The Clemson women’s basketball team has hit several roadblocks thus far in head coach Shawn Poppie’s first season with the team. However, the team overcame one potential roadblock in Thursday night’s matchup against the Miami Hurricanes, as the Tigers defeated the Hurricanes by a score of 64-61. The win breaks Clemson’s four-game losing streak, with the Tigers now sitting at 4-5 in the ACC.
Despite trailing by as much as 16, Clemson showed its willingness to fight in the form of a fourth-quarter comeback, leading to the largest Clemson comeback in over a decade. Poppie’s message to his team before the comeback was simple.
“Keep believing.”
The Tigers (11-9, 4-5 ACC) showed their belief as they outscored Miami 24-8 in the fourth quarter due to a strong defensive performance. Clemson nullified Haley Cavinder, the Hurricanes’ leading scorer, in the quarter to just two of her 18 points.
The Tigers have struggled in the ACC over the past several seasons, as the team has not posted a winning record in the conference since the 2018-19 season. However, Poppie has been able to win in conference play when it matters the most, as he won the Southern Conference tournament championship in both of his seasons as the head coach of Chattanooga. Despite typically struggling in conference play at this point in the season, Clemson has looked completely unrecognizable under Poppie, thanks to many new faces on the team.
One of the new faces who has succeeded with the Tigers is forward Raven Thompson. Thompson continued her successful season, leading the Tigers with 17 points against the Hurricanes. Thompson also pulled down 11 rebounds and assisted four baskets for the Tigers, leading the team in both categories. A majority of Thompson’s points came in the late comeback by the Tigers, as she scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Thompson credited her relationship with Poppie for her performance.
“We were always close, so just trusting (Poppie) to give me the ball where I need to be and where I’m comfortable, but just having that relationship gave me the confidence I needed,” Thompson said.
The Tigers struggled against the size and physicality of Miami, as the Hurricanes (11-8, 1-7 ACC) scored 38 points in the paint compared to the Tigers’ 26. Miami also outscored Clemson in second-chance points, scoring 9 to Clemson’s 8. The Tigers’ attempts at physicality resulted in several foul calls, with Clemson having 18 fouls, while Miami only had 10 fouls.
One of Clemson’s key struggles was holding onto the ball, as the team combined for 21 turnovers, while Miami only had nine. Miami capitalized on these turnovers with 24 points off those turnovers.
The Tigers will return to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Syracuse at Littlejohn Coliseum.
