
Entering the fourth quarter, the Miami Hurricanes had not held the lead over the Virginia Cavalier since the beginning of the first quarter. UM Coach Trisha Cullop realized UVA was picking on Miami’s shorter players. Cullop told forwards Natalija Marshall and Cameron WIlliams, “Suck it up. If you can stay in for the next seven minutes, I think we are going to win.”
With 10 seconds left in the game, all the fans in the Watsco Center were standing and chanting as the ‘Canes trailed UVA by one point. Then, Marshall hit her second three-pointer of the night to push the ‘Canes into the lead. With three seconds to go, Hanna Cavinder took a defensive charge to secure Miami the 77-74 win.
This win empowered the ‘Canes as UVA’s leading scorer of the night, Latasha Lattimore, played for the ‘Canes last season under former UM coach Katie Meier. At the beginning of the game, Lattimore’s presence seemed to rattle the Hurricanes. Miami took an early lead two minutes into the first quarter, until Lattimore subbed into the game. Lattimore immediately blocked a shot by her former teammate Jasmyne Roberts, then led Virginia on a scoring run to take the lead, which they held onto until the fourth quarter.
When asked about the players feelings surrounding Lattimore’s return to the Watsco, Cullop announced, “We want players who want to be here and, you know, we’ve got a whole locker room full of people that want to be Miami Hurricanes, and I am really proud of them.”
Miami was down 15 points during the second quarter, and the fans sat in their seats dejected as hope for a comeback win continued to dwindle. According to Cullop, the only reason Miami stayed in the game was Haley Cavinder’s offensive plays throughout the first two quarters. Cullop said, “For the first half, she really carried us.” Cavinder ended the night with 22 points and 10 assists.
The ‘Canes are now on a two-game win streak, and Cullop credits the back-to-back wins, and the fourth quarter comeback against UVA, to Marshall’s game play, saying, “She’s a difference maker.” Marshall was out for three games prior to UM’s current win streak, all of which the Hurricanes lost. Upon her return, the ‘Canes defeated SMU 70-63, then UVA. Cullop described Marshall’s presence as an intimidation factor when playing games, saying, “There’s a reason why every time we were on the road, the visiting team’s coach staff watched us get off the bus to see if she was on it.”
With SMU, Stanford, and Cal additions to the ACC, only the top 15 of 18 teams in the conference will make it to the ACC tournament. After Thursday’s win against UVA, Miami moved up the ACC rankings three spots to #11.
Miami will play Georgia Tech at home on Sunday, February 2nd at 2 p.m. Georgia Tech is ranked eighth in the ACC with a 5-4 conference record.