Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder stats: How did the twins perform against Stetson in season opener?
Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder made their official return to the Coral Gables on Monday. The twins led the Miami Hurricanes to a 78-53 win in the season opener against Stetson Hatters.
With both sisters starting for Miami, Haley Cavinder finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and one assist. She made 5-of-12 shots from the floor. Hanna Cavinder scored nine points, one rebound, five assists and two steals while shooting 3-of-8 from the floor.
After leading the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight during their senior season, Hanna and Haley Cavinder took the year off to focus on their business ventures and prepared for a potential WWE debut. However, the love for the game persisted and Haley was the first to announce her return and entered the transfer portal in November 2023.
“I missed it,” Cavinder said about her decision to return (via For The Win). “I think that’s inevitable to always miss your sport when you walk away from it. But having the what-if – like, what if I took my fifth year?
"I need to take my fifth year to know that I did it. I just missed it a ton. I’m such a competitive person, so just being able to have that feeling again is something I’m looking forward to.”
After Haley chose to play her final season with the TCU Horned Frogs, she began training. This in turn inspired Hanna Cavinder to also make a college comeback.
“When I made the decision to stop playing, I was excited to get more involved in the businesses and brands we are part of,” Hanna told The New York Post. “But watching Haley train and get ready for the season made me realize that I wasn’t ready to stop playing."
Hanna and Haley Cavinder excited to do their part in the expansion of women's sports in Miami
With the rise in attention to women's basketball in the past few years, Hanna and Haley Cavinder play a very important role in drawing their large following to Coral Gables.
“Women’s basketball is exploding, it’s going to help women’s sports in general. Just being able to do our part, getting fans out to our games. We’re promoting it as much as possible,” Haley said (via The Miami Herald).
At the same time, the guards are also perfect role models for their teammates who hope to make it big in the sports. Miami coach Tricia Cullop spoke highly of the effect the Cavinder twins bring to the Hurricanes roster.
“They both are so talented, have great work ethic, they have a great history here. I’m thrilled to have both of them back," Cullop said. "They can show the rest of the players, 'This is how we do it.’ They are two of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. They’re in the gym at 6 or 6:30 in the morning and they’re leaders on the court.”
With the success of their first game, the Cavinder twins will hope to build on it as they take on Jacksonville on Nov. 12.
Also read: PIC: Georgia QB Carson Beck’s GF Hanna Cavinder twins with sister Haley in chic Miami outfits during Florida showdown