With 2,375 career points, senior forward Tamara James has surpassed former Hurricane great Maria Rivera as the University of Miami’s all-time leading scorer. Rivera held UM’s all-time mark, scoring 2,358 career points from 1984 to 1988.
Here’s a look at some of James’ career milestones:
Point: 1
Date: November 22, 2002
Opponent: South Florida
In the first game of her career, James scored the first basket of the 2002-03 season at the 18:18 mark of the first half against USF. James would go to lead UM to a victory over the Bulls, scoring 19 points with 21 rebounds.
Point: 100
Date: November 30, 2002
Opponent: UW-Green Bay
James netted the 100th point of her career with 5:49 minutes remaining in an 83-72 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Point: 500
Date: February 22, 2003
Opponent: Providence
James’ 500th career point would come in a 30-point outing against then-BIG EAST rival Providence. She would hit 12 field goals against the Friars, leading UM to a 77-64 win.
Point: 1,000
Date: February 18, 2004
Opponent: Syracuse
With 8:58 showing in the first half, James knocks down a three-pointer to become just the 17th player in school history to record 1,000 career points. In that game, she would finish with a team-high 26 points in an 85-65 win over the Orange.
Point: 1,114
Date: March 21, 2004
Opponent: Maryland
James scored 15 points against future ACC rival Maryland in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes would fall to the Terps 86-85, ending James’ sophomore season and with 1,114 career points, she would sit at 14th all-time on UM’s career scoring list.
Point: 1,311
Date: December 13, 2004
Opponent: UCF
Scoring a team-high 29 points in a 69-50 win over UCF, James brought her career total to 1,311, surpassing former Hurricane greats Desma Thomas (1,284) and Robin Harmony (1,308) to move into ninth place all-time in scoring at UM.
Point: 1,761
Date: March 5, 2005
Opponent: North Carolina
James scores 13 points against top-seeded UNC in the quarterfinals of the 2005 ACC Tournament. Miami would fall to the eventual tournament champion while James career total at the end of her junior season sat at 1,761. That mark would rank fourth all-time and move her five points behind UM Hall of Famer Jeannie Hebert’s mark of 1,766.
Point: 1,769
Date: November 18, 2005
Opponent: Samford
James knocks down a three-pointer 13 minutes into the first half of UM’s season-opener against Samford to move her past Hebert and into third place on UM’s career scoring list.
Point: 2,000
Date: December 29, 2005
Opponent: Mississippi
With a three-pointer just over a minute into the game against No. 25 Mississippi, James scores her 2,002nd career point, surpassing the 2,000 point plateau. She would finish with 26 points on the day, leading the Hurricanes to a 79-70 victory over the Rebels in the Championship Game of the UM Holiday Tournament.
Point: 2,185
Date: February 1, 2006
Opponent: Maryland
James records her 2,185th career point in a 14-point effort against No. 6 Maryland, surpassing UM Hall of Famer Frances Savage as the school’s second-leading all-time scorer.
Point: 2,299
Date: February 26, 2006
Opponent: Georgia Tech
James nets an impressive 37 points in a double-overtime win over Georgia Tech bringing her career point total to 2,325. The performance also pushes her past former UM great Rick Barry to make her the school’s all-time second leading point-scorer regardless of gender.
Point: 2,343
Date: March 2, 2006
Opponent: Georgia Tech
With an 18-point outing against Georgia Tech in the first round of the 2006 ACC Tournament, James moves closer to becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, needing just 16 points to surpass Rivera’s mark.
Point: 2,375
Date: March 18, 2006
Opponent: Florida International
James passes UM Hall of Famer Maria Rivera at the 13:50 mark of the second half, scoring off a steal and pass from teammate Amy Audibert to become Miami’s all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s basketball. Netting 32 points, James sets the new mark at 2,375 points, while leading the Hurricanes to their first postseason win in five years.
