Huskies Return to Gampel for a BIG EAST Bout Against No. 22 Miami
The fourth-ranked Connecticut women’s basketball team returns to
Storrs and will face No. 22 ranked Miami on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion.
Game time is set for 2:00 and will be televised locally on CPTV.
UConn returns after defeating top-ranked Tennessee, 81-67, on Thursday night.
The Huskies improved to 17-2 overall and are 7-1 in the BIG EAST. Miami holds a
record of 16-3 overall and is 5-3 in the league.
Today’s game is the 23rd meeting between Connecticut and Miami dating back to
the 1991-92 season. UConn holds the 15-5 series advantage and has won the last
17 contests. The Huskies are 9-3 at home against the Hurricanes.
Senior All-American Diana Taurasi hit three 3-pointers in the Huskies’ win
over Tennessee and became UConn’s all-time leading three-point shooter. She now
has 280 career 3-pointers over 128 games, pushing past Wendy Davis’ former UConn
record total of 279 3-pointers over 127 games. UConn continues to be led by
Taurasi who is averaging 17.5 points per game. She also has a team-high 1.63
steals and 1.00 blocked shots per game.
Sophomore Barbara Turner has been solid in her last two outings and is
scoring 13.3 points per game this season. Junior Jessica Moore continues to have
a team-high 119 rebounds averaging 6.3 per game.
Miami looks to rebound from two straight BIG EAST losses to Notre Dame
(59-50) and Rutgers (76-79) with Sunday’s game against Connecticut. The two-game
slide is the first of the season for the Hurricanes but are still ranked at No.
22 in the Associated Press poll. The teams other BIG EAST loss came at the hands
of Villanova, 58-55, on January 7. The Hurricanes have claimed wins over St.
John’s, Boston College, Georgetown, Pittsburgh and Providence.
The Miami team is balanced with several players leading in different
categories. Sophomore guard Tamara James leads the team in scoring with 15.9
points per game and junior guard Yalonda McCormick has a team-high 96 assists
and 62 steals. Averaging 8.2 rebounds per game is senior center Shaquana Wilkins
while also adding 24 blocked shots.
The Hurricanes are led by Ferne Labati who is in her 16th season at Miami.
She holds a 284-175 record at the helm of the Hurricanes and in 25 overall years
as a head coach she is 420-297. |
