By Gabriel Wiest —

In a surprising upset, No. 2 women’s basketball (23-2, 10-2) took its second loss of the season to No. 20 Miami (22-5, 10-2). Louisville led by as much as 14 points in the first half, but the visiting Hurricanes stormed back with defense and interior offense for a 79-73 win.

“I’m surprised. I thought after the way we played against Virginia Tech and Syracuse we’d come out with a lot of fire,” head coach Jeff Walz said. “I don’t think I prepared us very well for this game.”

The game started off with the Cards on top 22-13 at the end of the first quarter, then 37-29 at halftime.

Miami kicked it into high gear in the second half. The Hurricanes ended up shooting 55 percent from the floor, propelled by 30 points in the paint. Their defense played crucial, as well, holding senior Asia Durr to 2-for-8 from the field in the final two periods.

Miami senior Emese Hoff finished with a game-high 25 points, contributing to her team’s inside play.

“I’m shocked. I’m pretty sure we all are,” Durr said. “We didn’t expect to lose that game. But things happen. We have to learn from it. This is part of our journey. This is a huge game where we can learn from the things we didn’t do well and apply it when we need it.”

As the fourth quarter set in, the scoreboard switched back-and-forth. Ultimately, Louisville was unable to make enough defensive stops and lost 79-73 to Miami.

“Defensively they did a really nice job of scheming,” Walz said. “Katie (Meier, Miami head coach) is one of the best coaches in our league. They challenged our players who aren’t great shooters to shoot. They stuck with it the entire game and it worked for them.”

The game featured a pink theme to raise breast cancer awareness. Starting players were introduced with breast cancer survivors and wore black and pink uniforms in support.

Up next, Louisville women’s basketball travels to face Virginia on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

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Photos by Louise Scharff & Gabriel Wiest / The Louisville Cardinal