FSU women reach Elite 8 by beating Arizona St, 66-65

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Leticia Romero scored a career-high 21 points and Florida State held on to beat Arizona State 66-65 on Friday night in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Adut Bulgak had 15 points and Maegan Conwright added 11 to send the second-seeded Seminoles (32-4) to the Greensboro Regional final - just the second Elite Eight appearance in program history.

Florida State will play top-seeded South Carolina (33-2) Sunday with its first Final Four berth on the line.

Katie Hempen had 22 points for the third-seeded Sun Devils (29-6), who had a chance to win it at the buzzer after Florida State's Emiah Bingley missed the front end of a one-and-one with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Hempen inbounded to Peace Amukamara, who dribbled downcourt but lost control of the ball near the free-throw line. Bulgak snatched it as the horn sounded.

Sophie Brunner finished with 11 points while Promise Amukamara had 10 before fouling out with 2:11 to play for the Sun Devils.

They had 23 turnovers - one shy of a season high - yet hit 18 of 22 free throws - including 11 of their first 12 in the second half while they erased an 11-point deficit.

They pulled within one possession three times in the final 4 minutes - with Romero responding with a big bucket each time.

Hempen's third 3-pointer pulled Arizona State to 64-62 with 1:22 to play, and the Sun Devils had the ball after Conwright missed a layup with about a minute to go.

But Hempen failed to draw iron with a go-ahead 3 with about 40 seconds remaining and Romero knocked down a short jumper with 20.6 seconds left to make it 66-62.

The Sun Devils seemed disoriented on their next trip, running much of the clock before Elisha Davis made it a one-point game with a 3 with 6.5 seconds left.

But the Seminoles got the last defensive stop they needed to sew up their first Elite Eight appearance since 2010.

TIP-INS: Arizona State: Hempen was fouled while shooting 3s three times and was 9 of 9 from the free-throw line in those situations. The last of those tied it at 44-all with 11:45 left.

Florida State: The Seminoles and top overall seed Connecticut are the only teams left in the tournament who have five players averaging double figures.