Miami uses big rally to beat Oklahoma St. in March Madness

Rallies from 17-point second-half deficit

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.

Miami (20-12) will play top-seeded Indiana on its home court Monday night with a ticket to the Sweet 16 at stake.

Cavinder also had eight rebounds and six assists while Jasmyn Roberts added 12 points and Destiny Harden had 11 points and five rebounds.

Anna Gret Asi led Oklahoma State with 16 points and four 3-pointers including one with 5.3 seconds to go that gave the Cowgirls a shot to win it. Alnatas had 10 points and Taylen Collins had 16 rebounds for Oklahoma State (21-12).

NO. 1 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 (2310), which had won its previous eight games.

NO. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 74, NO. 5 WASHINGTON STATE 63 >>

Maddie Antenucci’s 3-pointer bounced four times before going through the net as part of her gamechanging 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 (2311) home early after a surprising run to win the Pac12 Tournament. Tara Wallack led the Cougars with 16 points.

SEATTLE 3 REGION NO. 2 UCONN 95, NO. 15 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.

Juhasz scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the Hungarian’s 13th double-double this season for the sixth-ranked

Huskies.

Caroline Ducharme added 12 points, helping Connecticut (30-5) to its 26th, 30-win season during Geno Auriemma’s 38 years as coach.

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.

NO. 4 TENNESSEE 95, NO. 13 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.

Jordan Walker added 11 points and Tess Darby had 10 for the Lady Vols (24-11). They will try to advance to a second straight Sweet 16 in the Seattle 3 region.

The first NCAA Tournament appearance ended quickly for Saint Louis (1718). The Billikens snapped the six-game winning streak that helped them win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament after starting the season 6-16.

NO. 3 OHIO STATE 80, NO. 14 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, and the Buckeyes didn’t give up the advantage from there on out. They trailed by as many as 16 in the first half before going on a 12-0 run.