Miami basketball women lose heartbreaker, fall short of Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 continues to be elusive for Miami basketball women’s head coach Katie Meier. The Hurricanes lost a heartbreaker late after a turnover and two Arizona State free throws clinched the 57-55 victory.

An Emese Hof drive that would have tied the game and send it to overtime rolled out at the buzzer. The Miami basketball women had a big rebounding advantage and in the middle two quarters outscoring the Sun Devils 32-20 but could not put Arizona State away in the fourth quarter.

The Sun Devils outscored the Miami basketball women’s team 37-23 in the first and fourth quarters combined. Miami led 43-38 entering the fourth quarter. Both Hof and Beatrice Mompremier failed to produce for Miami offensively.

Mompremier and Hof combined to average over 30 points per game during the regular season. The Hurricanes first-team All-ACC tandem each scored six in Sunday’s loss.

Mompremier made up for her 3-12 shooting performance with 22 rebounds and two blocks. Hof was 2-5 from the floor and had five rebounds in her final game.

The last minute of the game was frantic. A Laura Cornelius layup with 1:28 remaining tied the game for Miami at 55. Miami and Arizona State both had chances to go ahead during the sequence of events from that point on.

Kianna Ibis missed a jumper for Arizona State that would have put them ahead with 1:10 remaining. Mompremier a missed Layup with 43 seconds remaining that would have given Miami the lead. Arizona State called a timeout with 35 seconds remaining in the game.

Robbi Ryan missed a three Point attempt for the Sun Devils with 16 seconds remaining. A Sophia Elenga follow after an offensive rebound missed the mark with 11 seconds remaining.  Mykea Gray got the rebound and Miami called timeout with eight seconds remaining. Endia Banks turned it over on the inbounds pass.

Banks should have called timeout. The Hurricanes had one timeout remaining. Instead, the Sun Devils got a breakout and Ryan got fouled on the layup attempt by Hof with five seconds remaining. Ryan made both free throws to give Arizona State a  57-55 lead.

Hof’s shot just missed as Miami was eliminated at home in the NCAA Tournament second round for the second time in three years. It was a heartbreaking way for Hof’s career to end at home. The Hurricanes seemed destinated to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament this season behind Hof and Mompremier.

It was still one of the most memorable seasons during Katie Meier’s tenure and in program history. The Hurricanes won at number two Louisville and defeated number four Notre Dame at home. Both were the biggest wins in school history at the time they occurred.

Hof and Khalia Prather are the only seniors that Miami has.  Cornelius and Mompremier both have the option of entering the WNBA Draft. Mompremier would likely be a first-round pick. Cornelius is more likely headed for overseas when her collegiate career is over.

Cornelius led Miami with 15 points. Gray had 13. Jamie Ruden came off the bench to lead Arizona State with 10. Three Sun Devils had nine points. The loss capped off a day of heartbreaking losses for Miami at home on Sunday. The Hurricanes baseball team gave up four runs in the ninth inning to lose 6-4 to North Carolina State.

If Mompremier and Cornelis return, the Hurricanes should have another excellent season in 2019-20. Meier has stated that Miami has an excellent recruiting class coming in next season. The Hurricanes 2019 recruiting class is not ranked in ESPNW’s top 20.