Peck, who led the women’s basketball programs at Florida and Purdue, soon joined in: “The threat to any human rights is a threat to all human rights, and at this time, Courtney and I, we’re going to take a pause from our broadcast to show our love and support for our friends, our family and our colleagues.”
The game soon resumed — with Lyle and Peck briefly watching in silence.
ESPN, which had been prepared for the possibility of a demonstration, said in a statement: “Our colleagues have both our respect and our support.”
The popular upset pick of No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast comes through.
Conventional wisdom suggests you should always pick at least one 5-12 upset in your bracket, and many people who had been paying attention picked No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast to get past No. 5 Virginia Tech.
They were correct. The Eagles rode the hot hands of their 3-point shooters to a signature 84-81 win over the Hokies, in spite of a remarkable effort from Virginia Tech junior Elizabeth Kitley, a 6-foot-6 center. She had 42 points, but the performance wasn’t quite enough to counter the onslaught of 3-point shots from F.G.C.U.
Kierstan Bell, the Eagles’ leading scorer and a W.N.B.A. prospect, flaunted her elusiveness as she found a way to get to the basket repeatedly — through tricky spin moves and by getting to the free throw line. She had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals when the game ended, an impressive stat line that still made up just a portion of the Eagles’ daunting offense.
Much of the credit for that offense should go to point guard Tishara Morehouse, who had nine assists in the course of facilitating her teammates’ 3-point shooting. Three Florida Gulf Coast players hit three or more shots from beyond the arc, but someone had to get them the ball at exactly the right time, and that person was Morehouse. She also added 13 points, albeit of the slightly less eye-catching variety.
The clincher came from Karli Seay, who hit her fourth 3-point shot with 27 seconds left in the game.
