LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The win slipped away. But the moment? Louisville seized that.
South Carolina came into the KFC Yum! Center Thursday night with a No. 3 national ranking, and a lot of shine – even amid some early season injuries and a loss to Texas earlier in the week. Their program has become the standard. The steamroller. The celestial wrecking ball of women’s basketball.
And for 40 minutes Tuesday night, Louisville had them wobbling.
No. 23 Louisville nearly pulled off one of the bigger upsets of Jeff Walz’s coaching career, pushing South Carolina to the final seconds before falling 79-77 in a furious, physical, and nationally resonant battle in the ACC/SEC Women's Basketball Challenge.
“We played well — not well enough to win — but well,” Walz said. “Our effort was great. If we give that every night, I like our chances.”
Louisville (7-3) had the Gamecocks on the ropes, leading 75-72 with just over two minutes remaining. But South Carolina (8-1) closed with a 7-2 run. Louisville’s final shot — a clean three-point look from the wing by Tajianna Roberts — rimmed out, and South Carolina escaped.
Roberts slumped, devastated, as her teammates rushed to support her. Walz, however, said he was proud of her for taking the shot, and proud of the way his team executed to get it for her.
“We executed it perfectly,” he said. “The screen was set, the pass was great, the shot was open, it just didn’t fall. That’s the game.”
The atmosphere was elite. So was the execution.
“It was a heavyweight boxing match, and it came down to just who was going to make the biggest plays that at the moment you need them the most,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I thought they got out and made big plays for themselves in the fourth and build a five-point lead, and it was a turning point for us, whether we're going to succumb to losing that game or fight to get back in it.
Jeff Walz and Dawn Staley shake hands after South Carolina's 79-77 victory over Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville closed the third quarter strong, trimming an 11-point deficit to one heading into the fourth, then charged ahead by five with 4:23 to play.
South Carolina regrouped, however, and went to 6-6 Medina Okot for three straight layups in the closing minutes. She scored seven points in the final 2:36 and finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
“They made big plays when they had to,” Walz said. “We just didn’t come up with one more stop.”
South Carolina shot 49 percent from the field, Louisville 48. South Carolina made nine threes, Louisville eight.
Staley called Okot the difference.
“If she’s not on our team, we don’t win.”
Louisville got 20 points from Roberts and a career-high 15 points from Elif Istanbulluoglu, to go along with nine rebounds. Reyna Scott had 15 points and four assists while Skylar Jones came off the bench to add 12.
Louisville’s bench outscored South Carolina’s 34-4, but the Gamecocks won the glass 34-34 and closed with cleaner execution in the final minute.
“We’ve got to finish,” Walz said. “We missed four or five layups. We went 6-for-10 at the free throw line. And we gave up five points where we missed a layup and didn’t get up off the floor fast enough. That’s the difference.”
Walz said Tuesday marked Louisville’s most complete effort of the season — and maybe a turning point.
“We played four good quarters, that’s a first this year,” he said. “Now can we do it again on Sunday? Can we practice with this intensity tomorrow?”
He praised the leadership of Ziegler, who was scoreless but played a strong floor game after being handed some point guard and distribution duties. And he said the growth in resilience since the Kentucky loss is evident.
“We competed tonight,” Walz said. “If we bring that effort, we’ll win a lot of games. It's not going to mean we're going to win every game, but I think we'll have a fighting chance. But the problem is, you can't just do it during games. It's what's practice going to be tomorrow? Are you willing to come and you're going to be tired, you're going to be a little frustrated that we lost, but are you willing to get past that and say, hey, I’ve still got to get better? And that's the challenge I put forth to all of them.”
Next up, the Cards welcome New Hampshire to the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday.
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