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On Monday night, a day after No. 1 seed Stanford fell to No. 8. seed Ole Miss, the No. 1 seed Indiana Hoosiers saw their tournament run end with a two-point loss to No. 9 seed Miami. The upset marks the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be played without two of the No. 1 seed teams.
The Rise
The Hoosiers had a historic season leading up to the tournament. Led by head coach Teri Moren, the team won the Big Ten conference title for the first time in 40 years, breaking Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall’s attendance record (17,222) while doing so. They finished the season boasting a record of 28-4, 16-1 in conference play and ranked No. 2 nationally. The Hoosiers earned their first No. 1 seed in the program’s NCAA tournament history.
https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1628240740001144832?s=20
The Fall
Monday’s matchup against Miami was a heartbreaking and unexpected loss for the Hoosiers.
The Hurricanes fought hard from tip-off to the final buzzer. Lola Pendande, Destiny Harden and Jasmyne Roberts were the driving factors in Miami’s victory. Pendande ended the night with 19 points, followed by Harden with 18 and Roberts with 16. Behind the trio, Miami ended the first half leading 41-29.
Led by Grace Berger, the Hoosiers lit a fire to start the third quarter. Berger started the second half with a 3-pointer, followed by a jump shot to dwindle Miami’s lead to seven points. Mackenzie Holmes and Sydney Parrish both continued to dominate the 3rd quarter closing the lead to one point.
The Hoosiers spent the fourth quarter fighting to regain the lead. With four minutes left, the score was tied. After 3:53 of back and forth scoring, the game was tied 68-68 with seven seconds left.
Destiny Harden sealed Miami’s victory with a jump shot with four seconds left on the clock, giving Miami the two point lead and the victory.
CANES CAN ‼️
The game winning shot from Destiny Harden#MarchMadness x @CanesWBB pic.twitter.com/4OtEoO97Bb
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 21, 2023
What’s Next?
The past two days of the NCAA Women’s Tournament has proved exactly why it is called March Madness. There are officially zero perfect brackets left.
The Sweet 16 round will begin in March 24. No. 9 seed Miami will face No. 4 seed Villanova for a spot in the Elite Eight.
