GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman. – The University of Miami women’s basketball team defeated George Washington 83-77 in an overtime battle on Friday afternoon. Ra Shaya Kyle and Gal Raviv dominated on offense; Raviv posted 29 points, and Kyle set a career high with 26.
Miami now holds an overall record of 5-1, 0-0 ACC and George Washington stand at 2-5, 0-0 A10.
As a unit, the Canes shot 42.9 percent from the field (27-63) and outrebounded GW 44-35.
Game one in the Cayman’s remained scoreless for the initial two minutes before Amarachi Kimpson saw the charity stripe to open the scoring column. The offensive play remained quiet for most of the period with eight of Miami’s 16 points coming from the free throw line.
Miami held the advantage at 16-12 entering the second quarter before GW sunk back-to-back three pointers, putting the score in their favor at 18-16 (8:46). From there George Washington maintained the lead over the Canes, garnering its largest advantage of the first half with a margin of seven (30-23). GW maintained the seven-point lead heading into halftime at 39-32.
In the first 20 minutes of play the Canes were led in scoring by Kyle and Raviv with 10 points apiece. Kyle also led on the boards with six of Miami’s 19 rebounds. Soma Okolo also played a large helped on the defensive end snagging three steals.
Coming out for the second half, GW continued to challenge Miami increasing its lead to 15 (52-37). After a dominate four minutes from George Washington, the Canes rediscovered its rhythm going on an 11-2 run to put the score within six (54-48). Miami remained consistent for the remainder of the third, working to shrink the margin heading into the final period of play.
The score stood at 57-50 in favor of GW at the start of the fourth quarter. It took Miami under three minutes to get the score knotted at 57-57 (7:46), from there the contest remained a one possession game. The Canes finally regained the lead for the first time since period one with 1:33 left on the clock (70-69). Kyle posted a driving layup to increase the lead to three points (72-69), before GW sank a three-point jumper to get it even once more at 72-72 and force overtime.
Miami posted the first points of overtime (74-72) and extended the margin to eight (80-72) before GW got on the scoreboard. The Canes maintained control of the extra period, converting nine of their 10 free throw attempts and holding GW to only five points. Miami closed out game one in the Cayman’s with an 83-77 victory.
Miami will play its second and final game of the Cayman Islands Classic on Saturday Nov. 29 at 11:00 a.m. against Oklahoma State. The Canes matchup against the Cowgirls will be available for streaming via FloSports platforms.
– MiamiHurricanes.com –
