No. 14 Hurricanes aim to snap No. 15 Hokies win streak

CORAL GABLES — It was a question that took a few of them by surprise — then made them think.

When Miami assistant women’s basketball coach Tia Jackson asked players if there was a fear of greatness in the room, the 14th-ranked Hurricanes admitted they had to do a little soul searching.

“It’s something we had to talk about the other day,” Miami guard Laura Cornelius said. “We know we can be great, but we might be a little bit afraid of it and that needs to come out. … We feel like we can be great, but right now, I don’t know what it is, but something is holding us back. And we’re working really hard to try and stay focused and become great.”

Expectations have been high all season for the UM women, who have made seven straight postseason appearances and are ranked 14th in the Associated Press Top 25. But after winning 11 of their first 12, the Hurricanes have had mixed results during a brutal stretch to start conference play.

Miami opened its ACC schedule with a disappointing showing against then seventh-ranked rival Florida State. And though the Hurricanes bounced back with road wins against Pittsburgh and North Carolina State, a loss to then seventh-ranked Notre Dame this past Sunday dropped their ACC record to 2-2.

Worse? Those losses to the Seminoles and Irish came on Miami’s home floor, a fact that has annoyed the Hurricanes, who say they can play better than what they’ve shown their fans over the past 10 days.

Miami will get its next chance to do that when the Hurricanes host yet another ranked opponent, this time No. 15 Virginia Tech, who will bring a 15-game win streak to the Watsco Center on tonight.

And though no one in Miami (13-3, 2-2) is panicking about the way the Hurricanes have started conference play, players say a win over the Hokies (15-0, 2-0) will go a long way to helping Miami establish itself as one of the top teams in one of college basketball’s premier conferences.

“We have to let people know we are for real,” said guard Jessica Thomas, who is averaging 12.6 points and 4.3 assists. “It will be really devastating after a loss and say, ‘Wow, we had a lot of potential. We could’ve done a lot this year.’ Why not do it now? It has to start [Wednesday]. … We know that when we’re sharp and we stay on our game plan, we’re a tough team to beat.

For the Hurricanes, part of the task Wednesday will be finding a way to neutralize a high-scoring group that features five players averaging double figures. Sophomore Chanette Hicks has doubled her output from a season ago and enters the game averaging 16.3 points, and forward Sidney Cook is averaging 14.5 points and is a threat both inside the paint and on the perimeter.

“They have great belief in each other,” Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said of the Hokies. “They were tough to beat last year, really, really tough. Now, they just have individual confidence in their offense and they’re fun to watch.”