“I couldn’t believe it,” said Miami coach Katie Meier. “I won’t act cool. This is great.”
Villanova made it to the round of 16, beating lower-seeded opponents by an average of 18 points. The Wildcats appear to be building to run after their star, Maddy Siegrist, the top scorer in Division I.
But from the start of Friday’s match, it was clear that this match would be much different from Villanova’s previous matches.
Miami’s defense stifled Villanova’s tackles, chasing them as soon as they had the ball. Miami’s pace and physicality made up for the height disadvantage and forced lunges and turns, confusing Villanova’s attack. By the time Villanova seemed to have found Miami’s defence in the second half, it was already too late.
But Siegrist, who scored a top 31 in the game, led a furious rally in the third and fourth quarters as Miami tightened its grip, seemingly fearful of an escalation. However, the storms were still closing in even though they had taken the lead.
Siegrist, who could leave college early to announce her participation in the WNBA draft, tearfully said after the game that her future was uncertain.
“I have to talk to my parents and stuff,” Siegrist said. “But I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to be here. Like so many good people, and it’s really about people, let’s take the basketball part out of there, the memories and the people that I will cherish forever.”
Miami has faced a much tougher road to the round of 16 than Villanova, with close matches and a win over Indiana, the No. 1 seed, at home.
