Yderstrom, Wilson lift Miami women past No. 5 Duke

Yderstrom and Wilson each scored 16 points in their final home regular-season games, Krystal Saunders added 15 and Miami gave its NCAA tournament resume a serious boost by upsetting No. 5 Duke 69-65 on Thursday night, the first time in 11 meetings between the programs where the Hurricanes emerged victorious.

"You just pray for moments like this," said Meier, the Miami coach who had never beaten Duke — where she once was a standout player. "You pray for rewards like this for kids who have given you so much. They have totally transformed this program. They've represented Miami in a way that I've dreamt of. All of them took a risk coming here. All of us had not beaten Duke. That's the first time we had. And now's a really good time to do it."

Morgan Stroman added 11 for the Hurricanes (19-9, 10-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), who beat then-No. 6 Penn State by the same 69-65 score at home in November and knew they needed another big win to enhance their NCAA hopes.

They got it, thanks largely to a pair of seniors who came up big in the season's biggest game to date. Wilson and Yderstrom combined to score 22 of their 32 points in the second half, and teamed up for the basket that sealed the win with 20 seconds left. Yderstrom found Wilson with a perfect bounce pass off a pick-and-roll, and an easy layup had the Hurricanes poised for celebration.

Moments later, it was over. Meier thrust her arms in the air, and her team gathered at center court for postgame hugs.

"Miami played a great game," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "They played physical. They outplayed us. They outphysicaled us. They outhustled us. They probably played their best game of the season, I would suspect."

Elizabeth Williams and Haley Peters each scored 17 for the Blue Devils (26-2, 16-1), who already have locked up the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament. Alexis Jones added 13 for Duke, including a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to get her team within 67-65.

But the Blue Devils wouldn't score again.

"Right now, I'm just in awe," Wilson said. "It's like one of the greatest feelings I've ever had."

Which could not be more of a contrast from what happened the last time Miami and Duke got together.