Brown-Turner's jumper lifts NC State past Miami, 50-48

Feb 21, 2020, 04:56 am

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Jakia Brown-Turner will likely remember her first game-winning shot as a collegian, even if she has no idea what play was called.

The freshman scored scored a season-high-tying 18 points, including a go-ahead, baseline jumper with 2.9 seconds left, to lead 10th-ranked North Carolina State to a 50-48 win over Miami on Thursday night.

"I forgot the play because it was so nerve-wracking," said Brown-Turner, a 6-foot wing from Maryland. "The open three was there, but we didn't need a three. We needed a two. So I just drove it. The pull-up was there, and I took it. That's the first (game-winner) of my life."

NC State (23-3, 12-3 ACC) snapped a two-game losing streak.

"That was a big win," Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said. "But we're still struggling offensively."

Miami (13-13, 5-10 ACC), which led by eight points late in the third quarter, had beaten the Wolfpack seven straight times in Coral Gables.

Destiny Harden led Miami with 15 points. Mykea Gray added 11 points, but Miami fell to 0-7 against Top 25 teams this season.

Miami's Kelsey Marshall hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to tie the score 48-48.

"As soon as she shot it, it looked great," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "I was shocked that she was that open."

Moore said his players were supposed to switch on that play but didn't get out to Marshall in time. But after Brown-Turner's jumper, Miami's Gray missed a rushed perimeter shot at the buzzer.

Brown-Turner wasn't the Wolfpack's only standout. Elissa Cunane, who averages a double-double, had 15 points and seven rebounds. She took a blow to the head in the third quarter and returned after missing several minutes.

The teams were tied at 22 at halftime. Harden, who had just three points in the first half, got hot in the third quarter with 10 points, helping to ignite an 11-0 run. That gave Miami its largest lead of the game to that point at 39-31.

After that, however, Miami went cold, allowing NC State to rally.

BIG PICTURE

NC State: The Wolfpack had been ranked fourth as of last week, but two straight home losses -- to then ninth-rated Louisville and unranked Georgia Tech -- sent the Wolfpack down to 10th.

Miami: The Hurricanes were 9-4 when 6-4 senior forward Beatrice Mompremier, the ACC's preseason player of the year, went down with a foot injury. Mompremier has yet to return, and Miami is 4-9 without her. Mompremier is a projected first-round WNBA draft pick this year.

UP NEXT

NC State returns home to face Duke on Monday night.

Miami hits the road to play Boston College on Sunday.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

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