Losing skid continues for UM women as they fall short 83-79 at home to Boston College
University of Miami guard Haley Cavinder received a pass from her twin sister, Hanna, and barreled through the Boston College defense to close the Eagles’ lead to one point with just under two minutes to go, giving the small, but spirited Watsco Center crowd reason to believe the Hurricanes’ slump was about to end.
But the celebration was short lived.
BC senior Kaylah Ivey grabbed the defensive rebound after Haley Cavinder missed a shot a minute later and buried a three to help lead the Eagles to an 83-79 victory.
It was the fifth loss in a row for the Hurricanes, who dropped to 11-6 overall and 1-5 in the ACC after starting the season 11-1.
Boston College guard T’Yana Todd was the game’s top scorer with 29 points after making eight of 11 three-point attempts. Miami Country Day graduate Andrea Daley added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles and Dontavia Waggoner chipped in 14.
Five UM players scored in double figures, led by Jasmyne Roberts with 16. Haley Cavinder and Darrione Rogers added 15, Cam Williams had 14 and Hanna Cavinder 12 with eight assists.
“It’s unfortunate on a night when we shot 55 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 83 percent from the free throw line that we gave up the offense rebounds we had,” said UM first-year coach Tricia Cullop.
Allowing Todd to have her way from beyond the arc was inexcusable, Cullop added.
“You can’t let the best shooter on the other team hit eight threes,” she said. “There’s no excuse for it. You’ve got to find her. You’ve got to deny her. You’ve got to make it just as hard as people make it for Haley and our transition defense at times was abysmal. We’ve got to have more effort to not only sprint back but turn and talk and find the ball.”
Williams had a similar assessment of Miami’s shortcomings.
“It just keeps coming down to the defensive end, remaining sharp, knowing who the hot shooters are at the moment,” she said. “Staying sharp on defense is going to be huge for us moving forward.”
Rogers added: “We keep giving up a lot of rebounds, so they’re getting a lot of second-chance points. I feel like that’s the difference right now.”
Boston College (11-8, 2-4 ACC) held a 21-10 edge in second-chance points and outrebounded UM 35-30 and 18-10 on the offensive end.
It was a hard-fought game with nine ties and six lead changes.
UM forward Natalija Marshall sat out the game in concussion protocol after a head injury during practice earlier in the week. Rogers started in her place and delivered a big performance for the second game in a row. The Mississippi State transfer was coming off a season-high 23 points against Syracuse and buried seven three pointers in that game. She went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc on Thursday.
“All glory goes to God,” Rogers said. “My teammates, coaching staff, they trust me and now when my number is called, my job is to go out there and knock down shots, help assist for my teammates. I’m just lucky and blessed to be able to go out there and do that.”
The Hurricanes were coming off a five-point loss on the road to Syracuse, despite limiting the Orange to 37.7 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent from three-point range.
Despite the slump, the Hurricanes remain energized and optimistic that things will turn around soon.
“We’re keeping our heads high, working on things we need to work on, and remaining hungry going into every game going forward,” Williams said.
“Right now we’re going through a lot of adversity,” Rogers said. “We can lay down and cry about it, or we can just keep practicing, watching film and trying to get better. I feel like once we get that first win, we can start growing.”
Cullop said although the box score didn’t show it, her team is getting better. She cited the five players in double figures and 14 turnovers after averaging 19 the previous two games.
“There’s a lot of positives to take, even though it really stings to have another loss,” Cullop said. “But hopefully what people saw when they saw this team is there’s no quit in them. They haven’t given up. We roll up our sleeves and keep getting better.”
UM’s next game is on the road Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. against Florida State.
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM.