Seventh-seeded Miami barreled through the opening rounds of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament in Greensboro like a storm. It seemed fitting that their nickname is the Hurricanes.
Katie Meier's team beat Duke with ease, then stunned nationally-ranked Louisville on a buzzer-beater by Destiny Harden, and then followed that up by taking down Notre Dame in the semifinals. Miami's reward for a memorable and remarkable run to their first-ever ACC Championship appearance? A match-up with top-seeded N.C. State.
The Wolfpack — entering the tournament ranked third in the AP Top 25 Poll — topped Florida State and a wounded Virginia Tech team comfortably in the earlier rounds. Against Miami, N.C. State weathered a slow start as the Canes jumped out to a 12-9 lead, but then the Wolfpack punched back and ran away with the game.
For the third straight year, Wes Moore's N.C. State team won the ACC Tournament, with a 60-47 win over Miami on Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum. For the second consecutive season, Wolfpack center Elissa Cunane was named the tournament's MVP.
"These young ladies have been unbelievable. I always said when I got to this level, I wanted to win with high-character individuals, and it's just been such a great journey," Moore said. "It's just been an amazing ride."
Cunane finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds, a block and an assist — despite missing portions of the third and fourth quarters while being evaluated for a leg injury.
"I just took a bad fall, but I'm good and I'll be back out there," Cunane said. "I trusted my team to be able to handle the game, but ... I was pretty happy to be out there for the last couple minutes."
By winning three straight tournament crowns, N.C. State joins an exclusive ACC group of teams that have completed a three-peat. The others include Notre Dame (2014-2017), North Carolina (2005-2008), Duke (2000-2004) and former ACC member Maryland (1981-1983).
Below is a collection of photos from five action-packed days at the tournament in Greensboro:
Mitchell Northam is a Digital Producer for WUNC. His past work has been featured at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, SB Nation, the Orlando Sentinel and the Associated Press. He is a graduate of Salisbury University and is also a voter in the AP Top 25 poll for women's college basketball.