LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Louisville women’s basketball team has played competitively against some high-level teams. It’s also had some learning experience in blowout losses. Through all of it, Cardinals’ coach Jeff Walz has tried to stay patient, bring his young players and transfers along, and trust that if they kept improving, they’d be a good team by the end of the season.
Signs of that confidence showed on Sunday afternoon in the KFC Yum! Center, when Louisville used an early 16-2 run to take control against No. 13-ranked Georgia Tech, built an 18-point lead in the second half, then held on down the stretch for a 69-60 victory.
The Cardinals (12-5, 5-1) won their sixth straight game and notched their first win of the season against a nationally ranked opponent, after five losses.
Trailing by four late in the first quarter, Ja’’Leah Williams and Elif Istanbullogou combined to score nine straight points to finish the period, then Jayda Curry hit a three to start the second quarter to put them up eight.
Louisville got another defensively sparked run at the end of the half, scoring nine straight points and holding Georgia Tech scoreless for nearly four minutes to take a 14-point lead to the break.
Though the Yellowjackets shot 50 percent for the game, Walz still was happy with what his team was able to do defensively. The Cards outscored Tech 22-9 off turnovers, which was the difference in the game. Louisville played without key reserve Imari Berry, while Georgia Tech was without Dani Carnegie, one of its top scorers.
“I thought in the first half we defended as well as we’ve defended all year,” Walz said. “No doubt about it. . . . We did a fantastic job of turning their turnovers into points, which is something -- our best offense has been our defense, and it's not like we're pressing a whole bunch. But we've got really good help-side. We're in the gaps. We're trying to deny some passes in different areas, and I’m really pleased at what we've been doing at the defensive end.”
Offensively, Tajianna Roberts led the way with 16 points, though she, like all the Cardinals, struggled from three-point range, where the team went 3 for 17. Still, they shot 53 percent for the game behind solid play around the basket. Louisville outscored Georgia Tech 42-30 in the paint and shot 68 percent from two-point range.
The Cards also closed the game out. They’ve struggled a couple of times this year letting double-digit leads slip away, but on Sunday they played deliberately after building a big lead, kept working on defense, and found a way to make some big shots of their own.
One of them was a three-pointer by Izela Arenas with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Another was a baseline jumper by Williams that put Louisville up seven with 57 seconds left, and effectively ended a fourth-quarter rally by Georgia Tech.
Williams played all 40 minutes, scored a season-high 13 points, pulled down seven rebounds and played her usual stellar defense. Walz did not go to his bench as often as usual in the game, opting instead to stay with the five on the court who were playing well.
“I thought she was fantastic. She had, you know, a big responsibility defensively on (Tonie) Morgan,” Walz said. “And I thought she did a really nice job. We're fortunate to get Kara Dunn in some foul trouble in the first half, because I've always been really impressed with her game. She goes eight for 10, one for one for three for the game. . . . The last two and half, three minutes, we’re up 8-10, and it got down to six. We’re trying to make sure we run through an offense. The last thing you want to do is come down the floor and fire up a quick shot. If it goes in, great. But if it doesn’t, now you’re giving more possessions to them. I thought we did a pretty darn good job.”
Louisville got 11 points from Nyla Harris and eight each from Olivia Cochran and Curry.
Next up for the Cards is a Thursday visit from Syracuse. Louisville is a half-game up in second place in the win column in the ACC behind unbeaten Notre Dame. Syracuse comes in with a record of 7-9 1-4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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