CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Haley Cavinder scored 16 points, Jasmyne Roberts had 10 points and nine rebounds in her first career start and Miami beat No. 22 North Carolina 62-58 on Thursday night.
This was the Hurricanes’ first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 20 Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament semifinals on March 5, 2022.
“That is life in the ACC. It is, without question, the best conference in the nation,” head coach Katie Meier. “North Carolina is really talented, well-coached and physical and we just played our guts out. Two wins in a row in this conference is a great week for Miami and we’re going to try to make it three on Sunday.”
Miami (9-6, 2-2 ACC) beat a team in the AP Top 25 for the first time this season. North Carolina (9-5, 0-3) has started 0-3 in conference play for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
“For sure, Jasmyne Roberts took advantage of her opportunity in the starting lineup and I think Hanna Cavinder was really special for us,” Meier said. “I believe we had 19 points off the bench and a heck of a lot of rebounds as well. The bench keeps coming through for us and we keep trusting them.”
Senior starter Destiny Harden, was unavailable for this game because of an injury she sustained in practice. Harden is day-to-day.
The Miami offense got off to a hot start, shooting 50 percent in the first quarter to take a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes of action. Senior Hanna Cavinder extended Miami’s lead to 10 at the 5:53 mark in the second quarter, knocking down back-to-back threes off the bench.
North Carolina responded with an 11-0 run late in the second quarter to take just their second lead of the game, 28-27. However, Haley Cavinder hit a huge 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go in the half to put Miami ahead, 32-30, heading into the locker room.
Haley Cavinder opened the second half with her second 3-pointer of the game and the teams traded baskets for the next three minutes. Miami scored six of the last nine points in the third quarter to hold a 46-39 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Hanna Cavinder hit her third 3-pointer of the night to open the scoring for Miami in the fourth quarter, but North Carolina whittled the lead down to one with 49 seconds to play.
Miami, which led for 36-plus minutes, was ahead by seven points entering the fourth and held the advantage the rest of the way. But North Carolina got within 59-57 when Deja Kelly completed a four-point play with 1:28 left.
Eleven seconds away from victory, Haley Cavinder stepped up to the charity stripe and sunk a pair of free throws to put Miami ahead by three. The Hurricanes got the stop they needed on defense and senior Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba sealed the win for Miami with a made free throw with two seconds to go.
Miami faces its second top-25 opponent in four days when it hosts No. 9/10 Virginia Tech at the Watsco Center on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will air on Bally Sports Sun.
Courtesy of Megan Barnes of Miami Athletics
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