Miami women hold on to beat Villanova for 1st trip to Elite 8

Jasmyne Roberts scored a career-high 26 points — including a stickback for the go-ahead, three-point play with 38.8 seconds left — to help Miami overcome blowing a 21-point lead and beat Villanova 70-65 on Friday for its first trip to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament.

The ninth-seeded Hurricanes (22-12) hung on down the stretch after Villanova made its push back behind the latest big-scoring effort from All-American Maddy Siegrist.

When it was over, longtime coach Katie Meier turned and started jumping to hug her staff, while players and cheerleaders sprinted to midcourt to celebrate. Meier soon made her way to the sideline near a vocal set of Hurricanes fans and gave two thumbs-up amid the cheering, while Roberts stayed locked in a firm and emotional embrace with teammate Ja'Leah Williams.

Canada's Lashae Dwyer finished with six points, three rebounds and an assist for the Hurricanes.

Miami had reached the Sweet 16 only once before, in 1992. Now the Hurricanes will play Sunday for the Greenville Region 2 title against third-seeded LSU.

Siegrist, the nation's scoring leader, had 31 points, 13 rebounds and five steals for fourth-seeded Villanova (30-7). It marked her third 30-point outing in as many tournament games, pushing her to the No. 2 single-season scoring total in Division I history.

Moments later, after a Miami free throw, Siegrist missed wildly from the other side of the lane as Villanova had a chance to extend the game. Instead, Miami secured the rebound, and Roberts hit the clinching free throws with 11.1 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.

Consider it the latest entry in a wild NCAA novel for the Hurricanes. They first rallied from 17 down to beat Oklahoma State. Then Harden hit the late shot to win at 1-seed Indiana and get them back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 31 years.

Now they have a chance to play for — and celebrate — a whole lot more.

Morris lifts LSU over Utah

Alexis Morris hit two foul shots with 10 seconds to play as No. 3 seed LSU reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008, beating second-seeded Utah 66-63 on Friday night.

Morris added two more foul shots for a three-point lead. The Utes had a final chance, but Young's three-point try from the left corner hit the side of the backboard as time expired.

LaDazDazhia Williams scored a season-high 24 points and Angel Reese had her 31st double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (31-2). Morris finished with 15 points.

Coach Kim Mulkey's team will face ninth-seeded Miami on Sunday night for a spot in the Final Four.

Clark leads Iowa past Colorado

Caitlin Clark scored 31 points and No. 2 seed Iowa shook disappointments the past two seasons and reached the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament with an 87-77 win over Colorado in the Seattle 4 Regional semifinals on Friday night.

After two straight tournaments where Clark's season ended in the round of 16 and the round of 32, the Hawkeyes will play for a chance at just the second Final Four berth in school history on Sunday.

Clark was the catalyst for Iowa's big second half, and the first-team All-American finished 11 of 22 shooting with four three-pointers and eight assists. It was her 11th game this season scoring at least 30 points.

Monika Czinano added 15 points, including a key basket in the paint with 1:10 remaining. Kate Martin scored 16 and McKenna Warnock scored 10. Iowa shot 54 per cent for the game and 59 per cent in the second half.

Iowa (29-6) will face No. 5 seed Louisville in the regional final on Sunday.

Louisville tops Ole Miss

Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points to help fifth-seeded Louisville beat No. 8 seed Mississippi 72-62 on Friday night and advance to the final of the Seattle 4 Region.

Canada's Merissah Russell contributed eight points, four rebounds and an assist for Louisville.

It's the fifth consecutive year that the Cardinals (26-11) reached at least the Elite Eight. Expectations were high for the Cardinals under coach Jeff Walz to start the season as the team was ranked seventh in The Associated Press' preseason Top 25 poll. With many new players, the Cardinals lost four out of six games in late November and early December.

Walz wasn't concerned. The team started to get more comfortable on the court and made a run to the finals of the ACC Tournament, where they lost to Virginia Tech.

On Friday, the Cardinals were met with a stiff challenge from upstart Mississippi.

The Rebels (25-9) hadn't advanced this far since 2007, when the team made its fifth Elite Eight in program history. They were looking to become only the second No. 8 seed to reach a regional final, joining Southwest Missouri State, which did it in 1992.

Marquesha Davis and Taylor each scored 19 points to lead Ole Miss.