No. 9 Miami pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in women’s NCAA Tournament history with a 62-61 victory over No. 8 Oklahoma State in the Greenville 2 field on Saturday as the Cowgirls missed the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Oklahoma State fell behind by five points with less than a minute remaining and had a chance to win with five seconds to go after a five-yard rushing call against Miami as the Hurricanes attempted to inbound the ball. Oklahoma State’s Naomi Alnatas drove to the lane as time expired but her shot off the glass bounced off the rim.
After trailing 37–20 at halftime, Miami outscored Oklahoma State by 13 points in the third quarter. The Hurricanes scored 20 points in the third quarter and took a 44–40 lead, holding Oklahoma State to seven before the start of the fourth. Miami then took the lead on Destiny Harden’s jumper with just over nine minutes remaining and never retook it the rest of the way.
Miami overcame a 17-point deficit to mount the fifth-largest comeback in NCAA Women’s Tournament history. Oklahoma State controlled the first half but cooled off in the second half. The Cowgirls shot less than 40% from the field and were just 14-of-35 from inside the 3-point line.
Still, they had a chance to win the game when Anna Grete Assi banked in a corner with five seconds to go to cut Miami’s lead to one. After the timeout, Miami had the ball at midcourt and didn’t get much leeway with a five-second call. The official on the sideline blew his whistle to signal that the play was ready before the ball would have been in Miami’s hands for inbounds.
The last two minutes of the game were also very contested. Officials went to the sidelines for replay review at least five times.
Haley Cavinder led Miami with 16 points, and her free throw with eight seconds left to give Miami a four-point lead ended the margin of victory. The Hurricanes will play Indiana on Monday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament while OSU will finish the season at 21-12.