QU Women's Basketball Stuns No. 4 Miami, 85-78, To Advance To Sweet 16

Monday, March 20

Watsco Center - Coral Gables, FL

9:10 PM

Quinnipiac University

29-6

Miami

24-9

Quinnipiac

Miami

QU Women's Basketball Stuns No. 4 Miami, 85-78, To Advance To Sweet 16

3/20/2017 11:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: QU Sports Information

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CORAL GABLES, Florida – The Quinnipiac women's basketball team's historic run continued on Monday night as the No. 12 seeded Bobcats upset the No. 4 seed Miami, 85-78, in the NCAA Second Round from the Watsco Center. Quinnipiac (29-6) continues its Cinderella story in the Sweet 16 and will face the No. 1 seeded South Carolina in the Stockton region in California on Saturday, Mar. 25 at 1:00 p.m. PT (4:00 p.m. ET).

No scene has been more lit than the @QU_WBB locker room right now #NCAAW #Sweet16 #marchmadness pic.twitter.com/5EDSt7Gy2a
— QU Womens Basketball (@QU_WBB) March 21, 2017

The win makes Quinnipiac the fourth 12^th seed in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to advance the Sweet 16, joining BYU in 2014, Kansas in 2013 and San Francisco in 1996. In addition, Quinnipiac becomes the fourth team in history to defeat a No. 5 and No. 4 seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

Quinnipiac used a balanced offensive attack that featured seven players with eight points or more, headlined by a career high 22-point night from Morgan Manz (Southbury, Connecticut) who converted on 7-of-9 from the floor including a single-game career-best 6-of-8 from three-point range. Manz's six triples tie a single-game program record at Quinnipiac. Aryn McClure (Springfield Gardens, New York) posted 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line while Paula Strautmane (Riga, Latvia) filled the box score with nine points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals. Sarah Shewan (Russell, Ontario) chipped in with 11 points and six boards with two blocks off the bench.

I repeat...lit scenes! #Sweet16 #marchmadness #NCAAW pic.twitter.com/wPystQRTLU
— QU Womens Basketball (@QU_WBB) March 21, 2017

The Bobcats as a team shot 46.7% (28-for-60) from the floor including a staggering 57.7% (15-for-26) from three-point range. The Bobcats' 15 three-pointers were the second most in program history in a single game and the third-most in a NCAA Second Round game in tournament history. Quinnipiac used a 9-of-15 performance from behind the arc in the first half to pull away from Miami before hitting on 6-of-11 down the stretch.

That's how you ball. #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/s8veuzf7jY
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) March 21, 2017

The first quarter featured a back-and-forth battle between the underdog Bobcats and the Hurricanes that saw eight lead changes over the first five-minutes-and-forty-four seconds of the game before Miami jumped out to a four-point lead, 17-13. After Manz knocked down her second consecutive three-pointer, Miami's Jessica Thomas answered to push The U's lead back to four points. After trading possessions, Carly Fabbri's (Stratford, Connecticut) three-pointer with 1:25 to go in the first pulled the Bobcats within a point, 20-19, leading to Jen Fay's game-tying free throw with 1:06 to go. A Shewan three-pointer and a pair of McClure free throws in the closing seconds wrapped up a 6-2 mini-run that gave Quinnipiac a 25-22 lead at the first break.

?? What. A. Night. 12-seed @QU_WBB leaves Coral Gables with more games to play! #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/l9oiNZpEHW
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) March 21, 2017

Quinnipiac then held Miami without a field goal for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter before Laura Cornelius' lay-up cut Quinnipiac's lead to 31-27 with 5:32 to go in the half. Manz immediately answered with her third three-pointer of the half to give Quinnipiac a 34-27 lead. After a three-pointer by Thomas made it 34-30, the Bobcats responded with a 9-0 run featuring three-pointers from Strautmane and Fabbri while Shewan hit one-of-two from the free-throw line and converted on an easy lay-up to give Quinnipiac a 43-30 lead with 1:48 to go in the half. Miami chipped away and pulled within seven, 43-36, heading into the half.

All the #Sweet16 feels. @QU_WBB pic.twitter.com/sXfQNpfVxh
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) March 21, 2017

Miami came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring Quinnipiac, 19-17, in the frame to pull within five points heading into the final quarter with the Bobcats leading 60-55. Down the stretch, the Bobcats pushed their lead to as many as seven points before Miami came roaring back to within a point, 71-70, with 3:22 to play. It remained a one-possession for most of the final quarter with both teams trading buckets, back-and-forth, before Strautmane drove the lane and fed Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut) on the wing who buried a three-pointer to give Quinnipiac a 78-74 lead with 59 seconds to play.

"Is this really happening?"@QU_WBB is going to its first #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/vI2vM9vcTY
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) March 21, 2017

Down the stretch, Quinnipiac ended up converting on 7-of-8 free throws in the final thirty-three seconds to clinch the win. McClure hit the first of a pair of free throws, before missing the second, to give Quinnipiac a 79-74 lead with thirty-three seconds left. On the ensuing possession, UM's Keyona Harris made both free throws after a foul on Manz to pull the Canes within three points, 79-76 with twenty-seven seconds left before McClure redeemed herself with a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats an 81-76 lead with twenty-six ticks left. Quinnipiac then forced a pair of turnovers on the Canes leading to Manz hitting a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats a 83-76 lead with ten-seconds to play. A Miami intentional foul gave Strautmane a pair of free throws to give Quinnipiac a 85-78 lead in the closing seconds.