By Derek DeBurger

No. 19 Louisville ends the 2023 calendar year with a big win against the Miami Hurricanes.

Both teams dealt blow after blow from the beginning, but neither was able to pull away in this heavyweight matchup. Miami tried their best–taking a seven-point lead at the start of the second quarter–but would be short-lived when the Cards quickly took it back. The remainder of the half was as back-and-forth as it gets, each score meeting another.

The first half would end in a dead heat at 37-37.

Jayda Curry took over on offense to begin the third. She had 11 of the team’s 21 points in the quarter. While Curry absorbed the attention of the Canes, Nina Rickards was able to use the lightened pressure to find players in the paint for assists. This great one-two punch for the Cards was good enough to go into the fourth quarter with a narrow one-point lead.

In the final quarter of play, both teams clamped up on defense, producing long-scoring droughts on both sides at several points. Miami was the first beneficiary of a scoring drought as they were able to retake the lead by multiple possessions. Late in the game, Miami hit a three to go up by four, gaining a ton of momentum. ESPN Analytics projected Miami to have a win probability of 74.5% at that point, but senior Merissah Russell hit a three to cut back into the lead. Even as Miami continued to score, Russell remained the hero of the ball game, draining another pair of clutch threes and hitting crucial free throws down the stretch.

With around 13 seconds left, the Cards found themselves up by four. Stops in key moments forced Miami’s hand to try and extend the game by fouling, and Louisville was able to ice the game at the free-throw line.

Louisville would go on to win 77-72.

A lot of Louisville players deserve their flowers for playing important roles in getting the win. We already know about Russell’s heroics, scoring 11 of her 12 points in the fourth, but it was Curry who ended up being the leading scorer with a game-high 19 points. Nyla Harris had a game-high 12 rebounds. The team defense was also huge as they forced 20 turnovers and drew 23 fouls.

Louisville had to fight for this win, and they were the last ones standing when the final bell rang.

The Cards are now 12-2 on the year and start ACC play 1-0.