Most would have guessed that leading scorers Destiny Harden or Haley Cavinder would be the catalyst for the Hurricanes in their victory on Thursday night against Boston College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Neither of them was the driving force behind the Hurricanes’ win.
A strong second-half performance and a surprise performance from sophomore Lashae Dwyer led the Hurricanes to an 84-69 win against the Boston College Eagles in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament.
After struggling to find consistent minutes all year, Dwyer had more points in this game than she did in her last nine games combined, as she paced the ‘Canes with 19.
“[Dwyer] hasn’t always had the wind at her back. She hasn’t always had the wind at her back. It hasn’t been easy for Shae this year. She’s been inconsistent, had inconsistent playing time, I’ve been inconsistent in my choices on whether to play her or not, and that’s tough,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said when asked about Dwyer. “[Dwyer] has had limited minutes in a lot of really important games and it has hurt her, but I think that’s where her growth and her toughness comes from.”
Dwyer had 15 of her 19 points in the second half and was one of the four ‘Canes that scored in double figures for the game.
“This game means a lot to me because I was just ready when my number was called. My teammates put their trust in me to just keep feeding the hot hand,” Dwyer said when asked about what this victory meant for her. “I’m thankful for them for keeping pushing me in practice and in the games, too.”
Miami was slow out of the gate but fought back and worked to take the lead as the game progressed. UM held a narrow one-point lead, 39-38, at the break. When the ‘Canes returned to the floor in the second half, they never trailed from that point on.
Miami started off the third quarter hot, a quarter where they’ve fared well all year. Miami has a +113 scoring margin in the third quarter, their highest margin of any quarter.
The Eagles were led in scoring by sophomore guard Andrea Daley, as she led the way with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Boston College’s sophomore center Maria Gakdeng was the leader for the Eagles, bringing down five rebounds.
All three of Miami’s senior starters scored at least 13 points, as well as having at least eight rebounds. Caivinder and Harden shared the lead in boards with nine. Forward Lola Pendande followed close behind with eight. Miami crushed the Eagles in the rebounding department, totaling a 39-23 advantage.
“We’re tough. Rebounding is important to us. I don’t assign roles, I really don’t. I say this is what we need, who wants to do it,” Meier said about Miami’s edge in rebounding. “I’m not going to tell somebody you’re not a shooter. I’m going to tell you what you’re great at, I’m going to tell you what the team needs.”
The ‘Canes play in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament against the third-seeded Hokies. UM looks to advance into the third round, where it will face the winner of Duke and North Carolina.