Haley Cavinder scores 30 points, leads UM women to 83-74 overtime win over Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac University is best-known nationally for its public opinion polls, especially during election season. But for Miami Hurricanes women’s basketball fans, Quinnipiac was known for sour memories after the Bobcats knocked the Canes out of back-to-back NCAA tournaments in 2017 and 2018.
UM finally got payback on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 83-74 overtime win in the final game of the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament. The Canes remain undefeated at 7-0 with the victory.
Guard Haley Cavinder, who returned to the Hurricanes this season after a one-year hiatus from the game, scored a game-high 30 points, including a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Cavinder also dished out a game-high nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Miami had squandered a 22-point lead with a dismal fourth quarter in which the Hurricanes shot 2-for-15 and were outscored 22-8. The Bobcats took their first lead of the game with a minute to go in regulation, led by three with 12 seconds remaining, and it was looking like another Quinnipiac nightmare for Miami.
But then Cavinder came up big after a quick pep talk from twin sister Hanna, the Canes regrouped and dominated overtime 16-7.
Asked what she was thinking when she put up the game-tying shot, Cavinder said: “I was thinking that I missed the first one [10 seconds earlier], and I was like, `I rushed it too quick.’ And then Hanna told me, `Just stay in your shot,’ and so, honestly, that’s what I was thinking, `Just rely on your work.’’’
Cavinder scored nine straight points to give the Canes a 19-point lead with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, and it looked like UM would cruise the rest of the way. But the Bobcats went on a 12-0 run to close the gap to seven points midway through the fourth quarter and continued to chip away at Miami’s lead.
“They’re a really good team, I have so much respect for Trish [Gabbri, Quinnipiac’s coach the past 30 years],” Cullop said. “Her teams always execute. Every time you leave somebody open, they make you pay with a three. They read the floor really well…We executed really well until the fourth quarter, we got frustrated with their zone and just weren’t getting the scores to match what they were doing on the other end.”
Quinnipiac guard Gal Raviv led her team with 25 points and had five three pointers. Jackie Grisdale added 19 points and Anna Foley had 11.
Once the game went into overtime, the Hurricanes regained control. Jasmyne Roberts made a clutch basket and made all four of her free throws. She had 14 points for the game. Freshman Ahnay Adams sank a huge three and made two free throws in overtime and Haley Cavinder got her three final points from the free throw line.
“We carried Haley’s energy over after she forced OT with that big shot,” Roberts said. “We knew the momentum was on our side, and in the huddle we were just like, `OK, 0-0, a new start to the game. Let’s take this energy and momentum and use it to our advantage. Going into overtime we felt a lot better as a team and everything came together.”
The Canes are back home Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Vanderbilt in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Cullop pleaded with fans to show up.
“This is a big game for us and we’d love for the community to show up; we need them,” she said. “I hope everyone who loves this program will show up and bring friends because we’d love to have a great atmosphere. Women’s basketball is exploding around the nation and we would love that hype and excitement at Miami.”