Miami women’s basketball dominates Old Dominion 61-35

Redshirt junior Keyona Hayes (20) attempts a finger roll in a UM home game. Photo Courtesy HurricaneSports.com

The Hurricanes are now 3-0 on the season after capping off an incredible 20-0 run in the second half that led to a 61-35 win against Old Dominion in Virginia on Tuesday.

Despite only shooting 38 percent from the field, the Canes shut down the Monarchs offense with great defensive play. The team beat out Old Dominion in almost every significant statistical category, including rebounds, bench points and points in the paint.

Junior guard Adrienne Motley led the Canes in scoring with 22 points and added four rebounds in her best overall performance of the season. The forwards also got it done this game. Sophomore Erykah Davenport was one rebound shy of a double double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Freshman Emese Hof had eight points to go along with eight boards off the bench.

Freshman guard Laura Cornelius did a little bit of everything for Miami, scoring eight points, dishing out five assists and pulling down four rebounds.

The Canes clearly wanted to get things going inside first and foremost, with Davenport scoring two early baskets down low. Motley started out in a rhythm early in the first quarter, after struggling to find her shot in the first two games.

Miami played the type of defense that the fans were hoping to see, holding Old Dominion (1-1) to just six points and eight percent shooting from the field in the quarter. Cornelius helped the team increase the lead to 12 by the end of the first period with two three-pointers.

The second quarter wasn’t a great one for the Canes. The field goal percentage dropped to 34 percent with the team again struggling from three-point range. A bright spot was Motley finishing the first half with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Both teams scored 14 points in the second period to leave the score at 32-20 at halftime.

The Canes did not start the second half like they would have hoped, allowing the Monarchs to go on an 8-0 run within the first four minutes of the third quarter. Sloppy play equated to turnovers and missed shots early in the period. The defense also had a hard time stopping Old Dominion guard Jennie Simms.

The Canes, being resilient as always, responded incredibly to the run by the Monarchs with an 18-0 one of its own to finish the third quarter. Miami held Old Dominion scoreless for the last 6:53 of the period. Hof scored six huge points during the run, and Motley stayed on fire with eight in the quarter to bring the score to 50-28.

Miami stayed the course in the fourth quarter, extending the lead to as high as 29. The team continued to play strong defense against the Monarchs, not allowing any sort of comeback.

Even with a great team victory, the team must address its shooting issues as the season goes on. The Canes have shot 41.8 percent, 36.2 percent and now 38 percent in the first three games of the year.

The Canes will travel to play against Loyola-Chicago at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.