Hurricanes have defeated a top-seven seed in the ACC Tournament.

·         The Hurricanes have now tied the 1980-81 and 1992-93 seasons for the fifth-most wins in a year in program history with 24.

·         Miami has now won 18 games by double digits this season, including 10 by 20-plus points.

·         This is the 18th time Miami has scored 70-plus points this season. The Hurricanes reached 70 points 12 times in 2014-15.

·         This is the first time in three meetings this season the Seminoles outrebounded the Hurricanes. They have had the rebounding edge in 23 of their 26 games not against Miami.

·         Miami’s 18-point lead was the largest either team has had in any of three matchups between the Hurricanes and Seminoles this season.

·         The Hurricanes’ seven blocked shots were tied for their second-most of the season.

·         Hayes posted double-digit points for the 13th time this season. Nine of those outings have come against ACC teams.

·         Hayes is 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the field in the ACC Tournament this season, with 31 points. She had made her lone 3-point attempt and both of her free throw attempts.

·         Motley has scored at least a dozen points in 26 of 31 games this season.

·         Motley matched her career best with five steals (previous vs. Boston College, 1/14/15). She is the first Hurricane with five steals since Davenport did so at Florida State (2/28/16).

·         Thomas tallied at least four assists for the 17th time in 2015-16 and had five-plus for the ninth time.

·         Thomas scored in double figures for the 21st time this season. She has scored fewer than nine points on just six occasions.

·         Thomas’ 21 points and eight field goals made surpassed her prior season best of 18 and seven, respectively, both vs. Baylor (12/19/15). Both games were played on a neutral court.

·         Thomas’ 38 minutes matched her career high (previous vs. Duke, 2/7/16), as did her two blocked shots (vs. Illinois, 12/2/15).

·         In addition, Thomas’ five 3-pointers made eclipsed her prior career best of four (recorded multiple times, most recently vs. Duke, 2/7/16).

·         Thomas has scored over 18 points four times in her career, all in the postseason. In last year’s ACC Tournament, she had 24 points vs. Notre Dame (3/6/15) and in last year’s NCAA Tournament she had 19 vs. Washington (3/20/15) and 20 at Iowa (3/22/15).

·         Davenport, who surpassed 50 steals as a collegian, fouled out for the third time this season.

·         Hof scored in double figures for the 11th time in her freshman campaign, including the fifth time against an ACC opponent and the fourth time in the last six games. It is the third time this year she has scored at least 15 points.

·         Hof eclipsed both 250 points and 100 field goals made in her freshman campaign at Miami.

·         In addition, Hof played a career-high 32 minutes (previous high 31, vs. Virginia Tech, 2/21/16).

·         Woods equaled her season best with four steals (previous at Boston College, 2/4/16).