UM guard Haley Cavinder on playing at home vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Thursday: ‘Don’t fear it’
Notre Dame, the top-ranked women’s basketball team in the nation, a team that has won 18 games in a row, 17 of those by double digits, will be in Coral Gables Thursday night to face the University of Miami, and nobody is more pumped than Hurricanes guard Haley Cavinder.
Never mind that the Irish are undefeated in the ACC and boast one of the country’s best guard trios in recent years with Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron while the Hurricanes are 3-11 in the conference and coming off four losses in a row.
Cavinder is ready. Bring it on!
“Their guard play is probably the best in the country, they’re so dynamic all three of them and how they play off each other and their chemistry is why they’re the number one team in the country,” Cavinder told the Miami Herald Wednesday in between a video shoot with Ghost Energy and practice.
“The way to approach that for us is, `Don’t fear it, attack it.’ They’re the top, so why not take it to them? We look at it as an opportunity.”
That confidence, fearlessness and competitive spirit is why Cavinder, at 5-6 usually one of the smaller players on the court, is having such a big season for the Hurricanes.
She averages 18.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. She has eclipsed 20 points 10 times this season, had three games with 30-plus points, and on Sunday had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a one-point loss to FSU.
Cavinder and her twin sister, Hanna, the Hurricanes’ starting point guard, helped lead UM to its first Elite Eight in 2023 but then took a year off from the game to focus on other interests. They have more than 4 million TikTok followers and a hefty portfolio of endorsement deals.
Hanna planned to quit basketball altogether, Haley transferred to TCU, but they had a change of heart and returned to Miami this season.
“I have more of a scoring mentality and role,” Cavinder said of her improvement from two years ago. “The year off gave me a lot of time to work on my game, like separation moves, trying to score over my defender, just grinding, working on my craft. I think it shows.”
She continues to be a relentless rebounder and has recorded six double-doubles. UM coach Tricia Cullop says Cavinder is one of the best rebounding guards she has ever coached.
“Haley’s a phenomenal player,” Cullop said. “She scores at all three levels. She can shoot the three, she can shoot a pullup, she can get to the hole. She knows how to pivot and use her body if she has a mismatch. Where she’s gotten better is seeing the floor and understanding where help is coming from and finding her teammates.”
Cavinder credits associate head coach Fitzroy Anthony, a holdover from former coach Katie Meier’s staff, for elevating her game. He worked with Cavinder every day over the summer.
“Everything I do on the court is from Coach Fitz, he deserves 100 percent of the credit, from the mental and physical standpoint,” she said. “He doesn’t let me settle. He’s made me attack the game even further, challenged me mentally to be able to see how I can create for me and my teammates, defensively and offensively. He’s someone I really respect. He allows me to be my best Haley on the court.”
Cavinder said having her twin sister alongside her has also been a factor in her success. Hanna is a facilitator, averaging 6.2 points and 4.5 assists.
“The chemistry and bond we have on the court I can’t put into words, but Hanna does a great job of making my life easier on the court and it doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet,” Cavinder said.
“She makes it easier for not just me, but all our teammates, running the floor general role, being able to read the defender and making her teammates get the best shot. That allows the rest of us to play more freely.”
Thursday’s game will be UM’s fifth in a row against a ranked team. The Canes lost by two points to No. 10 N.C. State last week and by one to FSU on Sunday. This will be the toughest test yet.
Cullop, who came from the University of Toledo, knows Notre Dame (23-2, 14-0 ACC) well, as does UM forward Natalija Marshall, who transferred from Notre Dame.
“It’s a tall task,” Cullop said of trying to stifle the Irish guards. “When you look at Miles, Citron and Hidalgo, all three are extremely talented and could be a star on any team. But they’re all on the same team.”
Citron is the “unsung hero” of the team, Cullop said, because of her height, quick release, and basketball IQ. “Hidalgo and Miles get all the pub, and should, because they’re very, very good, but Citron is very, very good, too. They’re very good, very deep, and well-coached. We have to just go out and give them our best shot.”
The Canes will have to avoid turnovers, which could lead to quick transition points and three-pointers for the Irish.
“If they can get downhill, Hidalgo is so fast and Miles has a very uncanny court vision where she can hit anyone, she sees things from halfcourt people don’t normally see,” Cullop said.
Cullop and her team are hoping for a good turnout at the Watsco Center for the big game.
Rooting the Cavinders on from the front row in recent weeks were their football-playing boyfriends, Carson Beck, the incoming UM quarterback, who dates Hanna, and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, who dates Haley. Typically, male athletes’ wives and girlfriends (WAGS) get attention, but in the Cavinders’ case, it was boyfriends high fiving, even wearing matching “Cavinder twins” t-shirts on one occasion.
“Having them support us and love us inside and outside of our sport is great,” Haley said. “I love that they show up when we play, like we do for them. It’s been super fun having them here for their off-season. They just get just as fired up for our games as for theirs.”
When the Cavinder twins arrived at UM as transfers from Fresno State, fresh off their first big NIL deals, there were questions about how they would handle their on and off-court obligations. They have proven to be great multi-taskers.
“Haley does an exceptional job balancing her schedule, she’s very organized, they both are,” Cullop said of the twins. “They have to be. They schedule business meetings on our off days.”
She said only once this season, during the preseason, they asked the coach to reschedule something because they were invited to a ceremony after being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
“It would be very easy to get overwhelmed with all the attention,” Cullop said. “They get stopped for autographs everywhere we play, win or lose. But they have a great professionalism about them, a maturity that should be applauded. It’s incredible to watch.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM.