By Elizabeth Scanland

Louisville fell to the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels in a heartbreaking loss in which the Cards controlled most of the game.

The Tar Heels went into the game shorthanded with Alyssa Ustby not traveling with her team to the Derby City.

Runs back and forth

Olivia Cochran was the first to score, hitting one free throw after a trip to the line. UNC immediately matched it with a three-pointer to take a 1-3 lead.

Those were their last points for a while as the Cards put together a 13-0 run that lasted almost five minutes.

Louisville’s run ended when UNC hit another three, helping them inch back into the game.

Louisville led 20-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Once again, the Cards got off on a nice run to start the quarter. Louisville outscored UNC 8-2 on their way to a 28-16 lead.

Louisville then gave up a 13-3 run in which UNC hit three triples and one two-point jumper.

However, Louisville was able to make the push at the end of the quarter with put-back and later a steal from Nyla Harris and a beautiful dish to Cochran for a wide-open layup.

Louisville headed into the half up 35-29.

Charged up

The third quarter was the most tit-for-tat quarter of the game, with neither team able to make any real movement. Louisville’s lead never grew greater than eight points but never fell below five points.

During the quarter, Merissah Russell scored eight points and grabbed two steals and one rebound.

Louisville held a slight 55-50 lead at the end of the third.

The fourth quarter had an electric start for the Cards with a steal from Tajianna Roberts followed by an and-1 on the fast break.

However, the Heels kept fighting and cut the lead down to 64-62. After a missed shot from Ja’Leah Williams, UNC got down the court and set up their offense. But after Russell fell to the ground, the referees went to the monitor and assessed a flagrant foul on Maria Gakdeng. Gadding fouled out on the play, and Jayda Curry hit both free throws to put the Cards up by four.

Because the foul was a flagrant, Louisville got the ball. Curry drove into the paint, hit a floater and drew a foul. But the block was called a charge, and what could have been a seven-point lead was cut to two after free throws from UNC.

The two teams went shot-for-shot, with Carolina eventually taking the lead at 71-72. Curry took the lead back with a jumper, and Williams helped take the lead again with two made free throws.

UNC tied the score at 75-75 on the next possession, and took a two-point lead less than a minute later. Out of a timeout, the Cards put up a shot but fell short. They were forced to foul, but UNC missed both attempts. With 20 seconds remaining, Louisville got a second chance, but was rushed into a shot and missed yet again.

The Cards lost 75-79.

Back to the mean

In a game where the Cards led for almost a full 40 minutes, Sunday’s loss hits especially hard.

Louisville once again struggled to close a game as things started to get away from them in the fourth quarter.

However, despite an unfortunate lost, the Cards still played very well for three quarters. Louisville out-rebounded UNC 42 to 27 and had nine turnovers all game.

Like always, Jayda Curry had a great game with 18 points and six rebounds. She also picked up her 1,500th career point.

While Louisville was able to get the defensive stops to keep them in the game, they failed to defend the arc like they have on their recent stretch. UNC shot 45.5% from deep, more than 20 percentage points higher than Louisville’s previous four opponents.

While they’re still in good position for the postseason, Louisville falls to 19-8 overall and 12-4 in conference play.

Photo Courtesy // Landen Fuller, Louisville Athletics