By Catherine Laroche
Last week was not a great week in University of Louisville basketball, as both the men and women’s teams suffered losses.
On the men’s side, the Cards fell short 68-51 to No. 1 University of Connecticut in Freedom Hall. Senior forward Terrence Williams’ career-high 26 points wasn’t enough to grant U of L a victory. He shot 11-of-19 from the field, while the rest of the team went 11-of-45 from the floor.
The women endured a surprising 79-70 loss, in front of the home crowd, to West Virginia University (13-9, 2-7 Big East). Senior forward Angel McCoughtry added 27 points and nine rebounds to the stat book, but the Cards failed to add a ‘W’ to the books.
“That’s my fault,” Jeff Walz, U of L women’s basketball coach, said after the loss. “It will not happen again. … If we play (against Notre Dame) like we did tonight, we should save our money and stay home. We’ll get embarrassed.”
The Cards will have a chance to make up for last week as both teams travel to Notre Dame this week.
On Wednesday, the women will meet up with the Fighting Irish for the first time this season. Notre Dame (17-5, 6-4 Big East) is coming off a 62-59 buzzer-beating win over top 25 ranked DePaul. Sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski hit the 12-foot baseline jumper with 50 seconds left and added a free throw in the final seconds to seal the victory. Senior Lindsay Schrader could be a threat defensively, as she leads her team in rebounding. Junior MelissaLechlitner is currently tied for No.7 in the conference with Seton Hall’s Shantel Brown in assists.
Thursday will not be the first time U of L meets up with Notre Dame. The Cards won the last meeting in exciting overtime fashion, as they outscored the Irish 16-2 in the extra regulation. Williams had a big night ending the game with 24 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. However, Harangody led the game in scoring with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
ESPN/ESPN2 will cover the men’s game against the Fighting Irish at 7 P.M.
