Hurricanes Fall Short at Home to Georgia Tech 77-66

Coral Gables, FL – Riding on the heels of a two-game winning streak, the Miami Hurricanes were looking to win their third straight of the homestand. The game was neck-and-neck for the first two quarters until the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets started to run away with the game in the 3rd quarter. They led by as many as 13 until the Canes rallied back to cut it down to a deficit of four. Ultimately, the Hurricanes would fall short of a home trifecta to Georgia Tech by the score of 77-66.

Things that went wrong

It wasn’t the Lady Canes’ worst performance per se, but the most daunting stat of the game is that the entire Georgia Tech starting lineup scored in double figures. Zoesha Smith and Kara Dunn scored 16 points each for the Yellow Jackets. They only shot for 43%, which was one point higher than the Hurricanes had.

UM simply fell short of a victory due to the difference in turnovers. They had 16 of them in comparison to just five for the visiting team. Some of these were costly fundamental mistakes, such as bad passes that landed out of bounds or even into the crowd at one point.

Even though they had a better FG% in 3-point shots, UM only went 4-15 in their attempts. Darrione Rogers did contribute to two of those 3-point baskets and finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Despite making some important shots in their win against Virginia, Natalija Marshall had an off day, scoring just three points on 1-6 shooting. Towards the end of the game, she did take a hit to the face but was able to walk it off.

Coach Tricia Cullop reiterated how Georgia Tech interrupted their plays, saying

“I think they did a really good job getting in the passing lanes and disrupting some things we wanted to do.”

Coach Tricia Cullop reflecting on what her message was to her players at halftime@LemonCityLive 🍋 pic.twitter.com/Htc9Q6WJEh

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) February 2, 2025

The bottom line

Once again, Haley Cavinder was phenomenal on the court as the team’s leader, scoring 25 points while grabbing three rebounds, and dishing out two assists. It marked her third straight game with 20+ points.

Cameron Williams achieved her fifth double-double of the season, including her second in a row. Williams had 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Seven of those boards came on the offensive front.

Cam 🤝 o-boards @camwillixms34

She gets the offensive rebound and finishes the easy layup!

📺 | ACC Network
📊 | https://t.co/yBXXPUzSLi pic.twitter.com/kYIW1Y7zez

— Hurricanes Women’s Basketball (@CanesWBB) February 2, 2025

The Lady Canes will have to step up their strength and physicality against their remaining conference opponents if they wish to participate in this year’s ACC women’s tournament once again. UM would qualify as of now to reach the tournament but currently sit towards the bottom of the conference.

What’s on deck

For the Canes going forward, it’ll be pivotal for them to find the open lanes and get wide open. Coach Cullop expressed herself by saying,

“I think the backdoors that you saw early that Haley went backdoor and got some easy layups…We’ve got to get everybody looking for those. I thought there were other teammates that could’ve gone backdoor today…Could’ve fought a little harder to get open. At this level, you’ve got to work.”

Hear Coach Tricia Cullop talk about how she plans on minimizing her team’s turnovers during their upcoming games in North Carolina@LemonCityLive 🍋 pic.twitter.com/1DvKzxqlMs

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) February 2, 2025

The schedule isn’t getting any easier as the Hurricanes will play some ranked foes in the coming weeks. 13-9 (3-8) Miami now will hit the road to North Carolina. They play #10 Duke on Sunday at 2 PM and #14 NC State next Thursday at 6 PM.