Miami Cruises to 78-39 Victory Over Fordham
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s basketball team (2-0) put on another dominant performance Sunday afternoon at the Watsco Center, defeating the Fordham Rams (2-1), 78-39, for its second straight victory.
“I have a ton of respect [for Fordham] and [Coach Mitchell],” head coach Katie Meier said. “She does a great job and the Atlantic-10 is a tough conference. In the first half, I don’t think we could’ve played harder or more dialed in. I’m just really happy for the people who are doing their job. Kyla is up here because I could not praise her more for her efforts today.”
For the second consecutive game, sophomore guard Lemyah Hylton led the Hurricanes in scoring, totaling 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. She not only set a new career high in scoring (17), but also in made 3-pointers, knocking down 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc.
“We have some new players who I think are really finding themselves,” head coach Katie Meier said. “Lemyah is such a great story. She’s played two games at Miami and she had a career high in the first game and then in the second game. The sky is the limit for her.”
The Miami defense held the Rams to just 39 points in the game, the lowest point total by an opponent since the Hurricanes limited Georgia Tech to 39 on Feb. 20, 2022. Miami was led on the boards by sophomore Kyla Oldacre and graduate student Jaida Patrick who hauled in eight rebounds each.
All nine Hurricanes scored in the contest and seven poured in seven-plus points. As a team, Miami shot 55 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range.
Spearman took advantage of her first career start, scoring six straight points in the first five minutes of the game. As a team, Miami shot 64.7 percent from the field in the first quarter to hold a 23-8 lead after 10 minutes of action.
The Hurricanes’ bench came alive in the second quarter, accounting for 16 of Miami’s 21 points in the frame. Patrick became the ninth Hurricane to put points on the board with a 3-pointer at the 6:37 mark in the second. Miami outscored Fordham 8-4 in the final six minutes of the first half to take a commanding 44-16 lead into the break.
Miami played team basketball in the third quarter as its seven made field goals were made by seven different Hurricanes. For the third straight quarter, Miami held Fordham to single-digits, outscoring the Rams 16-9 in the frame.
Patrick came alive in the final 10 minutes, recording seven points and four rebounds to put the game away for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes return to action on Friday when they host the Southern Jaguars at 5 p.m. in the Watsco Center. The game will air on ACC Network Extra.
