By Whitney Spencer
The University of Louisville women’s basketball team has struggled on the road all season. Traveling to the nation’s capitol on Saturday, Jan. 16 to face Georgetown University proved to be a difficult task. The Hoyas are ranked 25th in the AP poll and18th in the coaches poll. The Cardinals knew the Big East was a physical league, but just how physical surprised everyone.
About one hour before the game was to tip-off, the Cards were going through their normal pregame warm-ups. As they took a lap around the court, a Georgetown player reportedly stuck her foot out and tripped a Louisville player. There was a verbal exchange between several players, and punches were thrown. Both sides were eventually separated.
There were no ejections or technical fouls assessed, as the rules state that referees don’t have jurisdiction over a game until 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Neither coaches nor players would speak on the incident, following the game. Both universities, along with the Big East, will review video of the incident before handing down any punishment.
“It’s a Big East game,” said Terri Williams-Flournoy, Georgetown head coach. “It got to a situation where it shouldn’t have gotten to.”
Though tension was high, none of the animosity ran over into the game. U of L focused that pregame energy, and focused it on the Hoyas. The Cards never let the ranked Hoyas slow them down, as they took the lead late in the game on a layup by junior forward Keshia Hines. Ultimately, the Cards defeated themselves with turnovers. Georgetown forced the Cards into 30 turnovers leading to 33 points.
Hines finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and sophomore forward Monique Reid also finished with 15 points. The Cards are now 10-7 and 2-2 in conference play.
