CARDS WBB FALTERS IN FINAL MINUTE TO #9 NORTH CAROLINA
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| (taken at halftime when the Cards were up 35-29. Paulie, "mayor for life" Jerry Abramson, and Sonya . Photo by Mike DeZarn |
So...when you lead a team for 39 of The 40 minutes you play them, and put six players in double figures...YOU'D NORMALLY EXPECT TO PUT A "W" in the win/loss column for your squad. But this UofL team has shown a penchant for fading and faltering in the fourth quarter of contests. And it happened again Sunday afternoon in front of 11.280 in the KFC YUM! Center.
On a afternoon when Cardinals greats Angel McCoughtry and Myisha Hines-Allen were back in the house and greeted the crowd, the Cards were outscored 29-20 in the final quarter to go down in defeat. Walz probably would have liked to suit up Angel and Myisha for this one...Keep in mind, it took UNC and entire first half to score 29 points...but the TarHeels discovered late that they could use tthe dribble drive and score at will on the Cards defense and proceeded to do just that.
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| Guess who? |
Louisville made exactly one basket in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, and was out scored 13-5. And, that is the telling stat. A 5'9" ,5'7" and 5'8" guards combined to score 26 points on the Cards in the final ten minutes.
Louisville went for the win with six seconds left in the game and down by two, when Jayda Curry tried a three-pointer. It was a clear, open look at the potential game winner, but the shot missed and UNC got the rebound and was fouled and sank two free throws with a second to play for the 79-75 final. A lot of discussion followed among some of the media on going for the win instead of a tie...but Walz seemed convinced it was the best thing to do in his post game remarks.
Louisville shot 39% for the game while UNC was at 49%. The Cards ruled the boards, as we'll point out in the FRED report, but, UNC used a 38-15 bench scoring advantage for the win. And, the TarHeels were minus two starters.
All in all, the Cards lost to a higher ranked team that shot better than them and scored the game's final six points. And, it's a game where the most points win.
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| FRED HECHINGER is an actor who was in Gladiator II |
THE FRED REPORT
FREE THROWS -- The Cards went 21-26 from the free throw line. that' 80% and that will get them a CAPITAL "F" Free throws certainly didn't lose this one for UofL. Ja'Leah Williams and Tajianna Roberts were 9-9 .
REBOUNDING -- Louisville outrebounded the taller TarHeels 42-27. Olivia Cochran led the way with 10. We award CAPITAL "R" here.
EFFORT/EXECUTION -- UofL won the second chance points battle 18-5. They won points off turnovers 16-5. Three point shooting was maybe a bit off at 4-13(30.8%) but that didn't lose the game for them...getting outscored 29-20 in the first quarter did. Especially after limiting UNC to 29 points in the entire first half. Louisville lost, so we will just award a small case "e".
DEFENSE -- Louisville allowed 79 points...second most this season. UNC shot 49% for the game. UNC won the second half 50-40. i can't call this a great defensive effort. NO LETTER.
FINAL FRED TALLY: F-R-e-_
The Cards return to action Thursday when Clemson comes to town. It's the final regular season home WBB game of the season
WBB Photos by Jared Anderson
POSTGAME JEFF WALZ REMARKS HERE
POSTGAME UNC REMARKS HERE
SOFTBALL
Louisville played Wisconsin on Sunday in the final day of the USF Tournament in Tampa. An early start to this one (9 a.m) and early success for the Cards, jumping out to a 3-0 start after one inning and extending that to 5-0 after two...ending up winning 5-1
Alyssa Zabala got the win, going to 5-1 on the season and the Cards improved their record to 10-5 on the season. Zabala went four innings, allowing the lone Wisconsin run, and Sam Booe got the save with three innings. The Cards hit two home runs in the contest, both in the first inning, from Bri Despines and Char Lorenz. The Cards allowed just three Badger hits, and the UofL pitchers recorded six strike outs.
The Cards Florida extended stay ends...and Louisville returns home to face Bellarmine on Wednesday Feb. 26th...first game of a 13 game home stand.
LAX WINS AT CALIFORNIA.
The Lax Cards got a double overtime win out in Berkley, California Sunday 10-9.
Izzy Seikel had the winner, and Reese Whitman had a huge game for Scott Teeter's squad with five goals.
Louisville is now 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play. The Cards come home for another ACC match... to face UNC on Friday at noon at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium
paulie
Cards still in a three way tie for fourth place in the ACC standings at 12-4. with wins over Duke and FSU. Ending at Notre Dame will probably add at 5th loss and drop Louisville out of a double bye. Hard to believe this regular season has just two games left in it.
ReplyDeleteNick O
Critical mistakes in the fourth quarter cost the Cards the game - missed free throws and turnovers were costly.
ReplyDeleteAnd my humble opinion I would like to have seen Arenas on the floor & mac more time.
The year of the Freshman 🔥🏀🏀🏀🏀
21-26 FROM FREE THROW LINE IS 80% and the season average for UofL WBB is 72% Cochran's 5-8 was the worst on the team for the game. Give her an 8-8 and the Cards still lose by one. And we had 10 more chances than UNC. Grant and Crisp are legit ballers for UNC.
ReplyDeleteBlue Lou
Costly 4th Quarter turnover under 2:30 in the ball game.
DeleteGrant and Crisp ballers
UNC is a better team without Alyssa Usby.
UNC is the sleeper to upset ND and/or NCST in the ACC Tournament. They are a team with excellent guards. Remember how you never counted UofL out of anything with Dana Evans on the court? NC has (2) Dana types startng for them .
Delete