READY FOR REMATCH
UM women want to avenge tournament loss to Quinnipiac.
CORAL GABLES — The last time they met, Quinnipiac virtually doubled its output from 3-point range. And Miami, the favored home team looking for a Sweet 16 berth on its home floor, tried its best to keep pace with a seemingly endless barrage.
But the upstart Bobcats, who a year ago were looking for just their second NCAA Tournament victory in program history, kept making shot after shot. As hard as the Hurricanes tried to defend, it all proved too much. Quinnipiac ended Miami’s season in heartbreak, the Bobcats’ 85-78 victory sending Quinnipiac to the Sweet 16 and making them one of the tournament darlings.
It was dramatic and memorable and made for some compelling basketball. And maybe, thoughts of
recreating all of that were part of what the Women’s NCAA Tournament selection committee was hoping for when it set up a rematch in this year’s tournament, sending the eighth-seeded Hurricanes to Connecticut on Saturday for an openinground matchup against the ninth-seeded Bobcats.
But don’t expect to hear any of the Hurricanes play up that drama or talk of revenge — at least not publicly. Miami has approached this intriguing draw pragmatically, not emotionally. The Hurricanes, who are making their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, say Saturday’s game in Storrs is a chance for them to shine on women’s basketball’s biggest stage in front of fans who know and appreciate the game. That alone is worth celebrating, especially after Miami (22-10) entered the season with plenty of questions after the graduations of veterans Adrienne Motley, Jessica Thomas and Keyona Hayes.
“The whole year we’ve been very focused,” Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said. “As soon as we got the ACC [Tournament] bracket, it was about Wake Forest. Now, it’s about Quinnipiac. We’ve been very narrow in our focus. If we get too much in the clouds about the experience, you forget to do the little things. … As a coach, you want to make sure you’re inserting enough pressure and chaos in practice so that when it comes up in a game, you’re ready. There’s a fine line between pressure and stress and you don’t want to overdo it. But we know we have to have pressure and we celebrate the pressure.”
Perhaps making it easier for Meier and her team to stay away from the emotional component of Saturday’s rematch is that three of the Hurricanes key contributors this year — Mykea Gray, Endia Banks and Kelsey Marshall — weren’t on the floor that day.
And while the trio of freshmen will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance on Saturday, both Meier and Miami’s veterans, including senior Erykah Davenport, have noted how much each has matured since the season opener.
Gray is Miami’s secondleading scorer behind Davenport, averaging 11.7 points. Marshall is the team’s leading 3-point shooter, connecting on 33 percent of her shots beyond the arc. And Banks’ 87 assists are a teamhigh.
“Our freshmen, oh my gosh, our freshmen, honestly we wouldn’t be here without them. I know it sounds cliché, but they’ve been our foundation,” said Davenport, who is averaging 12.3 points and 8.6 rebounds. “Mykea, Kelsey and Endia have set such a high level and they’ve [responded] to a lot of pressure. They’ve really held us down. … Our whole team has stepped up when we’ve needed to. We’ve really stayed together. … we’ve made a way and we deserve this. I’m proud of our team.”
For the veteran Hurricanes, while they shy away from discussing avenging last year’s loss, they do acknowledge there is a little bit of an advantage in knowing what it’s like to face Quinnipiac (27-5) and being familier with how the Bobcats like to play. First-round NCAA Tournament matchups don’t usually come with that luxury.
Quinnipiac, the MAAC champions, enter the tournament riding a 22-game win streak. Their last loss came in December, to a Michigan State team that beat the Bobcats 74-55. Miami, meanwhile, beat those same Spartans 67-57 in November.
That, too, has helped give Miami some confidence.
“I feel like the familiarity aspect is going to play a role in how we approach the game,” Davenport said. “It won’t be a team we’re really playing for the first time. We’re going to come out and we’re going to know they’re fast. We’re going to know how they’re going to defend and we know how they can make shots and the good players they have. Going into this game, we have that in the back of our minds and that won’t be something we have to feel out.”