Canes Win Seesaw Battle
There is no disputing that upsets happen during conference tournament play, but it didn’t happen on opening night of the 2026 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. No. 12 Miami, #10 California, and No. 11 Georgia Tech advanced to the second round with wins over Stanford, Wake Forest, and Florida State.
The Hurricanes and No. 13 Cardinals swapped leads every quarter like twins on a seesaw at the playground. Stanford couldn’t buy a bucket in the first 10 minutes, shooting a dismal 4-20 from the field. Miami guard Gal Raviv nearly matched the Cardinals’ output on her own with 8 points. Teammates Ra Shaya Kyle and Ahnay Adams helped the squad take a nine-point lead.
Stanford’s resurgence in the second, with the three-point shot, was led by local stars Hailee Swain (Holy Innocents) and Courtney Ogden (Westminster), along with a pair from Lara Somfai. The trio shot 6-for-8 from behind the arc to lead the Cardinals into the break with a one-point lead, 39-37.
Miami came out of the half renewed, shutting down the Cardinals’ deep ball opportunities and limiting their second shots with solid defensive rebounding. Head coach Tricia Cullop sent the ball back into the paint, where the Canes had success in the first half. The result was a 20-12 differential in favor of the Canes.
Ugly doesn’t begin to explain the Canes’ fourth quarter. Kyle was the only player to score on 10 shots from the floor. Ogden carried the Cardinals with 11 of her team high 22 points, including the layup that sent the game into overtime.
Guard Amarachi Kimpson knocked down the first points of overtime with a huge three-point shot for the Canes. Miami never trailed while the Cards, except for Chloe Cardy, went virtually radio silent. The Canes put the Cards out of the tournament from the free throw line on 8-of-10 shooting. Miami advances to face the No.5 seed, Notre Dame.
Cal’s Balanced Scoring Packs Up Wake
Sakima Walker, along with three other Bears, posted double figures to drop the Demon Deacons from the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in the first round, 75-52.
The length of starters Opal Bird (6’3), Grace Oliver (6’1), Milan Brown (5’8), Aurora Sørbye (5’9), and Mary Carter (6’3) made it challenging for the Bears. Carter, a junior, was the only upperclassman on the floor. Brown and Bird are freshmen, Oliver and Sørbye are just sophomores. If they stay, head coach Megan Gebbia has a talented core.
Cal head coach Charmin Smith made an adjustment to counter the zone and notch her 100th career win. “We settled in in the second quarter and were able to get a convincing win,” said Smith.
Lulu Twidale’s three-pointer broke a 17-17 tie and gave the Bears the lead for good at the 5:58 mark of the second quarter.
The Bears’ lead swelled to 10 four minutes later while the Deacs struggled from the field. Wake struggled in other areas as well, including rebounding and defending in the paint. Cal scored twelve of its 21 points in the paint.
Not much changed in the third as Cal continued to dominate the scoring in the paint. The Bears scored 16 points in the paint and seven from the free throw line to take a commanding 61-33 lead into the final period.
Smith sat three of her starters (Twidale, Mjracle Sheppard, and Gisella Maul) for the entire fourth to seemingly preserve their legs for the next day’s game. Walker, Aliyahna Morris, and the entire bench played out the remaining minutes to clinch the win.
Cal moves on to face seventh-seeded Syracuse.
Tech Stings Seminoles Again
Talayah Walker, Erica Moon, and La’Nya Foster combined for 51 points to spark Georgia Tech to a 72-60 win over Florida State its second over the Seminoles this season.
Florida State scored first and held the lead for about 90 seconds before the wheels on their tournament cart began to wobble. Tech went on a 15-4 run over the next four-plus minutes. Defensive star Brianna Turnage was the only Yellow Jacket without a point early on against her former team. She didn’t need to score as the other four starters shot a combined 61.5% from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
Tech gave up a little ground across the middle two quarters. The shooting from the field cooled way off in the second (30.8%), and the half-court defense allowed the Seminoles space to knock down 3-of-4 triples.
The defense returned in the final quarter. Tech held FSU to 33.3% from the field, including 0-4 from beyond the arc. Avery Treadwell and Sydney Bowles combined for 8 of the Seminoles’ 12 points. Turnage pulled down 5 of her game-high defensive rebounds over the final span. On the offensive end, Tech’s big three continued to pour in buckets. Moon, Walker, and Foster combined for 13 points to lead the Yellow Jackets into a second round matchup against Virginia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets last played the Hokies on the road in Blacksburg, VA where they suffered a 62-51 loss.