No. 14 Miami Women Hand No. 15 Virginia Tech First Loss
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami/AP) — It was one of the biggest home wins in recent memory for the Lady Canes and it came thanks to some clutch, late-game playmaking.
Adrienne Motley scored 18 points, Jessica Thomas had 17 and No. 14 Miami used a 17-7 run in the fourth quarter to hand No. 15 Virginia Tech its first loss of the season 82-75 on Wednesday night.
Emese Hof added 14 points, Laura Cornelius 13 and Sarah Mortensen 10 as the three reserves helped the Hurricanes (14-3, 3-2 ACC) to a 39-2 advantage in bench points.
That was critical as the Hokies (15-1, 2-1) basically used seven players with two fouling and two more finishing with four fouls.
Virginia Tech led 58-57 at the end of the third quarter on a buzzer-beating jumper by Sami Hill — who scored 11 in the quarter.
The teams traded baskets to open the fourth quarter before a 3-pointer by Thomas provided the last of 13 lead changes as Miami went up 62-60.
Two free throws by Thomas made it 75-65 with three minutes left. The Hokies got within five with 2:03 to play but Cornelius answered with a layup and in the final minute Miami made 6 of 8 free throws.
Hill led Virginia Tech, which was off to its second-best start behind the 1998-99 team that went 18-0, with a career-best 23 points, Chanette Hicks had 19 and Regan Magarity had 18 with 14 rebounds.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)