By Derek DeBurger and Jo Simpson
The Louisville Cardinals barely held on against the Virginia Cavaliers.
Strong start
Louisville got off to a great start, pushing the pace on offense and denying Kymora Johnson.
Jayda Curry played like a woman possessed, scoring 14 points in the first quarter alone.
The Cards established a 25-12 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Cavs made special note to keep Curry out of the scoring column, giving Izela Arenas two easy buckets to push the lead to 15 points.
Virginia then went on a 9-0 run in just two minutes where Johnson finally found her scoring rhythm. The lead was cut down to six.
Louisville then responded with a big 15-6 run to end the second quarter. The run was stimulated with selfless offense and a dominating of the boards by Nyla Harris and Olivia Cochran.
By halftime, Louisville was firmly in control with a 44-29 lead.
The other half…
Louisville continued to roll in the second half, but their defense was not as suffocating as the two previous quarters.
Johnson still struggled to get maintain any offensive momentum, but Paris Clark and Latasha Lattimore were able to shoulder the offensive load. And in spite of her scoring woes, Johnson was still able to distribute the ball to her teammates in good positions.
Curry went cold after her blazing start, scoring only two points in the third quarter.
The third was mostly back-and-forth, but Louisville ended it with a 62-45 advantage.
The descent in the fourth quarter started off as a trickle.
UVA switched to a full-court press, which the Cards broke effectively, but once they got into the half court they rushed themselves for no reason.
Virginia took advantage of those self-inflicted wounds and put together a very slow 18-4 run that was capped off by a technical foul called on Curry.
With the lead down to just three points, Ja’Leah Williams drove in the paint and drew a foul. She hit both her free throws to put the Cards back up by five, but Johnson would score on the next possession to cut it right back down.
With a slim three-point lead, three minutes on the clock and a stuttering offense, Louisville had few options.
Their first possession lasted over a minutes thanks to a fantastic team rebounding effort, but it ended in a shot clock violation. A steal on the other end and more offensive rebounds allowed them to drain another 40 seconds. A second steal led to another full shot clock drained, and just 18 seconds left on the clock.
On Virginia’s final possession, the Cards held strong and didn’t allowed a single good look for the Cavs to tie the game.
After a missed heave from half court, Louisville escaped 68-65.
Missed Opportunities
In spite of a dominant first half performance and controlling the glass throughout, Louisville fell apart late.
It’s not uncommon for a team with a young core to crack under pressure, but Curry and Williams were the ones who made mistakes down the stretch. What was ultimately an impressive night holding onto the ball got sloppy, with five of Louisville’s 15 turnovers coming in the fourth.
The inability to capitalize on second-chance opportunities, despite dominant rebounding by Harris and Cochran, allowed Virginia to remain within striking distance even when the performances were lopsided.
After scoring 17 points in the first half, Curry ended the game with only 19 points to lead the Cards, but her eight assists proved crucial in the second half.
Harris added 15 points with five rebounds. Tajianna Roberts had a great night with 11 points and nine boards, and Cochran secured double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
Louisville showed signs of improvement in many areas, but failed to play a complete game.
More improvement is needed, but for now the Cards improve to 14-6 on the season and 7-2 in the ACC.
Photo Courtesy // Lillian Camp, Louisville Athletics