Following two consecutive losses, Miami women’s basketball returned home to the Watsco Center to take on the Florida State Seminoles. UM head coach Katie Meier’s team came out looking like a team on a mission, making nine of their first 13 shots on their way to a 76-59 victory.
Miami (13-10, 6-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) was led by senior guard Karla Erjavec’s 15 points, which led Miami’s balanced scoring attack that had four scorers in double-figures.
“Honestly, after those two losses I was [watching] a lot of film, talking to different coaches, to [Miami assistant coach Shenise Johnson], to coach [Meier], just seeing [how] I can do more,” Erjavec said.
In her senior season, Erjavec has been one of the Hurricanes’ most consistent players, averaging seven points per game as well as leading Miami with 3.1 assists per game.
“Karla was amazing,” Meier said.
UM started off hot in the first quarter, knocking down their first five 3-pointers, with Erjavec hitting three of them.
Miami got out to an early lead, going up 24-12 over their rival, forcing multiple Florida State (12-11, 6-7 ACC) turnovers in the first quarter and 25 turnovers in the entire game.
“We’ve played tough all year,” Meier said. “We had one game where we didn’t play tough and that’s okay.”
The Hurricanes showed resilience in the win, especially after dropping back-to-back contests against tough road opponents. The win marked the first season sweep of Florida State since 2012.
“There’s just a lot to play for in a game like this,” Meier said. “I think we put ourself in a good place now that we are ahead of Florida State in the standings.”
Miami currently sits in 8th place in the ACC ahead of their road contest against Virginia. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena.