UM women pull off another upset, beat No. 3 seed Notre Dame to reach first ACC final

Saying they are “sick of almost” the seventh-seeded University of Miami women’s basketball team continued its improbable run through the ACC tournament, reaching its first championship game in program history after knocking off No. 3 seed Notre Dame 57-54 on Saturday in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The Hurricanes had eliminated No. 2 seed Louisville a night earlier.

Both games went down the wire, and though the finish against Notre Dame was not quite as dramatic as Destiny Harden’s 15-0 solo run and buzzer-beater against the Cardinals, the win was equally sweet.

Miami, which was 0-3 in semifinals before Saturday, faces top seed and third-ranked North Carolina State, the two-time defending champions, in the title game at noon on Sunday (ESPN). Miami coach Katie Meier will be going for her 400th win. The Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams over the past few weeks with eight wins in nine games.

The players doused Meier with water when she got to the locker room. She missed the Saturday wedding of her niece, Abby, who is like her daughter, and she got emotional after the game. She told the team that while she regretted missing the wedding, she was happy to be with her other family and that she would have been really mad if she had missed the wedding and they lost.

“We came into this tournament being sick of the almost,” Meier said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about. Six inches and they hit a three in your face. You take that away and win the game. We’ve given up against offensive rebound threes against teams when we could have won the game by grabbing the ball. There was not going to be an almost (Saturday). We were going to win.”

Miami has had highly talented teams in the ACC tournament, but this scrappy group has gotten the farthest.

“We’ve had teams that were a top 4 seed before, we’ve been in positions that were a lot more favorable than this, we’ve had some talented teams that could have just won two games and gotten to the finals and we didn’t and this team is just slugging through the bracket,” Meier said. “We’re not spoiled, we’re just tough as nails.

“If you’re a Miami Hurricanes fan, we embody what the U is all about. We’re going to fight. We’re going to show up. We’re not going to be an easy out for anybody. We have deep, deep roots and a storm isn’t going to blow us over.”

Kelsey Marshall scored 18 points and was clutch in the closing minutes. She made a 3-pointer and a free throw in a 6-0 late run that started with Karla Erjavec’s driving layup, and the Canes led 52-51 with 2:35 remaining.

After Marshall’s three-pointer with 1:55 to go, Notre Dame turned the ball over and Marshall made a free throw. Dara Mabrey hit a three for the Irish with 36 seconds left to close to 56-54. Then the Irish had to foul three times, UM’s Mykea Gray made a free throw, and Mabrey missed her final three-point attempt with four seconds to go.

The ball bounced off the rim and into the hands of Harden, who wound up with the ball at the buzzer for the second night in a row.

Karla Erjavec scored 10 points for UM (20-11). Harden, who scored 27 points against Louisville, was held to six points but led Miami with seven rebounds.

Maddy Westbeld scored 14 points for the Irish (22-7) and Maya Dodson and Sonia Citron added 10 each.

“Hats off to Miami, that was incredible their upset Friday and they came out ready,” said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey. “I have ton of respect for Katie Meier. I love her, think she’s amazing, and her coaching staff. They’re playing with a ton of confidence, with nothing to lose. They’re the underdog and peaking at the right time.”