LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Facing No. 5 UCLA in the season opener for both teams in the Aflac Oui-Play Classic in Paris, the No. 17 University of Louisville women's basketball team figured to have its hands full with the Bruins' 6-foot-7-inch center, Lauren Betts.
But it was UCLA's three-point shooting and ball movement that were more of a problem in a 66-59 loss. Louisville led for a good portion of the game, but the bigger Bruins outscored the Cards 24-18, from three-point range and 32-20 in the paint. The game was tied four times and had 13 lead changes. Louisville made just 6 of 29 three-point tries and went 5 of 19 in the third-quarter.
But Louisville gave coach Jeff Walz plenty of reasons for optimism plenty of reasons for optimism. Tajianna Roberts scored 21 points and made four three-pointers to lead the Cards' offense. Ja'Leah Williams was a defensive menace and added 10 points.
"Jeff is an elite coach and I knew he would pressure us and try to get up under us and not let us do what we wanted to do," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "I thought they won the toughness battle, but I thought we did a good of staying with it. . . . We found a way to win against a really tough team that forced us to play a way that we don't want to play."
The Cardinals held their own on the boards but they could not find enough offense in the second half. And it was a tough night for some of their returning players. (Jayda Curry did not play because of a hamstring injury.)
Olivia Cochran had eight points and four rebounds before fouling out with 2:08 to play. She played just 23 minutes. Nyla Harris had six points on 3-9 shooting. And Elif Istanbulluoglu had two points on a basket in the closing seconds. Before that, the only Cardinal to make a field goal in the previous 9:38 was Roberts.
"I thought everybody competed and played hard. We didn't shoot the ball great," Walz said. "But overall, I mean, the growth potential that I think this team has, it's a pretty high ceiling. We just competed pretty darn well with a team ranked in the Top 5 that's got size that we don't have. But it's not always about how tall you are. It's about the heart you have. And I thought our kids just really, really did a great job."
The Cardinals went up one on a layup by Cochran with 1:48 left in the third quarter, but missed 13 of their next 15 shots and trailed 61-51 with just over three minutes to play.
A Roberts drive and score pulled Louisville within eight, and then Cochran made one of two free throws to cut its deficit to seven. But a Timea Gardner three-pointer put UCLA back up 10, and Louisville could not mount a serious threat in the closing minutes.
Betts led UCLA with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Gardiner had 13 points and went 5-7 from three point range.
Louisville Women's Basketball Coverage:
- Louisville meets the Louvre: Cards women hope to set tone in Paris opener vs. UCLA
- Confident Nyla Harris focuses on helping lead the Cardinals
- CRAWFORD | In packed ballroom, Louisville's Jeff Walz introduces a team built to dance
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