Miami Herald (Sunday)

Hot Canes ready to face imposing South Carolina

- BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN mkaufman@miamiheral­d.com

It isn’t often you see a team take a 44-4 lead in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, but that is what top seed South Carolina did on Friday against Howard on its way to a 79-21 win

The Gamecocks (30-2) can be that dominant, and the eighth-seeded Miami Hurricanes are fully aware of it heading into their second-round matchup Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina (3 p.m., ABC).

“To see them live, in person, sit there on the side of the court is impressive. It’s almost ridiculous,” UM coach Katie Meier said. “You really do feel like it’s a WNBA roster. Credit to Dawn [Staley] and her staff. We’re all so grateful for people that really push our sport, and Dawn is absolutely somebody who does that for us.

“We lost Pat [Summitt, the Tennessee legendary coach] and things happened. Muffet [McGraw] is not coaching anymore. So, Dawn is someone we turn to, and she deserves all the credit and accolades and great success she’s had. I’m really grateful to her.”

The Gamecocks, who will be playing on their home floor, are going for their eighth Sweet 16 in nine tournament appearance­s under Staley, the four-time Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Famer. Meier’s UM teams have never gotten past the second round in seven tries.

“I’m not so grateful for their recruiting because they’re really, really, really good. They’re hard to recruit against,” Meier said. “They earned it. They filled the stands and that’s great for our sport. Might not be great for Miami all the time, but great for our sport, right?”

Among the many talented players on the

South Carolina roster is Aliyah Boston, a 6-5 junior forward who is one of the most dominant players in the nation.

Boston has 25 consecutiv­e double-doubles, the longest active streak in the nation and the longest streak in SEC history. She leads her team in points, rebounds and blocks per game and shoots 55 percent from the field. The U.S. Virgin Islands native is a finalist for National Player of the Year.

“I think the thing that I really am most impressed with Aliyah Boston is her game management, composure, and IQ ,” Meier said. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, my God, she’s big and can get a double-double. She’s really crafty. She’s really intelligen­t. She’s really smart. She puts the ball in the right spot. She’s as good as advertised or better.”

Though South Carolina will be heavily favored, the Hurricanes (21-10) insist they are not intimidate­d. They are on a hot streak, having won nine of their past 11 games, including a first-round victory over South Florida. And they are used to playing No. 1 seeds, as North Carolina State and Louisville are conference foes.

The Canes upset Louisville in the ACC tournament quarterfin­als.

“South Carolina is a good team, we all know what they have very tall people, a person like Aliyah Boston, who hasn’t like been stopped,” said UM freshman guard Ja’Leah Williams. “But honestly, I just think being together will actually work in our favor, playing Miami basketball.”

Staley is not taking UM lightly.

“I see a very hot Miami team that are stroking the ball pretty good,” Staley said. “They’re sharing the ball. They’re linked up. You know, they got players that can apply a lot of pressure to the ball and be disruptive. We got to somehow disrupt that, disrupt their flow, offensive flow, because if you allow them to take the shots they’re taking unconteste­d, it will be a long day for us.”

Meier is looking forward to the challenge.

“This is a beautiful team, South Carolina. They’re just beautiful,” she said. “They play hard. They defend like they’re lives depend on it, and they keep things really simple and they really go to their strengths. We have a heck of a challenge. But if you can ever be prepared to play such a talented team, at least we’ve played against two No. 1 seeds already. We’ll see how we match up once the ball is tipped.”

 ?? WILFREDO LEE AP ?? UM freshman guard Ja’Leah Williams says the eighth-seeded Hurricanes are not intimidate­d by No. 1 seed South Carolina, whom they play in the second round.
WILFREDO LEE AP UM freshman guard Ja’Leah Williams says the eighth-seeded Hurricanes are not intimidate­d by No. 1 seed South Carolina, whom they play in the second round.

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