By Rob Clough, Photos by Orin Day
Miami's Shawnice Wilson led the Canes with 17 points in their 45-39 first round victory over Virginia Tech.
Photo by Orin Day (more below!)
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The Nutshell: Miami held Virginia Tech to an ACC tournament record-low 8 points in the first half but had to survive a frantic comeback in the second half to advance to the quarterfinals. After being down by as many as 15 points, the Hokies pulled within 3 points with about six minutes to go in the game, thanks to some huge baskets by Alyssa Fenyn, Uju Ugoka and Monet Tellier. Miami coach Katie Meier noted that when you play a team three teams (including last weekend), it's hard to surprise anyone. Virginia Tech clogged the paint and prevented Miami's penetrating guards from going to the basket. They also did a fine job of preventing entry passes into the post. VT simply couldn't score, as they missed several layups and had a couple of jump shots spin in and pop out. Miami's bench scored 10 points in the first half to give Miami a 13 point lead before VT's defense actually started leading to points. When they pulled within 3 points, Meier pulled out a couple of new wrinkles and was able to get the ball to 6-6 Shawnice "Pepper" Wilson on back-to-back plays, resulting in 5 straight points. VT kept hanging around until Stefanie Yderstrom, mired in a terrible shooting performance, drained a 30-foot jumper with the shot clock running down. Miami hit their foul shots down the stretch and used their dominance on the boards (45-30) to prevent the Hokies from getting a lot of second chances. Indeed, the Hokies had 0 offensive rebounds in the first half, and they turned their 8 second-half offensive rebounds into 8 points, so stopping second shots was crucial. Miami will now go on to play Florida State while Virginia Tech finishes their season at 10-20.
Top Performers:
- Pepper Wilson, Miami. 17 points, 8 rebounds. She was the one player VT couldn't stop.
- Alyssa Fenyn, VT. 10 points, 3 rebounds. In her final collegiate game, she was incredibly emotional as VT went on their comeback.
- Morgan Stroman, Miami. 8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists. She had an off-game shooting but played superb defense.
Why Miami Won: The Canes dominated the boards and had a 20-8 edge in points in the paint. In a game where neither team could knock down a jump shot with any regularity, getting easy points was a priority. That was also reflected in Miami's 22 free throw attempts.
Why Virginia Tech Lost: The fact that the Hokies don't have a lot of shotmakers is not new news. The real reason they couldn't complete their comeback is that they simply didn't have anyone who could prevent Pepper Wilson from catching the ball and finishing around the basket.
The Game Turned When...: Stefanie Yderstrom hit a buzzer-beating three with 2:36 left in the game when Tech had pulled within 4 points. That gave Miami some much-needed breathing room down the stretch and deflated the hard-charging Hokies.
X-Factor: Miami's bench. When both Pepper Wilson and Stefanie Yderstrom were out of the game with two fouls in the first half, Michelle Woods, Maria Brown and frosh Keyona Hayes stepped up in a big way. Woods was one of the few players who was able to penetrate VT's collapsing defense and played tremendous defense. Brown hit a huge jump shot and picked up 3 steals. Hayes hit a big jumper when nothing else was working for the U.
Areas For Improvement: Miami has to find a way to get better shots for Stroman and Yderstrom while not forgetting that Wilson is a matchup problem for most teams.
Ramifications: Virginia Tech's long, painful and disjointed season is over. They'll return Tellier and Ugoka and add some more pieces, but until they get dynamic point guard play, they'll have trouble competing at a high level. For Miami, this win all but ensures that they'll make the NCAA tournament. They now get a third shot at arch-rival Florida State for a chance to improve their resume'.
ACCWBBDigest Photos by Orin Day
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A second opening tip, first went out of bounds!
VT Tags: #22 Porschia Hadley
MIA Tags: #33 Suriya McGuire |
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ACCWBBDigest Photo
VT Tags: #13 Alyssa Fenyn
MIA Tags: #33 Suriya McGuire |
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McGuire was beat up in this game
MIA Tags: Head Coach Katie Meier, #33 Suriya McGuire |
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Tellier draws a foul, Yderstrom spent most of the first half on the bench
VT Tags: #31 Monet Tellier
MIA Tags: #3 Stefanie Yderstrom |
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Hand of friendship
VT Tags: #31 Monet Tellier
MIA Tags: #32 Morgan Stroman |
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Mutual hands of friendship
VT Tags: #13 Alyssa Fenyn
MIA Tags: #12 Krystal Saunders |
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ACCWBBDigest Photo
VT Tags: #31 Monet Tellier
MIA Tags: #12 Krystal Saunders |
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Thursday morning was elementary school day, we'll have middle schoolers in the house on Friday
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This was actually after the whistle blew, but it looks good
VT Tags: #22 Porschia Hadley
MIA Tags: #40 Shawnice Wilson |
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Several of Virginia Tech's players wore Play4Kay socks
VT Tags: #4 Hannah Young |
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Miami bench confab
MIA Tags: Head Coach Katie Meier, Assistant Coach Darrick Gibbs, Assistant Coach Carolyn Kieger |
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McGuire on the bench after getting whacked again
MIA Tags: #33 Suriya McGuire |
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VT Tags: #20 Nia Evans
MIA Tags: #12 Krystal Saunders |
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Foul called on Tellier who protested vigorously
VT Tags: #31 Monet Tellier
MIA Tags: #3 Stefanie Yderstrom |
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ACCWBBDigest Photo
VT Tags: #20 Nia Evans
MIA Tags: #3 Stefanie Yderstrom |
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Riding other players like a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment
VT Tags: #13 Alyssa Fenyn
MIA Tags: #12 Krystal Saunders |
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ACCWBBDigest Photo
VT Tags: #31 Monet Tellier
MIA Tags: #10 Michelle Woods |
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With 1:09 left this was a stupid foul, but amazingly Fenyn missed both free throws
VT Tags: #13 Alyssa Fenyn
MIA Tags: #10 Michelle Woods |
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Stroman returned the favor by missing three free throws in the final minute, fitting for this struggle of a game
MIA Tags: #32 Morgan Stroman |
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Pepper made three of four three throws in the last minute to help seal the Miami victory
MIA Tags: #40 Shawnice Wilson |
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Miami wins 45-39 and advances to face Florida State in Friday's 11 AM ACC quarterfinal
VT Tags: Head Coach Dennis Wolff
MIA Tags: Head Coach Katie Meier |
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