Louisville women's basketball stumbles late in 62-60 loss to Purdue -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

HINES-ALLEN WITH 16 IN PAINFUL LOSS

Ah...the complexities of a young team.

Louisville put on perhaps their best defensive effort of the young season but faltered late on the offensive front to take their third loss of the 2015-16 season to 5-0 Purdue 62-60 in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, FL.

Louisville led for 35 minutes of the contest and after a three by Briahanna Jackson with 6:45 left in the final period (or quarter...WorldWide and I differ on what to call these 10 minutes stretches) and a second technical on Purdue's bench that led to two Mariya Moore free-throws...the Cards had a 53-47 lead with less than six minutes to play.

That lead was still five at 56-51 when Sam Fuehring hit two free throw with 3:01 to play but the Cards went into an offensive funk after that and the defense that had gotten them there suddenly went dormant.

Purdue took a 59-58 lead with 30 seconds to play when Bridget Perry drove the lane to get an uncontested layup. Louisville had missed three out of their four previous shots and Walz got a timeout. Hines-Allen hit inside to put the Cards back up 60-59 with 25 seconds to go...but a questionable foul by Hines-Allen put Perry on the line and she calmly sank both charity attempts with 21 seconds remaining.

The Cards had a chance to retake the lead but Jackson drove into a crowd of Boilermakers and lost control of the ball. Louisville quickly fouled to send Louisville Manual's April Wilson to the line and she sank 1 of 2 to set the score at 62-60 with 10 ticks left on the clock. A final attempt to tie the contest resulted in Arica Carter driving into the lane and turning the ball over to Wilson as the game clock expired.

The Cards used an early 9-0 run to take the lead in the first period and led 11-9 after the first ten...Erin DeGrate getting a layup inside as the clock ran down. The defense was cooking early...forcing Purdue into eight turnovers.

Louisville led 24-20 with eight seconds left before halftime when Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp went ballistic after a Purdue foul on Cortnee Walton in the paint. Versyp was whistled for a technical foul and the Cards hit four free-throws in a row...two by Moore and two by Walton to take a 28-20 lead into the locker room for the intermission. The Cards were shutting down Wilson and looking pretty good...except for the shooting.

A Taja Cole three gave the Cards a 33-26 lead three minutes into third period action but a 6-0 Boilermaker run cut it to 33-32 with 4:26 left before Walton connected from two at the stripe. A Jackson three pushed the Cards back out to a 42-36 advantage and UofL held a 42-38 edge after thirty minutes. 

Then, the fateful fourth quarter...

Louisville (1-3) has lost their three contests by a total of eight points. In this latest loss...the Cards simply failed on the execution end in their final two possessions and made an ill-advised foul with the lead late.

Louisville will play Dayton for third place in the tournament today at 5 p.m. You can can watch it on You Tube again (and we've been duly impressed with the camera work, coverage and commentary provided by the Cards broadcast team of Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson). Link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bON8fNwZiNQ


 WHAT WE LIKED

-- MHA came to play. Another strong game from Myshia Hines-Allen..who went 7-14 from the floor, grabbed eight rebounds and hit both free throws for Louisville. She had ten of Louisville's first 17 points. We have to question the late foul...but overall, she's rounding into the form she ended the season with.

-- Satisfaction with Action Jackson. Despite some early shooting woes...a couple of key threes from the diminutive fireball resurged the Cards and she continues to be the best defender on the court for UofL. She competes so hard that a few miscues are almost inevitable...and her desire to win is unmatched on this squad. 

WHAT NEEDS WORK

-- There's a rim up there, I see it...Louisville shot 20-60 for the game...which is 33% and unacceptable. When you take out Mariya Moore's 1-13 futility and Arica Carter's 1-7 air-ball fest...18 for 40 doesn't look real bad...but these clinkers can't continue for players that are getting 30 minutes a game.

-- Durr...no more from her? Asia Durr hasn't played in Florida. Word from the Cardinal camp is that the groin injury is still hampering her badly and they may go for the medical redshirt. (Someone said a 99% likelihood of it). There's a chance they'll try her at Michigan State and re-evaluate after that...but you won't see her against Dayton and probably for the rest of the season. To lose a shooter, playmaker like her is devastating. Injuries are a part of the game, though. You move on and hope for a full recovery. 

-- Late game lapses. The final 25 seconds were rough to watch. The team concept basically went flying out the window and the youthfulness of this bunch showed. Two ill-advised offensive flounderings and an a "what-was-that-for?" foul. Things will get better. There is a ton of talent on this team. The maturity will eventually come together. 

The only variable is time. 

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NCAA PAIRINGS FOR VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPN 3 the VolleyCards will find out there fate on the NCAA Selection Show. 

The Cards backed in to the sole possession of the ACC Title yesterday when Duke knocked off UNC in Durham yesterday 20-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16. 

Louisville probably won't be bestowed a chance to host the first and second rounds...we'll hold out a glimmer of hope for that, though...let's hope they get a short travel trip. Bowling Green, KY would be great...

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

The Saturday broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR is now available for listening on the Crescent Hill Soundcloud links. 

Jeff and I were back in the studio together, at the same time, for the first time in four weeks. A great show at the link below:

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 11/28/15


paulie
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