Coach Katie Meier returns from suspension, UM women improve to 4-0 as Spearman shines
University of Miami women’s basketball coach Katie Meier returned to the sidelines on Wednesday night after serving a three-game school-imposed suspension for an undisclosed NCAA enforcement matter.
She came back to a Hurricanes team that won all three games in her absence and remained undefeated with a 75-42 home win over Florida Atlantic University at the Watsco Center.
Lazaria Spearman, a 6-4 freshman from Dacula, Georgia, led the way with her first collegiate double-double. She scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. She also had a block and two steals.
“Z is a walking double-double and we are not surprised, we’ve seen it every day in practice,” Meier said. “She had a game where the team really needed her, and she completely stepped up.”
Spearman said she had been overthinking things during the first three games but felt “so free” on Wednesday. “I’m usually in my head but I had to just come up for my teammates,” she said. “I wanted it for the team. I was very focused. I knew what I wanted when I got on the court. It was amazing to have (Meier) back, but we also have a great coaching staff.”
Spearman was a highly touted recruit, invited to the USA Under-18 national team camp in May, but remained humble, Meier said.
“She’s a beautiful athlete, but getting to know her and her family, strong Mom, her spirit, she is always seeking greatness,” Meier said. “She’s a very highly rated recruit that isn’t demanding or entitled at all. As good as she is, that’s a very rare quality these days. When you say, `this is what I think you need to work on,’ that’s when you have her attention and I thought,`Wow, she’s going to be an All-American.”
Sophomore Canadian guard Lashae Dwyer had a big night with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. Guard Karla Erjavec, a graduate student from Croatia, went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and scored 11 points.
Ten different UM players scored, and Miami’s 42 bench points matched FAU’s total team scoring. The Hurricanes, who have been unselfish all season, combined for 19 assists. They forced the Owls into 21 turnovers and capitalized for 25 points. They also dominated the boards (50-36), in the paint (50-22) and in fast break points (22-2).
Meier said it was extremely difficult to be apart from her team and praised the players and staff for their resilience.
“They’ve been so amazing in my absence,” Meier said. “Coach Fitz (Fitzroy Anthony), the entire staff, everybody had to slide one step up and do Herculean effort and the team is very tight. You could be challenged or threatened, and they chose to be challenged. Instead of getting small and hiding in the corner, they rose up. I asked them to play with a warrior’s heart, and they did that for four games now.”
Meier praised FAU for being a challenging opponent, despite the score.
“I want to give Florida Atlantic so much credit,” Meier said. “They physically felt like an ACC team. The physicality on the perimeter was something we hadn’t seen yet this year. They had some nice size, but our commitment to the glass with this young lady right here (pointing to Spearman) was incredible.”
The Hurricanes (4-0) head to Chicago this weekend for a game Sunday at DePaul and Tuesday at Loyola-Chicago. They return home Nov. 25 for the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament opening game against North Carolina A&T.