By Derek DeBurger
No. 19 Louisville legged out a tough win against the formerly-undefeated No. 23 Washington Huskies.
With reputations for hard-nosed defenses, the two teams came into this game with something to prove.
Both teams were hyper-aggressive to start.
Louisville was the beneficiary though, jumping out to a 10-2 lead thanks to their full-court press. Washington then played the bully role to perfection, holding the Cards scoreless for almost five minutes of game time and cutting the lead down to two. The first quarter ended in a 13-13 tie; neither team was able to string together enough good possessions on offense to take control of the game.
The second quarter almost looked like a shootout— 23 total points were scored in the first eight minutes of the quarter. The refs were letting the teams play, as neither team shot any free throws in the first half. By the end of the quarter, the Cards started to put it together on offense pushing the lead to five at the half.
Louisville was able to keep their momentum going into the third on both sides of the ball. Washington didn’t score for five minutes of game-time while extending the lead extended to nine. The Huskies were able to cut into the deficit—one that got as high as 11 points—due in huge part to Dalayah Daniels attempting to take over the game. Daniels finished the game with 12 points and game-highs of 10 rebounds and three assists.
After blowing the whistle as little as possible in the first half, it seemed as if this one showcased the ref’s ability to control the game. It started when Daniels picked up her fourth foul in the fourth quarter, and was forced to go to the bench. Later in the quarter, Sayvia Sellers, who kept Washington steady in the first half with her three-point shooting, fouled out too. To make matters worse, Washington runs a short bench. The free-flowing whistles combined yet another scoring drought of over four-and-a-half minutes by the Huskies led Louisville to just bleed the clock on every possession. There was a hard-fought effort by Washington to make a comeback, but Louisville’s defense held strong.
Louisville wins 59-51.
Louisville played tough defensively, but they were even tougher rebounding the ball, outrebounding the Huskies 40-26. The Cards’ paint domination didn’t just stop with the boards — Louisville held Washington to just 36.5% shooting from the field.
Louisville did a great job sharing the ball and getting multiple players shot attempts as six different players scored 6+ points (which, in a slugfest like this, is a good amount). Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris led the way with 14 and 11 points, respectively, and were a huge part of the defense locking down the paint.
This was one of the best wins of the season for the Cards, and after three physical games in a row, the 10 days of rest for the Cards will be well deserved.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Rachel Klotz, U of L Athletics
