’Canes rally back from 17-point deficit to top Oklahoma State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — 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 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Jasmyn Roberts added 12 points and Destiny Harden had 11 points and 5 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).
It was a wild second half.
The Cowgirls appeared to be in complete control when Lior Garzon banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the half with a 37-20 lead.
But Miami scored the first 11 points of the third quarter and opened the fourth with 7 straight to take a 47-44 with 8:07 to play. Miami extended the lead to 53-46 but couldn’t quite close it out.
Oklahoma State used a 10-2 run to retake a 56-55 lead with 3:22 to go, but Cavinder and Harden scored on layups and Ja’le Williams hit a short shot to make it 61-56 with 62 seconds left, setting up the frantic final seconds.
Big picture
Miami: The Hurricanes showed a lot of moxie by coming back. The question is whether they’ll have enough energy to make life difficult against Indiana on Monday.