Jasmyne Roberts converted a three-point play with 38 seconds remaining to put Miami ahead and the Hurricanes pulled out a 70-65 victory against Villanova on Friday afternoon in the Greenville Region 2 semifinal at Greenville, S.C.
Haley Cavinder made one free throw at the 24-second mark to extend the lead after the Hurricanes squandered a 21-point lead. Roberts finished with 26 points, including two foul shots with 11 seconds left.
Destiny Harden added 15 points for Miami (22-12), which was coming off Monday’s road win at top-seeded Indiana and next meets the LSU-Utah winner in Sunday’s regional final.
An 11-0 run late in the second quarter helped boost the ninth-seeded Hurricanes, who were playing a Sweet 16 game for the first time since 1992. The led by 17 points in the first half and held a 46-33 halftime lead. Miami scored the first eight points of the second half in 41 seconds.
Maddy Siegrist poured in 31 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for Villanova. She was 14-for-15 on free throws. Christina Dalce had 13 points for the Wildcats.
Siegrist had 15 of fourth-seeded Villanova’s first 29 points. The Wildcats (30-7) were sparked by a 13-0 burst to close within 57-51 as Miami didn’t score in the last five minutes of the third quarter. Villanova went ahead 60-59 on two Siegrist free throws with 5:31 to play.
–Field Level Media