It’s been a rough stretch for Miami athletics, and Thursday night added another tough chapter.
The Hurricanes women’s basketball team fell 74-66 to Notre Dame in South Bend, wrapping up a week that saw Miami football lose the National Championship to Indiana and the men’s basketball team drop its first home game of the season to rival Florida State. For the women’s squad, this one stings-not just because of the final score, but because of how close they were to pulling off a road win against a strong ACC opponent.
Still, there were bright spots. Freshman guard Amarachi Kimpson had a breakout performance, dropping a career-high 21 points and showing poise well beyond her years.
Ahnay Adams added 17, and Ra Shaya Kyle continued her dominant season inside, racking up her 13th double-double. Those three kept Miami in it from start to finish.
The Hurricanes came out swinging. They jumped to a five-point lead within the first three minutes and answered every Notre Dame push with one of their own. Kimpson was electric early, scoring 12 in the first quarter as Miami edged ahead 27-25.
The second quarter opened with a defensive standoff-neither team scored for the first three minutes. Then Gal Raviv broke the drought with a slick reverse layup that pushed Miami’s lead to 27-17.
But Notre Dame responded with a 12-2 run to even things up at 29. Despite the pushback, the Canes held firm and went into halftime up 41-36, fueled by seven forced turnovers and seven assists in the first half.
It was a gritty, well-balanced effort.
But the third quarter flipped the script. Notre Dame came out of the locker room with renewed energy, holding Miami scoreless for the first three minutes while putting together a 9-0 run to take their first lead at 45-41.
Still, the Canes didn’t fold. They clawed their way back and even regained the lead at 56-54 heading into the final stretch.
That’s where things unraveled. With 6:04 left in the fourth, Notre Dame tied it at 61-61-and from there, the Irish took control. Miami couldn’t keep pace in the closing minutes, and Notre Dame closed it out with a strong finish to seal the eight-point win.
The loss drops Miami to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in ACC play. Notre Dame improves to 13-6 and 5-3 in the conference.
Now, the Hurricanes turn the page and hit the road again, heading to Dallas for a matchup with SMU. After that, they return home for a big one against Duke next Thursday at the Watsco Center.
That night won’t just be about the game-it’ll be a celebration of Katie Meier, the winningest coach in program history. Expect plenty of emotion and energy in the building as Miami looks to snap this skid and honor a legend the right way.