The Virginia women’s basketball team continues its two-game road trip Wednesday at Miami, after playing No. 4 Louisville on the road this past Sunday.
The Cavaliers (13-5, 3-2 ACC) are coming off a 67-55 loss to the Cardinals and are now 3-4 away from home.
Louisville senior forward Sara Hammond scored 16 of her team’s first 20 points in the first 11 minutes to put Virginia down early at KFC Yum! Center. The Cavaliers got within two with 2:17 remaining in the half after holding Louisville scoreless for almost four minutes, but the Cardinals closed out the half on a 5-2 run to lead 32-27 at the break.
In the second half, the Cavaliers pulled within five with 11:16 remaining but didn’t score for almost five minutes as Louisville cruised to its ninth straight victory.
After draining 13 3-pointers against Boston College, the Cavaliers only made one of 11 attempts Sunday. Louisville, last in the ACC in 3-point field goals made, didn’t make any from beyond the arc, but for the second game in a row, the Cavaliers were outscored in the paint by a large margin, 52-24.
Hammond only scored four more points in the second half, but Virginia couldn't stop Louisville freshman forward Myisha Hines-Allen, who scored her team’s first nine points after the break. She finished with 17 points in the game to Hammond’s 20.
Junior guard Faith Randolph led the Cavaliers with 24 points for her third straight 20-point game. Senior center Sarah Imovbioh added another double-double on the season, contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
"There were some times we just didn't execute,” Virginia head coach Joanne Boyle said. “But I am proud of the team. We just need to regroup. Conference doesn't get any easier. This is a great prep game for Miami. Miami is a very athletic team. We need to clean up some of the things from this game."
Louisville and Miami were tied atop the ACC with no conference losses before Sunday, but with a Miami loss that day, the Cardinals are now the sole leader in the standings.
Miami (14-4, 4-1 ACC) has one of the best defenses in the league — the Hurricanes are first in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 54.5 points per game, and second in steals with 11.4 per game.
In Sunday’s loss against No. 16 Duke, Miami allowed the Blue Devils to score 68 points and had only seven steals.
Last season, the Hurricanes finished with a 16-15 (8-8 ACC) record, losing out in the first round of the WNIT to Stetson, but this season the Hurricanes have shown they can win against good teams. Earlier this year, they beat then-No. 4 Notre Dame, 78-63, which hadn’t lost an ACC game since becoming a member of the conference in 2013. The Irish had also won 30 straight road games. Miami sophomore guard Adrienne Motley had 32 points in the game, prompting espnW to name her the national player of the week Jan. 8.
As a freshman, Motley led her team with 11.1 points per game, but this year she has stepped it up and now averages 16.9, which is top five in the conference. Senior forward Jassany Williams is top five in the conference in blocks with 2.47 per game.
Like Virginia, Miami has only one home loss, making Wednesday’s game a highly anticipated challenge. Four of the Cavaliers’ five losses have come on the road, prompting Boyle to stress the importance of both protecting the home court and winning away from home before the team’s two-game road trip.
“Two things we always say: protect your home floor and be road warriors,” Boyle said. “I think we have done a fairly good job at home — not perfect, but we are learning more and more what it means to protect your home floor and how to do that. We really have to emphasize and get better at being road warriors. Having a grind to us for 40 minutes, guarding people, and taking care of the ball are huge to execute on the road."
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Coral Gables, Florida.
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