Arizona State's Danielle Orsillo celebrates after hitting a 3-point shot to give her team the lead in the final moments of a second-round women's NCAA Tournament in Duluth, Ga., on Monday.
DULUTH, Ga. – For an instant, Danielle Orsillo thought about not shooting when she came off a double screen with 32 seconds remaining Monday and took a pass from Arizona State teammate Briann January with the score tied and a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 on the line.
Orsillo, after all, had shot 2 for 12 to that point against Florida State, and 12 seconds remained on the shot clock.
But Orsillo was wide open for a 3-pointer from the left side, and she didn’t score 3,340 points in high school without gaining some confidence. She cleanly hit the 3-pointer and the last two of six clinching free throws in the final 20 seconds as No. 6 seed ASU (25-8) beat the No. 3 seed Seminoles 63-58.
ASU, in the Sweet 16 for the third time in the past five years, will play Sunday in a Trenton (N.J.) Region semifinal against the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 2 seed Texas A&M (26-7) and No. 10 seed Minnesota (20-11).
“This is right up there on the biggest shot I ever hit,” Orsillo said. “I was ice cold the whole night. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my injuries, it’s just to keep fighting.”
Sybil Dosty, a Salpointe Catholic High School grad, led ASU with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Monday’s other games
Rutgers 80, Auburn 52: In Piscataway, N.J., Epiphanny Prince scored 27 points as No. 7 seed Rutgers advanced to Oklahoma City to play Purdue in the regional semifinals Sunday with a win over No. 2 seed Auburn.
Purdue 85, North Carolina 70: In Chattanooga, Tenn., Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Brittany Rayburn scored 18 points each to lead the No. 6 seed over the No. 3 seed.
Ohio State 64, Mississippi State 58: In Columbus, Ohio, Jantel Lavender had 20 points and Ohio State scored its final 10 points on free throws. The Buckeyes (29-5) advanced to the regional semifinal to meet Stanford.
Pittsburgh 65, Gonzaga 60: In Seattle, Shavonte Zellous scored nine of her 24 points in the final 4 minutes, and No. 4 seed Pittsburgh beat No. 12 seed Gonzaga.
Stanford 77, San Diego St. 49: In San Diego, freshman Nnemkadi Ogwumike dominated inside with career highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the No. 2 seed Cardinal over the 10th-seed Aztecs.
California 99, Virginia 73: In Los Angeles, Ashley Walker scored 20 of her career-high-tying 32 points in the first half, and No. 4 seed Cal used its strong inside game to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school
Vanderbilt 74, Kansas St. 61: In Albuquerque, N.M., Jennifer Risper scored a career-high 27 points and to lead fourth-seeded Vanderbilt past No. 5 seed Kansas State.