Miami can’t get offense going, falls to South Carolina in NCAA women’s tournament
A visibly frustrated Kelsey Marshall let out an expletive.
With two seconds left before halftime, South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson had fouled Marshall on a fastbreak layup and the Miami guard missed.
It was the story of the No. 8-seeded Hurricanes’ performance Sunday at Colonial Life Arena as their season came to a close with the 49-33 loss to the top-seeded Gamecocks during the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament.
“I think Miami got frustrated before South Carolina did and that was the difference,” Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said. “Neither team was gonna score 100 points, and it wasn’t gonna be like that, but we got frustrated first and that surprised me because we’ve played games where we (scored) 45, 46. It shouldn’t have upset us, but it did.”
Meier added that she had to play “Mama Bear” at one point to calm her players down because their frustration turned into them yelling at one another.
“We got a little rattled, I’m not gonna lie,” Marshall said. “We were all screaming at each other at one point, but then we started to settle down and that’s when we started to score a little bit more. We always try to feed positivity to each other try to stay confident and encourage each other to make the next shot that we take.”
Miami went 14 minutes, 14 seconds without a field goal and shot under 15% after the first two quarters. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi knocked down a 3-pointer at the 3:14 mark of the first to inch the Canes within one of South Carolina, 8-7. The next time Miami made a field goal was Marshall’s jumper one minute into the third quarter. By then, the Gamecocks were already up by 13 points, 25-12.
Neither team had stellar offensive performances with both shooting 30% or less in the game. The Hurricanes’ lone points of the second quarter came via free throws from Marshall and Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba, forcing the team to face a 23-10 uphill battle entering the third quarter.
South Carolina’s defense was the story of the day. The Gamecocks forced the Hurricanes into more turnovers (19) than field goals (five) after three quarters by taking away the backdoor cuts and screens that allowed Miami to breeze to a 78-66 win over USF just two days before.
USC also had size on its side, though the 6-foot-4 Lola Pendande and Djaldi-Tabdi as well as the 6-0 Destiny Harden did their best to battle down low with Kamilla Cardos, listed at 6-7, and Aliyah Boston, the 6-5 junior post in the running for National Player of the Year.
“It’s good to play against really good players, and I respect them a lot,” said Djaldi-Tabdi, who led the Hurricanes with 15 points on five 3-pointers. “I learned from this game, obviously. It’s gonna be useful for later on in my life.”
That didn’t stop the Hurricanes from trying to come back late, though. Miami opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from Djaldi-Tabdi before Sidi Baba drew a charge and the Hurricanes’ defense forced the Gamecocks into a shot clock violation in the first two minutes of the frame.
“I think the kid’s a pro, I really do,” Meier said of Djaldi-Tabdi. “I mean, she’s got a great body. She’s got a great sales skill set. Her IQ, she was the most composed of anyone on our team and I thought she showed out really, really well today.”
At one point, the Canes had narrowed the Gamecocks’ lead to 10 after two made free throws by Sidi Baba with 5:28 to go in regulation. South Carolina responded with a 6-0 run.
Miami ends the season with a 21-13 record.
“I know it probably wasn’t the best offensive display for the network TV to show, but if you don’t think women compete, I think we might have changed your mind,” Meier said. “That was just a bunch of competitors out there that were playing as hard and as gritty and as tough as you can ever play.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2022 at 5:04 PM.
