The Miami women’s basketball team fell to No. 20 Duke 74-58 Thursday night at the Watsco Center, in a game defined by early Duke offensive action and an emotional celebration of legendary UM Head Coach Katie Meier.
The matchup marked Miami’s first home game since Jan. 11 and doubled as a celebration of Meier, the program’s winningest coach, who led Miami to its first Elite 8 bid in 2023. It was a night of celebrating players, too, with Amarachi Kimpson being honored for her 1,000th career point and Ra Shaya Kyle, who was recognized for her 1,500th career points — one of only twelve ‘Canes to do so.
Entering the night at 12-8 overall and 4-5 in ACC play, the Hurricanes looked to build off a dramatic comeback road win at SMU against a ranked Duke team.
Miami leaned heavily on guard play throughout the night, with Ra Shaya Kyle scoring a commanding 21 points and Gal Raviv with 16 points, setting the tone offensively. The Hurricanes showed resilience, but even with flashes of offensive brilliance, they struggled to challenge Duke’s height and scoring prowess.
Duke controlled the opening tip and set the tone early. Miami Junior Amarachi Kimpson grabbed the first rebound of the game, but it was Miami’s Ra Shaya Kyle who scored within the first 30 seconds to give the Hurricanes a quick 2-0 lead. Duke settled into man-to-man defense, and shortly after, the Blue Devils began offensively overpowering the ‘Canes.
Ashlon Jackson knocked down a three-pointer to extend Duke’s lead to 7-2 before Kimpson answered with a three of her own, cutting it to 7-5. Duke continued to control the pace throughout the first quarter, ultimately stretching the lead to 19-7 before Miami cut it to 19-9. Duke responded once more, pushing the lead to 21-9.
Raviv and Kyle shone bright during the second quarter, with Kyle making her first free throw and scoring three baskets in a row for a total of seven points and Raviv playing aggressive defense, making the Blue Devils scrap for every point.
After intense action up and down the court, the Hurricanes trailed behind the Blue Devils 39-23 going into halftime.
The third quarter witnessed an exhilarating resurgence for the Hurricanes who collectively scored an impressive 27 points, but the Blue Devils still maintained a 55-50 lead. Compared to Duke’s 14 new points on the board, Miami seemed to be gaining speed ahead of the fourth quarter.
Miami Center Ra Shaya Kyle said “trusting our teammates, trusting in what we do every day [and] play[ing] hard the whole time” was critical to their fantastic third quarter performance.
“They competed at a higher level than we did [in the third quarter],” said Duke Head Coach Kara Lawson post-game. “We were making errors on our side of the coverage, and they made us pay for it.”
The question on everyone’s mind going into that final quarter was, will the Hurricanes be able to undo the damage done by the Blue Devils in the first two?
Unfortunately for Miami, Duke regained composure and controlled the scoreboard until the final buzzer. An eight minute scoring drought ensured the Hurricanes would not be able to take the lead, despite their third quarter comeback. And with two critical late three-pointers from Duke’s Jordan Wood, the Blue Devils never faltered.
Miami came knocking, but Duke shut the door in its face. Even with powerhouse performances from Kyle, Raviv, and Okolo, the Hurricanes simply couldn’t catch up to the Blue Devils who seemed to be two steps ahead of them all game.
With 23 points on the board and 11 rebounds by the end of the night, Duke’s Toby Fournier was a formidable opponent on the court. Taina Mair and Jordan Wood were also star-studded, bringing 18 and 12 points to the table, respectively.
“Toby is one of the best players in the conference and one of the best players in the country,” said Coach Lawson. “She is so undervalued nationally for what she does night in and night out. When you look at the top forwards in the country, she’s right there in the mix.”
But despite this loss, the Hurricanes look to the games ahead with strategic optimism.
“This is the first year for several of these players to play together,” said Miami Head Coach Tricia Cullop. “We don’t have any consistency from last year, so any game you see us starting to gel is a good game.”
“If we can persevere and continue to get better, the best is ahead of us,” Coach Cullop continued.
Miami will return to Watsco Center Sunday, Feb. 1 at 2:00 p.m. to host Syracuse.
