By Harrison Plank

The Cards fell to the only unranked ACC team to beat them at the YUM Center: Virginia. With this win, the Cavaliers have done it twice.

Loss of a leader

Taijana Roberts took a nasty fall early in the first quarter, and Virginia took their chance while Louisville’s top scorer was off the court. The Cavaliers went on an 11-0 run while turning defensive stops into offensive opportunities. 

Laura Ziegler finally broke the scoring drought for the Cards, but Virginia looked in control for the majority of the first. Imari Berry would tack on a pull-up jumper of her own, but Louisville still trailed into the break, 18-14.

Ziegler continued to be a bright spot for the Cardinals, scoring immediately out of the break. This is about all that went the Cards’ way to start the quarter, though, as the Cavaliers continued to put their foot on the gas.

Virginia’s Sa’Myah Smith poked it away on defense and pushed it all the way down the court, using her length to score at the rim. Her efforts gave Virginia an 11-point lead.

Louisville’s consistency at the free throw line kept them in the fight. Despite missing nine straight threes, the team was perfect from the charity stripe in the first half.

Louisville trailed 41-30 at the half. 

Elif Istanbulluoglu came out of the break with a head of steam. She accounted for eight straight and forced Virginia to call a timeout as she cut the lead to three.

Both teams traded a couple shots back and forth, but a challenge of possession by Coach Walz led to a Berry bucket that cut the lead down to two. The Cavs dominance in the paint more than made up for this surge though, leading to them extending their lead back to seven before the end of the quarter.

Istanbulluoglu continued to show her prowess into the final quarter of play. Her efforts along with a Berry coast-to-coast finish put the cards within three.

Istanbulluoglu rose to the moment, hitting a three that tied the game 61-61.  UVA shut down the cheers instantly, as Kymora Johnson responded with a three of her own.

Berry had a game tying three as well and an assist from her on a Reyna Scott finish gave the Cards their first lead since the first quarter.

Johnson responded with a three of their own to take the lead back as quick as the Cardinals had it. Virginia had an answer to everything Louisville could throw at them.

With 30 seconds left and at the line late Imari Berry missed the first free throw of the game for the Cards. But, she made her second, giving the Cardinals a lead of 72-71.

Romy Levy made the most of a big moment, making a deep three as the shot clock wound down to put Virginia ahead once again. 

The Cards had one final prayer.

With two seconds left off the inbound Imari berry had to throw up a desperation heave that just would not go.

Louisville Lost 74-72.

Grit and grind

The early loss of Tajiana Roberts set the Cards back, but impressive performances by Reyna Scott and Elif Istanbulluoglu kept the Cards fighting till the very end.

Istanbulluoglu led the game in scoring with an impressive 20 points while shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc. 

Reyna Scott stepped up for the Injured Roberts, playing a career high 33 minutes. Her 16 points off the bench led all non starters in scoring but was just not enough to overcome the Cavaliers.

Virginia had their way offensively. They outscored the Cards 38-22 near the rim while also shooting 8-17 from three. Despite winning the rebound battle that would not be enough for the Cards to beat the Cavs.

The Cardinals look to get right against Georgia Tech in their next match Thursday, Feb. 26.

Louisville falls to 24-5 and 14-2 in the conference.

Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal