UM women make biggest jump in AP Top 25 after historic road win over Louisville
They made school history on Sunday with a nationally-televised road upset of No. 2 Louisville, and on Monday, the rewards poured in for the University of Miami women’s basketball team.
The Hurricanes, who had never beaten a top-three team, are 22-5 and tied with Louisville and Notre Dame for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 10-2 league record. They moved up six spots in the AP rankings Monday from No. 20 to No. 14, the biggest jump among all the ranked teams.
Sunday’s 79-73 win was Miami’s fourth upset of a Top 20 team this season. The Canes had stunned then-No. 4 (now No. 5) Notre Dame the previous week, and also have victories over No. 11 Marquette, and No. 18 Syracuse.
Senior forward/center Emese Hof was named espnW National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week after scoring a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals against the Cardinals. She scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the second half.
Hof’s play was critical down the stretch. With the scored tied 68-68 with 1 minute, 24 seconds to go, Hof got a pass from the top of the key, dribbled toward the basket and managed to score against a double team. She also made a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining.
Against Notre Dame, Hof scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds and four blocks.
Hof, a 6-3 native of the Netherlands, is having the best season of her career. She is shooting 60.8 percent and averaging 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds. Last season, as a junior, she scored nine points per game with 5.4 rebounds.
“You go up against these teams that have great, great players – national player of the year candidates, All-American candidates – and they better start mentioning Emese Hof,” said UM coach Katie Meier. “Because on these big platforms, the kid is one of the best, if not the best on the court.”
Meier cautioned her team against getting too excited after the win over Louisville, which dropped to No. 4 in the latest poll.
“I’m sure when I’m retired and sitting on the beach somewhere, I’ll think about this as the greatest win, but these wins can be canceled out really quick if you don’t focus on the next one,” she said. “We’re on a mission and we just have to keep getting better.”
Up next: on the road at Virginia Tech Thursday and then home Sunday for a noon game against rival Florida State, ranked No. 22.
This story was originally published February 18, 2019 at 1:31 PM.