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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Miami was just a few hours faraway from pushing deeper within the girls’s NCAA Match than ever earlier than. One other massive matchup loomed. But coach Katie Meier wanted a while.
“Very first thing I mentioned is, like, give me an hour to be human,” the coach mentioned.
That’s why she adopted this system’s first-ever journey to the Elite Eight by spending time together with her mom and nieces in her resort room afterward. It was an instance of how the Hurricanes are savoring a wild March Insanity journey even whereas decided to maintain profitable — subsequent in opposition to LSU on Sunday to succeed in the Last 4.
The ninth-seeded Hurricanes (22-12) can be part of Arkansas in 1998 because the lowest-ever seed to get there.
“There’s a stability,” however I feel simply being the place our toes are,” Hurricanes guard Hanna Cavinder mentioned. “I imply, clearly now we have lots to rejoice, however we’re not achieved. And I feel all of us perceive that.”
The Greenville 2 Area ultimate presents the primary ticket to Dallas for the nationwide semifinals, and it’s a matchup between groups with vastly totally different postseason histories.
Third-seeded LSU (31-2) is one among eight applications to succeed in not less than 5 Last Fours. Coach Kim Mulkey received three nationwide championships at Baylor and is in her second 12 months with the Tigers, who pushed previous 2-seed Utah on Saturday to succeed in their first Elite Eight since 2008.
“You’d higher pay attention,” Tigers star ahead Angel Reese mentioned. “Kim Mulkey not enjoying. We hearken to her, we respect Coach. She is aware of higher than anyone else.”
Nonetheless, Mulkey has cautioned her workforce is “overachieving” in its fast rise so early in her tenure with 9 new gamers, noting LSU “could be feeding that monster too rapidly” with exterior expectations.
Nonetheless, her gamers “wish to please.”
“They permit me to educate them, and I’ve bought some sturdy personalities on this workforce,” Mulkey mentioned. “I’ve mentioned all of it alongside: I don’t care, simply convey me a competitor. I can deal with a powerful character. … In the event that they love basketball they usually’re a competitor, I can coach them.”
For Miami, the rise is sudden: Its solely earlier Candy 16 got here in 1992.
The Hurricanes first rallied from 17 all the way down to beat Oklahoma State. Then they received at 1-seed Indiana on a late shot by Future Harden. They usually held on late in opposition to Villanova regardless of blowing a 21-point lead.
“Each sport will get larger,” Harden mentioned. “And we anticipate that. … I feel to be one of the best, you’ve bought to beat one of the best.”
ANOTHER ALL-AMERICAN
Reese would be the third straight Related Press first-team All-American to face Miami on this event. Reese ranks among the many nationwide leaders in scoring (23.5, fifth), rebounding (15.6, second) and double-doubles (31, first).
The Hurricanes have overwhelmed Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, the nationwide scoring chief who had 31 factors and 13 rebounds Saturday.
Reese had 17 factors and 12 rebounds in opposition to Utah.
TOUGH CLUB TO CRACK
Whereas eight groups seeded fifth or decrease have reached a Last 4, solely two — 5-seed Louisville in 2013 and 7-seed Washington in 2016 — have come prior to now 17 tournaments. Prime seeds made up 14 of 20 groups within the final 5 Last Fours, 5 had been 2-seeds and one was a 3.
Miami might be the primary to get there with greater than 10 losses.
CAMP MIAMI
The Hurricanes entered the NCAAs having misplaced three of 5, together with a blowout loss to eventual No. 1 NCAA seed Virginia Tech within the Atlantic Coast Convention Match.
Meier mentioned “Camp Miami” modified that, referencing aggressive back-to-basics exercises masking fundamentals and conditioning.
“We had been going at one another. Nevertheless it was enjoyable,” mentioned guard Jasmyne Roberts, who had a career-best 26 factors in opposition to Villanova. “All of us bought our love again for the sport a little bit bit as a result of we had been type of drained.”
ROOTING INTEREST
Among the many questions main into Sunday’s regional ultimate: Who’s rapper Lil Wayne rooting for?
The rapper FaceTimed with twins Hanna and Haley Cavinder to congratulate Miami after the Villanova win, with gamers within the locker room shrieking and gathering across the telephone. The New Orleans native additionally tweeted a shoutout to Reese after LSU’s win.
“I feel he likes girls’s basketball and that’s a win for girls’s basketball,” Haley Cavinder mentioned. “Hopefully he involves the sport if he likes Angel Reese and our workforce.”
MULKEY’S THREADS
Mulkey generated a buzz together with her her flamboyant search for the Utah win: a multi-colored patterned jacket that had brilliant pink feathers and frills operating the size of each sleeves.
Mulkey mentioned afterward she has a stylist who picks out her look.
“We all know she’s coming with one thing spicy,” Reese mentioned, including: “It’s a shock to her as nicely.”
And since Mulkey proudly proclaimed herself as nothing about social media, freshman guard Flau’jae Johnson later mentioned: “They’re going to pull her on Twitter and she or he ain’t going to know.”
As for Meier?
“I don’t know what Kim goes to put on,” she mentioned, “however I’m going to put on overalls.”
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Observe Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP March Insanity protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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