No. 10 Miami women too much for Virginia Tech

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Virginia Tech fell behind No. 10 Miami early and could never recover.

Stefanie Yderstrom scored a career-high 22 points and the Hurricanes used a 15-1 run to start the game to cruise to a 79-48 victory over the Hokies on Monday night.

The loss was Virginia Tech's fifth straight and third consecutive against a Top 25 team, following losses to No. 5 Duke and No. 25 North Carolina last week. The Hokies were down by 14 points after the opening 4:10.

"That's what has plagued us in these other games," Virginia Tech coach Dennis Wolff said. "We put ourselves in these large holes and we're trying to fight our way out of it. It's not easy."

Shenise Johnson scored nine points during Miami's early surge and finished with 18 points.

Later in the first half, Miami (17-3, 6-1 ACC) scored 11 unanswered points during a 3:15 span and increased the lead to 38-11. Maria Brown's basket with 4:51 remaining ended the spurt.

The Hokies (6-14, 2-5) were held without a field goal for an 8:15 stretch until Aerial Wilson scored consecutive layups within an 18 second span that reduced Miami's lead to 40-18 with 59 seconds remaining in the first half.

"It looked like we didn't have any idea of what we were doing," Wolff said. "It just fed into how aggressive Miami played."

Monet Tellier scored 18 points and Wilson finished with 15 points for the Hokies.

The Hurricanes played with a new lineup, ending a 52-game streak with the same starters — but it didn't seem to matter.

Miami lost starting forward Morgan Stroman for the season with a torn Achilles tendon in the Hurricanes' 56-53 win at Virginia Jan. 19. Riquana Williams, the team's second leading scorer, also missed extensive practice before the Virginia Tech game because of a family issue, according to Miami coach Katie Meier. Williams came off the bench against the Hokies and played 10 minutes.

"We had a tough week with losing Morgan and Riquana had some family issues that kept her away from practice," Meier said. "We're making adjustments."

Wilson's put-back basket with 27 seconds left gave Miami a 42-18 lead at halftime.

Jessica Capers' field goal with 14:11 remaining in the second half gave the Hurricanes their first 30-point lead at 55-25.

"I know they were a little discombobulated with the injury and with whatever went on with Williams, but I was very impressed with them," Wolff said. "Conversely, I was very disappointed in our guys, particularly with how we started the game."