By Donnie Niehaus
When the Cardinals needed someone to step up a make a big play, it was only fitting to call upon senior Angel Bradley. In front of a sold-out Senior Night crowd at Cardinal Arena on Friday, Bradley helped seal a victory over Cincinnati by converting a lay-up that put the game away for the Cardinals’ 61-58 win.
“I didn’t think they were going to leave that lane wide open like that,” said Bradley, who finished the game with 11 points and five rebounds. “There wasn’t a second I thought to stop. I just kept going. I’m glad I made that shot. I guess it was just sheer determination.” Bradley played all 40 minutes in the final game of the 2004-05 women’s basketball regular season.
Down 15-3 to the Bearcats in the first half, the Cards regained their composure behind a menacing defensive attack. Louisville forced Cincinnati into 20 turnovers and never let the Bearcats get into their offense.
U of L head coach Tom Collen was very happy with his team’s effort. “We got down 15-3 and were able to keep our composure. We battled back and I am just proud of them. I think that there was a lot more pressure on us than there was on Cincinnati. They had every reason to want to come in here and disrupt our season.”
And at first, disrupt is what the Bearcats did. While the Cardinals extended their lead to as much as 11 points in the second half, the Bearcats never went away. Despite the Bearcats’ poor 9-17 record, Cincinnati is always a respectable opponent.
“Cincinnati is always a tough game. It’s a big rivalry and we both want a piece of the each other.” Bradley said. “We knew that the game was going to be very physical for us. We are [on] the spot and they wanted to come in and spoil our senior night. It was a great game.”
The sophomore trio of Jazz Covington, Missy Taylor and Katie Olson all had big nights, scoring 15, 12 and 12, respectably. The Bearcats were relentless during the second half and even cut the lead to two with 1:53 remaining. However, free throws from Covington and Bradley’s lay-up sealed the deal.
After the game, an emotional tribute honored Bradley and two other senior team members, Nina Simotes and Joleen Phillips.
Bradley’s impact on the program was evident after the game in her coach’s and teammates’ praise of her. “Angel Bradley truly is an angel. She is such a giver and a playmaker for us. I don’t know what we would have done without her tonight, and she has done that time and time again for us,” Collen said. “She is a tremendous person and a pretty good student as well.”
“Angel is the heart and soul of our team,” Taylor said. “She’s a great leader. She’s a great captain. We can’t ask for a better role model.”
