Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hurricanes honing their edge for tourney time WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UM 69, GEORGIA TECH 56
CORAL GABLES — Before tip-off of their regularseason home finale on Thursday night, the 15th-ranked Hurricanes women’s basketball team honored two of its seniors, forwards Emese Hof and Khaila Prather.
Then Miami went on to pick up another key Atlantic Coast Conference win that could help the Hurricanes return to their home floor at the Watsco Center during the NCAA tournament.
Beatrice Mompremier finished with a team-high 22 points and 16 rebounds and Mykea Gray added 18 points as the Hurricanes overcame a sluggish start to defeat Georgia Tech 69-56.
With the win, Miami (24-6, 12-3) tied for its fifthmost victories in a season. Meanwhile, Mompremier, a Baylor transfer who recorded the 1,000th point of her career in the game’s opening minute, posted her 22nd double-double of the season.
The victory — Miami’s sixth in its last seven games — wasn’t exactly pretty, particularly early.
Hof, who averages 14.2 points and is Miami’s second-leading scorer, was an uncharacteristic 3-for-12 from the field. And Georgia Tech — which was without suspended coach MaChelle Joseph and starters Francesca Pan and Kierra Fletcher — forced the Hurricanes into 18 turnovers and an ugly 4-for-16 shooting performance in the first quarter.
But as they have so many times this season, the Hurricanes rallied.
After falling behind in the opening minutes of the second quarter, Miami went on a 12-5 run to build a 25-20 lead.
The Hurricanes wouldn’t trail again and that meant both Hof and Prather eventually walked off the court at the Watsco Center for the last time in the regular season as winners.
“First of all, credit to Georgia Tech, their staff and their team. I know they’re going through some stuff. We’re all colleagues and we’re all in the same conference. We’re all rooting for each other and so, hopefully, that gets resolved,” Miami coach Katie Meier said. “They had plenty of excuses. They have a lot of talent on that team and they’ve beaten a lot of great teams this season and I’m sure there’s wins ahead of them.
“But, moving on to my team, that I absolutely love, we have a lot of personality and a lot of different combinations and looks and the season is so long ... you got us. We’re under a lot of pressure, but we’re not letting it become stress. We just can’t, because we have a lot of belief in each other.”
The Hurricanes opened both the third and fourth quarters with impressive runs, building a lead that grew to as many as 18 points with 8:51 left and Hof’s effort was one reason why, Meier noted.
“I had to have her on the court because she was breaking their press. She’s the best facilitator in the country from the post position, so, go 3-for-12, but stay out there and get over it,” Meier quipped of Hof, who finished with six points, six rebounds, two blocks and three assists.
Added Hof with a laugh, “Yeah, [my defense] was better than the offensive part.”
Now, Miami will turn its focus to its regular-season finale on Sunday against 10th-ranked North Carolina State in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (24-4, 11-4) struggled Thursday against third-ranked Louisville, with Asia Durr scoring 47 points in the third-ranked Cardinals’ 92-62 win.
But Meier expects North Carolina State will still pose a tough challenge on the road.
“It’s March. It’s March. This is what we’ve been working for. Just throw this into the March bucket,” Meier said.