Unity, culture, love — the words striped across the Miami Hurricanes warm-up shirts in honor of Black Awareness Month. A reminder for all the hardship, prejudice and heartache the black community has suffered, but also battled through to succeed.
And for a team that has struggled to put together wins all season, the UM Women’s Basketball team took those words to heart, putting together a spirited performance to cut down the Stanford Cardinal 66-51 on Thursday night at the Watsco Center.
“To win games and be connected you need all three (unity, culture, love),” said UM junior Amarachi Kimpson postgame. “Knowing that we’re connected allowed us to come out with a win.”
The triumph marked Miami’s first back-to-back win since Jan. 1, where UM took down Virginia Tech in an eventful overtime showdown.
MIami was in the midst of a torrid rough patch before this pair of wins, losing eight of ten from Jan. 4 to Feb. 8.
And while this win over Stanford might’ve been less dramatic than VT, it could prove as a crucial turning point in UM head coach Tricia Cullop’s second season — one using all three components of the pre-game messaging.
Unified.
Coming off only a seven point performance last weekend against Boston College, Miami guard Gal Raviv got to work early, dropping the game’s opening five points.
Stanford would take an 11-10 lead with 1:38 remaining in the first quarter, but it would mark the last time the Cardinal held the lead as Miami would retake the lead and never look back.
The Canes placed all five starters in double figures, as Raviv led the way with 19 points.
“[Raviv] sees the game better than anyone else on the team,” Cullop said. “She did a tremendous job of getting us into the actions we needed to do … leading us to victory.”
Center Ra Shya Kyle secured her fourth double-double in a row with her 11-point, 14-rebound performance, her 17th on the year.
Kimpson, Natalie Wetzel and Ahnay Adams would put up 14,12 and 10 respectively.
The effort from the starting five proved crucial for Miami, sparing the blunders of a zero-point bench performance.
And when the Canes needed it most, the offense took charge, unleashing a 22-point fourth quarter to ice the game.
Culture.
Despite being wedged in the bottom half of the ACC standings, this Hurricane team simply doesn’t know when to quit.
It’s a tenacious bunch who battle for loose balls and do everything in their power to disrupt an opposing offense.
The Canes caused havoc on the defensive end with their full court press, forcing 17 turnovers and never letting the Cardinal offense get into a rhythm.
“I’m really proud of our defense tonight,” Cullop said. “They paid attention to detail … made it tough for [Stanford] to get into a flow.”
Stanford struggled from the field, shooting only 31.7% and a 14.3% from beyond the arc.
Guard Hailee Swain was one of only two Cardinal on the night in double figures, her 16 points a lone bright spot for Stanford.
Adams in particular was one of the defenders all over the court for Miami, notching three steals alongside her ten points.
The sophomore guard continues to be a leader for Miami, who looks to her energy to jolt the side from start to finish.
Love.
With only three remaining games in the regular season for UM (14-12, 6-9 ACC), the Canes will look to ride some momentum all the way to the ACC Tournament in March.
“We understood how important this game was,” Cullop said. “Probably the best communicating game that we’ve had … the energy they gave each other made the court tremendous.”
The win launched Miami over Stanford (16-12, 5-10 ACC) into 12th in the ACC standings.
Crucial games loom for Miami against Cal, Pitt and Georgia Tech — as Cal and Georgia Tech rest just above Miami in the ACC standings.
“We want the best seed we can when we get there.”
UM will take on Cal this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Watsco Center with coverage on ACCNX.