CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Quinnipiac Coach Tricia Fabbri walked across the court after the final buzzer, her arms in the air as she looked toward the Bobcats' fan base.
"Welcome to March Madness," Fabbri said after her team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Jennifer Fay scored 20 points and 12th-seeded Quinnipiac held on in a frantic final minute to upset fifth-seeded Marquette 68-65 on Saturday in a first-round game. The Bobcats (28-6) led by 19 points midway through the third quarter, saw the lead cut to two late but prevailed when Natisha Hiedeman's three-pointer for Marquette rimmed out as time expired.
"I think we really flew unjustly into the NCAA Tournament," Fabbri said. "The only way that was going to change was a win here today. And we took care of business."
Paula Strautmane scored seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Bobcats, who never trailed. Strautmane made two free throws with 17.6 seconds left to give Quinnipiac a 67-63 lead, then added another for a three-point edge with 2.8 seconds left.
The last shot was drawn up for Heideman, who got a good look from the left wing.
"When I shot it, it looked good," Heideman said. "It was halfway down. Just wasn't supposed to go in, I guess."
Erika Davenport scored a game-high 21 points for Marquette (25-8).
MIAMI 62,
FLORIDA GULF COAST 60
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Keyona Hayes scored 16 points, including the go-ahead basket inside with 1.5 seconds remaining, and fourth-seeded Miami rallied to beat 13th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast.
Hayes added 10 rebounds for the Hurricanes (24-8), who wasted a 13-point lead and found themselves trailing twice in the final two minutes before rallying.
Taylor Gradinjan's three-pointer for FGCU with 8.6 seconds left tied the game at 60. Miami advanced the ball out of a timeout, and the ball went to Hayes, who bulled her way in and scored on a post-up.
FGCU (26-9) set up a play and threw an inbound pass toward the basket, and Miami's Keyanna Harris knocked the ball away as time expired. The Eagles argued there was contact, but no foul was called and Miami advanced.
LEXINGTON, KY., REGIONAL
Stanford survives
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Alanna Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Karlie Samuelson hit five three-pointers and finished with 17 points, and No. 2 seed Stanford survived a spirited upset bid to beat No. 15 seed New Mexico State 72-64.
Playing nearly 1,800 miles from home due to a scheduling conflict at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal (29-5) looked lost most of the afternoon, trailing the Aggies (24-7) by as many as nine early on.
Smith finally gave them their first lead midway through the third quarter, and Brittany McPhee gave Stanford the lead for good when she began pouring in baskets midway through the fourth.
Also Saturday at the Lexington Regional in Manhattan, Kan., Breanna Lewis had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kindred Wesemann added 16 points and seventh-seeded Kansas State beat No. 10 seed Drake 67-54. The Wildcats (23-10) took the lead in the game's opening minutes and never relinquished it, even though the Bulldogs (28-5) never made things easy. Lizzy Wendell scored 17 for Drake. Becca Hittner added 13 points and Sammie Bachrodt had 10.
Sports on 03/19/2017