UM women’s basketball team overcomes loss of Gray to top Jacksonville 74-58 in opener
It was not how University of Miami coach Katie Meier would have preferred to play the season-opening game — with no fans at the Watsco Center and starting senior guard Mykea Gray with a torn ACL awaiting knee surgery.
But this is not a normal year. The Hurricanes got off to a slow start, but improved each quarter and came away with a 74-58 win against the visiting University of Jacksonville Dolphins. The players wore wrist tape with “HOH (Heart over Height) #5” written on them — a tribute to Gray, who is 5-4.
It was the first game played at the Watsco Center since the pandemic shut down college basketball in mid-March.
“We haven’t played in a long time, and that first quarter was tough to watch,” UM coach Katie Meier said. “I liked that we kept the faith, worked through some lineups, got a little spark off the bench. Encouraging thing for us is that the shooting percentage each quarter kept going up. It was miserable first quarter, less-than-average second and third, and fourth we adjusted at halftime and got them better shots.”
Both teams struggled early. Miami missed eight of its first 10 shots and Jacksonville missed eight of its first nine. Senior guard Kelsey Marshall hit a three to give the Hurricanes a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and Miami had pulled ahead 32-26 by halftime.
The lead had stretched to 15 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth. Marshall led UM with 22 points — 9 of 11 from the free-throw line — and was one of four Hurricanes in double digits. Redshirt junior forward Destiny Harden had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Brianna Jackson scored 14 points with nine rebounds, and Endia Banks added 10.
“I think Destiny Harden is going to be a real story for us this season,” Meier said. “She played a phenomenal game. Kelsey did what we need Kelsey to do. And Jackson felt like she had a double-double.”
Harden said: “We miss our fans, and they play an important role, but unfortunately we don’t have them. We miss Mykea dearly, but we all have to step up and play different roles. When things got tight, I was thinking, ‘Don’t panic, be patient, don’t force anything.’ We just followed the coach’s game plan.”
Senior guard Taylor Mason, who stepped in for Gray, went 2 for 11 for six points with four assists and four rebounds. Mason had big shoes to fill, as Gray had started all 96 games of her college career and made the ACC All-Defensive team last season. She injured her knee during a breakaway layup at the team’s final preseason scrimmage on Tuesday.
“We have not had a lot of time to adjust,” said Meier, who pointed out that her teams have relied on a ball-screen offense for many years and Gray was the perfect guard for that style. “We don’t have that now, and it’s a huge adjustment offensively. We need more time. We do have some length, so we need to pass over the top a little bit more.”
Miami outrebounded Jacksonville 51-36 and shot 83 percent (24 of 29) from the free-throw line.
Meier said it felt strange playing in an empty building. There were only a few dozen staff and family members in attendance. The players sat far apart on the bench, and Meier said it was hard to have them so far away when she wanted to get their feedback during the game.
Wednesday’s game was a homecoming for Dolphins coach Darnell Haney, a Miami Southridge High graduate and former team captain, and sophomore guard Shekinah Rachel, who played at Miami High.
The Canes are home again Saturday against the University of North Florida. The men’s team also plays UNF in its season opener on Sunday.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 4:00 PM.