Miami Outlasts Wake Forest in ACC Opener
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami women’s basketball team (9-3, 1-0 ACC) recorded its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season on Sunday, outlasting the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-5, 0-1 ACC), 59-56, at the Watsco Center.
“Marching through the ACC, every win is a great opportunity,” head coach Katie Meier said. “That is a good win for us because Wake [Forest] is very talented. We had a couple of players go down, they had a player go down, but that is the ACC and you have to step up.”
For the fourth straight game, juniors Kelsey Marshall (12 points) and Mykea Gray, and redshirt senior Beatrice Mompremier all scored in double-figures. Gray paced the Canes with 17 points on the afternoon, while Mompremier posted 15 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for her fourth consecutive double-double.
The freshmen class made major contributions in the fourth quarter, led by forward Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba, who posted five points in the final 10 minutes. Sydnee Roby and Brianna Jackson were walls down low, amassing four blocks between the two of them, while Kenza Salgues worked as a facilitator throughout the game.
“This was the first ACC game for the freshmen and we went to them early,” Meier said. “They had a few jitters but I thought Sydnee [Roby] played hard and Brianna [Jackson] played well, too.”
Miami went up by six early into the first quarter but Wake Forest responded with a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead at the end of 10 minutes. The Canes locked in during the second frame, limiting the Demon Deacons to just six points in the quarter, while closing out the first half on a 13-0 run.
The Demon Deacons regained the lead thanks to a 22-10 third quarter but Gray led the Canes on a 13-0 charge at the beginning of the fourth frame to put Miami back on top, 51-44. Gray tallied 10 points in the final 10 minutes, including a huge 3-pointer at the 2:58 mark to put Miami up by five. A pair of defensive stops by Miami in the final 30 seconds closed out the game in favor of the home team.
The Canes are headed up to Atlanta for their first ACC road game of the season, taking on Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2. The game is set to air on ACC Network Extra.
Season and single-game tickets for the 2019-20 women’s basketball home schedule are on sale now and start a $75 and $5, respectively. Tickets can be purchased online HERE or by calling the ticket office at 1-800-GO-CANES.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
