IOWA CITY, Iowa — Washington was looking for one more shot to fall, one more rebound to fall its way.
Neither happened and the sixth-seeded Huskies are headed home after an 86-80 first-round loss to No. 11 Miami on Friday, a tough ending to their first NCAA tournament appearance in eight years.
Five players scoring in double figures couldn’t overcome Adrienne Motley’s 30 points and Miami’s quickness.
“Their players did exactly what their players have been doing all year long,” Washington coach Mike Neighbors said. “They really played a good game. We were just standing back there in the media room thinking that was one of the better games we played. They got us at our best and they beat us.”
It just wasn’t quite the shooting game the Huskies (23-10) needed. Their best two players, sophomore Kelsey Plum and senior Jazmine Davis, shot a combined 10-for-30, Plum finishing with 17 points and Davis with 16, plus eight assists.
Plum suffered through a 1-for-7 opening half, and while she hit some big shots in the second half, Miami always seemed to have an answer.
“Our coach always says you never know what play is going to be the determining factor,” said Washington’s Talia Walton, who scored 17 points. “A lot of those shots in the first half were misses that we normally make, the whole team. We fought really hard, but it would have been nice at the end to have a couple of those shots go down.”
Part of Miami’s answer was the defense of Michelle Woods, who kept the pressure on Plum throughout the game. Plum, who came in averaging 22.8 points, went 5-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range.
“The defensive effort on Kelsey Plum was as fine an effort as you’re going to watch,” Miami coach Katie Meier said.
Jessica Thomas had 19 points and Woods added 17 for the Hurricanes (20-12), who pulled off the upset in part by shooting 7 of 12 from 3-point range.
Motley hit a jumper in the lane to give Miami a 73-71 lead, and four free throws put the Hurricanes up six with a minute left.
Miami and Washington figured to be one of the more intriguing matchups of the first round because each team plays an up tempo style directed by talented backcourts. The Hurricanes and Huskies got up and down the floor all afternoon — and committed just 10 turnovers between them.
“Anybody who says women’s basketball is not entertaining to watch, they didn’t watch that game,” Neighbors said.
Miami certainly was comfortable with that pace. The Hurricanes caught fire late in the first half, draining five of their first eight 3s for a 41-33 lead. The Huskies looked lost on offense at times, missing 12 of their last 13 shots before halftime.
“I would have preferred a team that wasn’t used to playing at the pace we were,” Neighbors said. “But I’m OK with what we got. Ninety-nine times out of 100, a lot of those shots go down.”
Motley then opened the second half with a 3. But Plum finally snapped out an extended slump with a 3 and a wide-open layup that pulled the Huskies within 46-42.
Miami had the lead back up to 10 within minutes, but Washington rallied with 11-0 run.
The Hurricanes were the ones who made the plays down the stretch, though. Erykah Davenport’s rebound off a missed free throw allowed Motley to hit two more from the line [—] a cushion Miami would lean on in the closing 60 seconds.
“She gets that rebound and it changes the complexion of the game,” Neighbors said. “That was a huge play for them. It turned the momentum. It took some of the fire out of us. You could see it in our kid’s eyes when they came out.”
Davis, Washington’s career scoring leader, finished with 2,277 points.
“I’m really proud of how we played, and I’m just glad that I had the opportunity to play with such great women on this team,” Davis said. “It made me a better person on and off the court, and those are the moments and memories that I’ll cherish and take on with me.”
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