Haley Cavinder scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and made what proved to be the decisive free throw with 8.9 seconds left to pull off a 17-point second half rally Saturday that gave ninth-seeded Miami a 62-61 victory over eighth-seeded Oklahoma State.
The comeback was tied for the fifth-largest comeback in tourney history. But it wasn’t over until Naomie Alnatas’ 10-footer rolled off the rim at the buzzer following a 5-second call on the Hurricanes.
INDIANA 77,
TENNESSEE TECH 47
Sydney Parrish scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead Indiana past Tennessee Tech.
All-American center Mackenzie Holmes cheered on her Indiana teammates from the bench while resting a sore knee. Grace Berger had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks and Lilly Meister added seven points and three blocks in her first career start.
Maaliya Owens had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Tennessee Tech (23-10), which had won its previous eight games.
FLORIDA GULF COAST 74, WASHINGTON STATE 63
Maddie Antenucci’s 3-pointer bounced four times before going through the net as part of her game-changing spree from beyond the arc that sent Florida Gulf Coast into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Washington State.
Sha Carter scored 24 points and Tishara Moorehouse had 16 for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament champion Golden Eagles (33-3).
The Eagles sent the Shania Twain karaoke club out of Washington State (23-11) home early after a surprising run to win the Pac-12 Tournament. Tara Wallack led the Cougars with 16 points.
VILLANOVA 76,
CLEVELAND STATE 59
Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-American had 35 points to lead Villanova into the NCAA Tournament’s second round with a win over Cleveland State.
Villanova’s 29 wins this season tie the 1981-82 team for most in program history.
Destiny Leo scored 25 points for the Horizon League Tournament champion Vikings.
UCONN 95, VERMONT 52
Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points, Dorka Juhasz added a double-double and UConn routed Vermont, giving the Huskies a 29th straight win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Catherine Gilwee scored 14 points, while Emma Utterback and Maria Myklebust each had 13 for Vermont (25-7), which had its 17-game winning streak snapped.
BAYLOR 78, ALABAMA 74
Ja’Mee Asberry scored 26 points, including three key foul shots in the final minute, and Baylor overcame an early 18-point deficit to beat Alabama.
Sarah Andrews and Caitlin Bickle each added 14 for the Bears (20-12), whose rally tied for the third biggest comeback in tournament history. Baylor closed the game on a 7-0 run, all from the foul line.
Brittany Davis tied a career high with 33 points for Alabama (20-11).
TENNESSEE 95,
SAINT LOUIS 50
Jordan Horston scored 21 points and Rickea Jackson added 18 as Tennessee Lady remained perfect when opening the NCAA Tournament on their home court, routing Saint Louis.
Brooke Flowers led Saint Louis with 17 points, and Kyla McMakin, who followed coach Rebecca Tillett from Longwood as a transfer, added 11. Camree Clegg added 12 off the bench.
TOLEDO 80, IOWA STATE 73
Quinesha Lockett scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Toledo knocked off Iowa State.
The Rockets (29-4) matched the program record for most wins for a second straight season by winning a record 17th straight game, topping the 16-game streak of 2000-01.
Joens led Iowa State with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
OHIO STATE 80,
JAMES MADISON 66
Cotie McMahon scored 18 points to help Ohio State pull away for a win over James Madison.
McMahon made her team’s first 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the third quarter to give Ohio State (26-7) a 44-43 lead.
James Madison (26-8) led 26-14 and was making 50% of its shots at the end of the first quarter. The Dukes shot 37.9% in the second half and turned it over 21 times, their most in 10 games.
Kiki Jefferson led the Dukes with 17 points and Jamia Hazell added 10.
NORTH CAROLINA 61, ST. JOHN’S 59
Deja Kelly had a go-ahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and North Carolina hung on for a win over St. John’s.
The Tar Heels faced their first deficit of the game when Danielle Patterson sank a 3-pointer with 6:39 left to play.
She missed the first two free throws and then inexplicably made third one ending any chance the Red Storm had to tie the game.
No. 5 LOUSIVLLE 83,
No. 12 DRAKE 81
Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points over the final five minutes, including five in a row in the final 16 seconds, and Louisville held off Drake’s frantic March Madness upset bid.
Van Lith’s three-point play off a layup out of timeout put Louisville up by four before Drake answered with a 3-pointer by Sarah Beth Gueldner. Van Lith then made two more free throws to all but seal it.
Katie Dinnebier scored 20 points for Drake (22-10), which confused Louisville’s defense early with a series of backdoor cuts that had the Bulldogs shooting layup after layup. Anna Miller scored 17 for Drake.