CORAL GABLES, FL – The Clemson Lady Tigers fell by a 77-48 margin to the #22/#25 Miami Hurricanes (17-1, 3-0 ACC) on Friday night at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, FL. Sthefany Thomas inched closer to the 1,000 point plateau for Clemson (8-10, 1-2 ACC), scoring a team-high 17 on the night.
Clemson fought until the final horn, but could not overcome a slow start in the first half, going 4-23 in the first frame, but shooting 12-24 in the second half. Chancie Dunn came off the bench to notch a career-high six assists in the game.
“Bottom line is we need to find a way to compete for 40 minutes,” said Head Coach Itoro Coleman. “Miami pressed us and we never got comfortable. When we broke it, we got good things, but we turned the ball over too much.”
Miami’s Riquna Williams had 29 points to lead all players, while Shenise Johnson added 18 points and six rebounds. The Hurricanes claimed their first home win in the series, and improved to 4-5 all-time against Clemson.
“We know the level of play in the ACC, we just have to compete for 40 minutes,” said Coleman. “Anything can happen in the ACC.”
Clemson had a season-high 18 steals in the contest, led by Kirstyn Wright’s career-high six, and Thomas’ four paced the Tigers. Wright finished with nine points, but no other Tiger was able to muster more than four points overall. The Tigers also did a good job of getting to the line, making 12 of their 16 attempts from the line.
The Tigers committed 35 turnovers on the night, which Miami turned into 46 points. While the Tigers did force 25 turnovers, they were only able to convert them for 15 points.
Teams are going to press us, so we have to be more composed when teams are pressuring us and execute the offense when we break it.”
The road gets no easier for Clemson, who returns home to take on #13/#13 Maryland at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers have played four of the last seven games against ranked foes, and three of the next four will be as well.
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April 17, 2024
