No. 22 Miami Women Use Stellar Defense To Defeat St. John's
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NEW YORK (CBSMiami/AP) — There is a lot of very good basketball being played by teams from Coral Gables this season.
Miami coach Katie Meier was happy to head back to Florida with a victory.
Erykah Davenport scored 16 points, Jessica Thomas had 15 and No. 22 Miami held St. John's without a basket for nearly the entire fourth quarter to beat the Red Storm 62-50 on Sunday night.
"I think that wasn't a pretty basketball game at all," Meier said. "We prepared for it to be a slugfest game."
Keyona Hayes added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hurricanes (3-1), who trailed by eight in the third quarter before mounting their comeback.
Miami was down 47-43 entering the final period when St. John's went cold from the field. The Red Storm missed their first 11 shots in the final period until Andrayah Adams hit a floater on the baseline with just under 20 seconds left in the game. It was too late as the Hurricanes outscored them 19-3 in the period.
"I'm going to be proud of this win," Meier said. "We might burn this film."
The Hurricanes rallied without really a great game from star Adrienne Motley, who was saddled with foul trouble and dealing with a stiff back. She finished with just five points.
Akina Wellere scored a career-high 19 points to lead St. John's (1-2).
"I thought we played real well in stretches. We had a tremendous third quarter and found a way to come up empty in the fourth," St. John's coach Joe Tartamella said. "We lost our composure in the fourth."
After struggling in their home opener in the third quarter against Duquesne when the Red Storm scored just five points in the period, St. John's used a big third quarter to take the lead against the Hurricanes.
St. John's trailed by five at the half, but scored 16 of the first 19 points in the third period thanks to Wellere. She had two 3-pointers during the run. Aaliyah Lewis' floater capped the run and made it 39-31.
Miami battled back to trail only 47-43 heading into the final quarter.
Neither team could really get into an offensive flow in the first half. The game was tied at 21 late in the second quarter when Keyona Hayes hit a 3-pointer to spark a 7-2 run to close the half and give the Hurricanes a 28-23 advantage at the break.
BIG PICTURE
Miami: The Hurricanes were missing Emese Hof and Laura Cornelius as the pair was playing for the Dutch national team at the Euro qualifiers. They'll be back for the Thanksgiving tournament. ... This was the 25th meeting between the schools, but the first since 2004 when Miami left the Big East to join the ACC. The Hurricanes lead the series 19-6 and have won the last nine matchups. ... Davenport scored in double figures for the fourth straight time to open the season. In her first two years, she had scored 10-plus in back-to-back games just one time.
St. John's: New York Knicks great Earl "The Pearl" Monroe was in the crowd. ... Wellere's previous career high was 17 points against Sacred Heart last season. ... St. John's shot 30 percent from the field (18-for-60) for the game. The Red Storm was just 9 for 20 from the free throw line.
ENJOYING THE BIG APPLE:
With Miami on break next week, the Hurricanes were going to be able to enjoy New York. The team had a wonderful dinner Saturday night and will visit Ground Zero on Monday before flying home.
POLL IMPLICATIONS:
Miami is poised to stay in the Top 25 and might even move up a spot or two.
UP NEXT:
Miami: The Hurricanes host their own Thanksgiving tournament playing Grambling and then either Fordham or Texas Tech.
St. John's: The Red Storm head to Las Vegas to play against Virginia and Arizona State in the South Point Shootout during Thanksgiving.
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