By Harrison Plank

The Louisville Cardinals fought hard to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday and advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Ready for a fight

Slow, methodical play defined the first quarter of this game for both teams. Neither team was hitting their shots from deep, unable to pull away with a lead. They remained tied 6-6 midway through the first.

Louisville would go on a 7-0 run late in the quarter, capped off by a Tajianna Roberts pull-up three. Alabama responded with back-to-back threes of their own, cutting it to just a one-point game at the break.

Louisville led 15-14 to end the first.

The slow pace of play continued into the second period. The Crimson Tide’s Diana Collins nailed shots on back-to-back possessions to give Alabama a four-point lead. Louisville took their shots where they could get them; however, Collins’ excellence from beyond the arc kept Bama in the lead at half.

Louisville trailed 35-34 at halftime.

Mackenly Randolph made a layup to start the half, giving Louisville the lead yet again. Alabama would respond, though, taking another lead that wouldn’t last long. Both teams were deadlocked in scoring halfway through the quarter, taking leads back from one another and tying the game with ease.

Late during this run, Elif Istanbulluoglu and Roberts nailed two huge triples that gave the Cards a four-point lead.

Laura Ziegler made it to six with a fadeaway shot, but yet another Alabama three got the lead within their grasp. With time winding down in the quarter, Reyna Scott drove to the paint, working past opponents to finish at the rim. 

Her efforts kept Louisville in the lead 54-49 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Imari Berry made the lead seven immediately out of the break. The Tide yet again nailed two shots on consecutive possessions that cut their deficit to only one basket. Karly Weathers added on to this 10-1 crimson run with two more triples, taking the lead back for the Tide to make it 59-57.

Istanbulluoglu ended this scoring streak while taking the lead back for the Cards, burying a three for herself in response. Louisville entered the bonus late in the contest, getting four points straight at the charity stripe. While the Cards were not shooting great from the free throw line, they would take any easy points they could get. 

The Cards led by four and the Yum! Center was on their feet cheering. Taijanna Roberts fed off of the energy of the crowd, picking the pocket of Cody Essence.

On the next Louisville possession the Cards were struggling to find an open shot. Alabama poked the ball out of bounds and gave the Cardinals a chance to draw up a play. Off the inbound with less than six seconds on the shot clock Reyna Scott landed a floater that gave Louisville a six-point lead with less than a minute to go.

This lead would be all they needed to finish out the game.

Karly Weathers nailed two shots late that made it a one point game, but Louisville found a way to win.

The Cards came away with a hard fought 69-68 victory.

Keep on marching

Louisville fought hard to come away with a win in the second round. There were 18 lead changes throughout the contest, and Louisville held onto the largest lead of the game with seven early in the fourth. While that lead would not last and no team was able to pull away with a dominant victory, Louisville came out on top when the clocks hit zero.

Alabama shot the lights out. However Louisville’s size and ability to snag boards propelled them over the Crimson Tide. The Cardinals had 41 rebounds to Bama’s 24 and their 14 second-chance points were just enough to advance. Despite outshooting the Cards in every way they could, Alabama’s season is over and they are heading home.

Tajianna Roberts and Elif Istanbulluoglu led the Cardinals to victory today. They led the game in scoring with 18 points each, while Istanbulluoglu added 13 boards to her statline. They both were the only Cards to land threes today. Aside from their shooting from beyond the arc, the rest of the team went collectively 0-9 from deep.

The Cardinals move on to the Sweet 16 where they will face No. 2 Michigan on Saturday, March 28. Louisville is now 29-7 and moving on through the madness.

Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal