Miami Women’s Basketball Looks to Advance to the Sweet 16 with Win Over Indiana

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament Miami women’s basketball faced a tough Oklahoma State team and after coach Katie Meier reminded them at halftime to believe in what they were doing and do it better, Miami clinched the 62-61 victory.

Tonight, No. 9 seeded Miami (20-12) will need to continue with the confidence and grit instilled in them by Meier as they look to defeat the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers (28-3), who took down No. 16 seed Tennessee State 77-47 in the first round.

This year marks the 16^th appearance in the NCAA tournament for Miami.  The Canes also made it in ‘92, ’93, 2011-13, 2015-2019, ’22 and ’23.

With a win over Indiana, Miami will advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.

Miami is led by LifeWallet athlete and second team All-ACC guard Haley Cavinder, a 5-foot-6 senior, Destiny Harden, a 6-foot senior, Jasmyne Roberts, a 5-foot-10 sophomore and Lola Pendande, a 6-foot-4 senior.

Cavinder averages 12 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Harden averages 12 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Roberts averages 8.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds. Pendande scores 7.8 points a game and averages 4.3 rebounds.

Miami will meet Indiana on their home court where they are 17-0 this season. Although this may appear daunting, Miami is up for the challenge.

“We have to play for 40 minutes. Play hard, play aggressively, try to disrupt them,” Harden said. “They’re a very good offensive team. They’re a very connected team. We know that we have to disrupt them if we want a chance to go to the Sweet 16 and that’s what we’re going to try and do. Obviously, we came out against OSU kind of slow and we know we can’t do that against Indiana because they’re a very efficient team.”

Meier reminded her team they need to stay calm and believe they are a team that belongs at the Sweet 16. Indiana is a very good team and is no stranger to the Sweet 16, appearing in 2022 and making a trip to the Elite Eight in 2021.

Said Meier on Indiana, “They just score. They’re a really prolific scoring team. Almost 18 assists a game, which for us…that threatens us. The fact that there’s a team that will share the ball that much and can get that many assists in a game, it’s very difficult to defend no matter what your defensive style is. Teams that will share the ball, that makes them great.”

Miami is set to play Indiana tonight, March 20 at 8 pm in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.