Dec. 19, 2007

LaToyas Lead Hurricanes in Comeback Win Over Southern Miss

CANCUN, Mexico - The University of Miami women's basketball team (5-6) trailed by 20 points with less than three minutes to go in the first half, but came all the way back for a 63-56 victory over Southern Mississippi (8-4) in the opening day of the Caribbean Classic at the Moon Palace Resort.

Junior transfer Latoya Drake had a career day for the Hurricanes, scoring a career-high 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds. In the second half, Drake scored 14 points, all of which were crucial to the Miami surge.

Drake's basket with 4:39 left pulled the `Canes within three and on the next possession freshman Epiphany Woodson tied the game with a three-pointer. Just 20 seconds later with 2:51 remaining, Miami took its first lead of the game at 54-52 on Albrey Grimsley's jumper in the lane.

Waner's 19 Points, 10 Steals Lead Duke Past Utah Valley, 95-61

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Abby Waner scored 19 points and tied an Atlantic Coast Conference record with 10 steals in No. 14 Duke's 95-61 rout of Utah Valley on Tuesday night.

Reserve Carrem Gay scored a season-high 20 points, Joy Cheek scored 13 of her 15 points during the decisive first half and Chante Black also had 15 points for the Blue Devils (8-3).

Duke forced 39 turnovers, scored 49 points off those miscues and never trailed in cruising to its third straight victory.

Waner led the way during Duke's 22-4 run that opened the second half, scoring nine points and capping it with a 3-pointer from the deep left wing that made it 66-32 with about 13 minutes remaining.

Waner, who finished three assists shy of the third triple-double in school history, became the 11th player in ACC history with 10 steals, a feat most recently achieved by Miami's Maurita Reed against Wake Forest in February 2007. She surpassed the school mark of nine steals that was reached by two players, most recently Missy Anderson against Drake in 1992.

Jackets Hold Off Mississippi Valley State for 79-67 Win

ITTA BENA, Miss. - Alex Montgomery tied a season-high with 14 points to help lead the Georgia Tech women's basketball team (9-1) to a 79-67 win over Mississippi Valley State (4-3) on Tuesday afternoon at the Harrison HPER Complex.

"I am really pleased that we were able to complete this two game road trip with another win," head coach MaChelle Joseph said. "I thought Alex (Montgomery) had a huge second half for us. She continues to grow into the impact player we knew she would be."

The Jackets shot 50 percent from the field but were outrebounded by the Delta Devilettes, 39-36, in the mid-afternoon contest. Tech held a lead as large as 20 points over the Devilettes but foul trouble allowed MSVU to get back into the game, cutting the lead to as small as nine with 2:32 remaining on the clock. Five Jackets were called for three or more fouls in the game but a three-point field goal by Chioma Nnamaka with 2:00 on the clock sealed the victory for Tech.

Clemson Falls to Dayton, 81-43

DAYTON, Ohio - The Clemson women's basketball team fell to the Dayton Flyers, 81-43, on Tuesday night at the University of Dayton Arena.

The win extended the Flyers' streak to 10 straight for a 10-2 overall record, while the Lady Tigers dropped to 7-6 on the year.

Dayton shot 51.7-percent (31-61) for the game and held the Lady Tigers to just a .286 figure, handing Clemson its worst loss of the season.

Kathy Guin had a team-high 13 points for Dayton as one of four players in double figures. Flyer Nikki Oakland recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Whitney Hood led the Clemson effort with 11 points while Lele Hardy posted a team-high eight rebounds with six points.