Harden scores 19 in Miami’s loss at Syracuse

Miami sophomore guard Lashae Dwyer dribbles the ball against Syracuse on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023 at the JMA Wireless Dome. Photo credit: Miami Athletics

Even with a dominant performance from Miami women’s basketball forward Destiny Harden, the ‘Canes came up short in their match against Syracuse on Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome, 77-68.

The loss places Miami sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) standings after rivals FSU and Louisville, which it plays next, secured victories to retain their tied position of fourth.

Harden led UM with 19 points and eight rebounds. It was her second consecutive game doing so after scoring a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds Thursday against Clemson.

Forward Lola Pendande and guard Haley Cavinder joined Harden in double-digits for the Hurricanes with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

However, an evenly distributed attacking arsenal allowed Syracuse to come out on top. The Orange had five of their players end up with double-digit points in the contest, including 14 from guards Georgia Woolley and Dyaisha Fair. Freshman Kennedi Perkins also dropped 13 points off the bench.

The Orange got the scoring going from the get-go. From the 7:28 mark in the first quarter until the end of the game, Syracuse held the lead and never looked back. A big reason for this was its efficiency from downtown, in which they went 4-of-8 in the quarter to obtain a 19-11 lead by the end of it.

‘Cuse shot 9-of-23 on 3-pointers in the game, while Miami shot just 1-of-5 from deep. The lone ‘Cane with a 3-pointer was UM guard Lashae Dwyer, who hit a corner three in the second quarter.She had five points in the quarter to spark an 11-2 run that cut the Orange’s lead to just four.

However, Syracuse (17-11, 8-9 ACC) kept up its scoring and went into halftime with a 37-28 lead.

Harden did her best in Miami’s (17-10, 10-6 ACC) comeback attempt in the third quarter, totaling 13 points for the period while shooting 6-of-9 from the field. However, Miami’s quarter total of 22 was matched by Syracuse, keeping the lead the same as halftime.

In the fourth, Syracuse started 4-of-4 from the field and was up by 11, putting Miami in a position it could not come back from.

The Hurricanes next take on Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center this Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will air on ACC Network.