UM women dominate Bethune-Cookman 74-41 as schoolkids bring energy to Watsco
Tricia Cullop’s mother was an elementary school teacher, so the University of Miami women’s basketball coach has a soft spot in her heart for the Hurricanes’ annual Education Day, which draws thousands of shrieking schoolchildren to a weekday morning game.
The decibel level rose at the Watsco Center with every big Hurricanes play as they beat Bethune-Cookman 74-41 Thursday to improve to 2-0 in the first week of the season.
“For years I did this throughout my career in different places, and I just really love bringing kids into this environment that maybe don’t get a chance to be part of something special,” Cullop said. “To hear their enthusiasm was great. They energized our players to play even harder.”
The Hurricanes, with 12 new players on the roster, led the Wildcats from start to finish. They opened a 19-9 first quarter lead and were ahead 33-24 at halftime. They widened the gap as the game went on and led by 32 with six minutes to go.
Ra Shaya Kyle, the 6-6 center who transferred from University of Florida, led the Canes with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes. Kyle was 9 of 11 from the free-throw line.
Natalie Wetzel, a 6-3 forward from McMurray, Pennsylvania, was the second-leading scorer with 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
“She’s so smart, and can shoot it from the perimeter, she’s a good passer, got a couple layups in transition, just a very heady kid,” Cullop said. “She was one of the most efficient players on her AAU circuit, and is carrying that over to college.”
Guard Ahnay Adams chipped in 10 points. Guard Gal Raviv struggled with her shot, going 3-for-10, but had a game-high seven assists. Center Candace Kpetikou grabbed 10 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
As a team, Miami shot 43.5% from the field, 5 of 23 from three-point range and outscored the Wildcats 36-16 in the paint.
On the defensive end, the Hurricanes held BCC to 27% shooting overall, 16% from beyond the arc, and had an 18-2 edge in points off turnovers.
“I love how scrappy we were on defense,” Cullop said. “We forced some turnovers, and I love the aggression there. I wish we were a little more shot selective when shots weren’t falling. There were times I though we treated the ball like a hot potato instead of moving it around.”
Kyle added: “This wasn’t one of our better games, but we improved on pushing the ball in transition and we had a lot of people crashing the boards. We did a really good job of sharing the ball.”
The Hurricanes are back home Nov. 13 against FAU at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 3:29 PM.