Quinnipiac Bobcats at Miami Hurricanes

Long shots: Quinnipiac beats Miami 85-78 for Sweet 16 berth

And the Sweet 16 is Quinnipiac's reward.

Morgan Manz scored 22 points and made six 3-pointers, Aryn McClure added 15 and 12th-seeded Quinnipiac stunned fourth-seeded Miami 85-78 in a second-round NCAA Tournament game Monday night. Quinnipiac (29-6) next heads to Stockton, California and plays top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday, now just two games from the Final Four.

"Just a great game," Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said. "Great game, I'm sure, to watch."

"That was just a great performance by Quinnipiac," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "I mean, just phenomenal. ... I don't think we did a whole heck of a lot horribly. They just were really special tonight."

"When that buzzer went off, I really didn't see this conversation I'm having with you all right now happening," said Thomas, who played her final game in a Miami uniform.

Quinnipiac is one of two double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16. Oregon, the No. 10 seed in the Bridgeport Region, is the other. But a Pac-12 team defying odds to get there is one thing.

A team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doing it, that's quite different.

"Grit," McClure said. "That's pretty much it."

"I just did what my coaches have been asking me to do for the last four years," Manz said. "That was to let it fly, because we had nothing to lose."

"Every game we win, we build more confidence," Martucci said. "It's kind of hard not to."

Fabbri and Meier got to know each other last summer in Europe, and when it was over Meier told her in the handshake line to go celebrate.

"What a moment for them," Meier said.

BIG PICTURE

Quinnipiac: Manz hadn't made more than three 3-pointers in a game this season, and had six in the biggest game in school history. ... The Bobcats are the fourth No. 12 seed to make the Sweet 16 in the women's tourney. Those who did: San Francisco (1996), Kansas (2013) and BYU (2014). Fellow MAAC member Marist (2007) is one of three schools to get there as a No. 13 seed.

Miami: The Hurricanes were ousted by a No. 12 seed for the second consecutive season. South Dakota State beat Miami in a 5-12 game in last year's first round. ... Miami's bench was outscored 41-8 by Quinnipiac's reserves.

HECTIC POSSESSION

UNUSUAL START

In the first 18 minutes, the teams combined to shoot 70 percent (14 for 20) from 3-point range, and just 23 percent (8 for 35) from 2-point range.

UP NEXT

Quinnipiac meets top-seeded South Carolina in the Sweet 16 on Saturday in Stockton, California.

How can I watch Bobcats vs. Hurricanes?

• TV Channel: Bobcats vs Hurricanes 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Location: Coral Gables, FL
Attendance: 1,972 | Capacity: