Hurricanes Women Suffer 4th quarter Collapse, Lose 68-64 to Virginia Tech

Coral Gables, FL – Looking to bounce back after consecutive losses to conference opponents, the Miami Hurricanes needed a statement win against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The first two quarters were close as both teams went into halftime all tied. Once the 3rd quarter was underway though, it was all Canes, and the game seemed in the bag. That is, until the last two minutes of the game saw the Hurricanes collapse, losing 68-64 to Virginia Tech.

Miami comes out on top to end the quarter

Haley Cavinder made a layup at the 8:34 mark and the Canes quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead. However, UM’s offense would go numb, and the Hokies would come back to make it a 10-10 game. The buzzer-beater by Darrione Rogers would end the quarter with UM up 16-15. Cavinder led the team with 4 points and 2 assists.

Darrione beats the buzzer to end the 1Q 🚨

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📊 | https://t.co/hGpIeRQXcC pic.twitter.com/LRMSsQXY7R

— Hurricanes Women’s Basketball (@CanesWBB) January 5, 2025

Foul trouble comes to bite

The 2nd quarter got off to a dull start for both squads in the first few minutes until Hanna Cavinder made a jumper that was assisted by her sister, Haley. On the other side of the ball, the fouls kept piling on for UM as they went over the limit, causing Virginia Tech to make a total of 3 trips to the free-throw line, going five-for-six on their shot attempts. The Cavinder twins each had 5 points in the quarter.

Hanna's turn to knock down a triple 🎯 @CavinderHanna

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📊 | https://t.co/hGpIeRQXcC pic.twitter.com/cpgGZnF5Nb

— Hurricanes Women’s Basketball (@CanesWBB) January 5, 2025

UM dominates out of the gate

While Virginia Tech missed seven of their first eight shot attempts in the 3rd quarter, Miami converted on six consecutive basket attempts and had themselves a commanding 42-30 lead at the 4:16 mark. The U just kept their cool with every shot they made while maintaining the pace of the game on defense with nine rebounds. They closed out the half with a 23-point quarter while going two-for-three from the three-point line.

Natalija Marshall makes it from downtown pic.twitter.com/cpptxSGdgh

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) January 5, 2025

4th quarter crumble

With 7:36 to go, the Hurricanes held a 59-47 lead. However, time just wasn’t on their side anymore. UM had a bad string of turnovers late in the quarter to add up to their total of 19 and VT made them pay with an 18-3 run to conclude the game. This led to the Canes committing more fouls, including a costly one when the match was tied at 64 with little time on the clock.

Final takeaways

Virginia Tech’s Carys Baker was the player of the game as she had herself an afternoon, scoring a career-high 23 points while making seven-of-twelve three-pointers, and leading the team with nine boards. After the game, Miami guard Jasmyne Roberts commented on her performance, “She’s a good shooter. We should have adjusted through the game and not let her get her shot off.”

The offense for the Canes was efficient for the most part in the paint, outscoring VT 28-14 in that category. “We knew we wanted to be able to get down and get looks from the post,” articulated forward Cameron Williams.

Cameron Williams with the basket and one pic.twitter.com/o0d0M05PJM

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) January 5, 2025

Regarding the troubling number of turnovers recorded by UM, Coach Tricia Cullop remarked, “[Turnovers] have been a main focus ever since I took the job.” [The players] are maturing and getting better at it, but it’s not quite where it needs to be.”

On deck for the Hurricanes

11-4 (1-3) UM will look to put this loss to bed as they don’t play until this Sunday at 6 pm in Syracuse against the 6-8 (0-3) Orange.