Greensboro, NC — Myisha Hines-Allen wore her dancing shoes and lead the Cardinals to a 60-50 victory over Georgia Tech.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Louisville Coach Jeff Walz told the media, “They play hard, they play physical, and they’re a very good basketball team. We’d like to congratulate them. It was a battle for sure. There’s no question about it. And we knew it was going to be.”
The Cardinals won the tip, and Mariya Moore drove to the bucket for two. An early foul by Imani Tilford sent Arica Carter to the line to hit one of two and put the Cardinals up early, 3-0.
Georgia Tech fired back with a three-point bucket from Katarina Vuckovic followed by a jumper from Tilford to put the Yellow Jackets up, 3-5. Briahanna Jackson grabbed a steal and dished the ball to Taja Cole for a layup in transition tying the game at 5.
The Cardinals and the Yellow Jackets battled for the lead in the first period. Louisville struggled to control the ball turning it over seven times. Georgia Tech capitalized on the turnovers and converted them into six points.
A layup from Myisha Hines-Allen put the Cardinals up 13-10 with 1:27 remaining in the first period, but Roddreka Rogers countered with a layup of her own with 21-second remaining.
Louisville held the lead at the end of the first, 13-12.
Zaire O’Neil struck first in the second period to put the Yellow Jackets up 14-13. But a 9-0 run by Louisville put the Cardinals on top, 24-16. O’Neil broke the Georgia Tech scoring drought connecting on a layup.
The Yellow Jackets could not find an answer for Asia Durr in the second period. Durr picked up seven of Louisville’s 17-second quarter points.
After a sloppy first period, the Cardinals cleaned up on defense holding the Yellow Jackets to only eight points in the second period. Louisville converted five Georgia Tech turnovers into seven points. The Cardinals did not commit a turnover in the second period.
Louisville held a comfortable ten point lead at the half, 30-20.
Hines-Allen paced the Cardinals in the first half racking up 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
Aaliyah Whiteside had a quiet first half scoring only two points in 20 minutes. Whiteside struggled to connect on shots hitting only 1-of-9 from the field.
The third period was another battle, but the Yellow Jackets could not make up for the first half deficit.
Briahanna Jackson and Katarina Vuckovic traded jumpers to kick off the third period. A foul committed by Jackson sent Whiteside to the line to shoot two, cutting the Cardinals lead to eight and waking up the quiet Whiteside.
Arica Carter fired off a shot beyond the arc to extend Louisville’s lead to 11. Despite Whiteside going off scoring 12 of Georgia Tech’s 17 third period points, the Yellow Jackets could not sustain enough momentum to mount a comeback. The Cardinals led by 11 heading into the final period, 36-47.
The Yellow Jackets outscored Louisville in the final period, 14-13, but the damage had already been done. The Cardinals survived a tough Georgia Tech team to advance to the semifinals in a 60-50 decision.
The Cardinals had two players post double figures: Myisha Hines-Allen paced the Cardinals and earned her 10th double-double of the season on 22 points and 13 rebounds. Mariya Moore added 11 points and a team-best four assists. Moore struggled from the floor connecting on 1-of-12 and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc, but she was able to get to the line to hit 9-of-10. Cortnee Walton was crucial for the Cardinals pulling down a second-best 11 rebounds.
Aaliyah Whiteside started out slow, but finished with a team-high 20 points and three steals. Whiteside was the only player to grab double-figures for the Yellow Jackets. Roddreka Rogers attacked the glass for Georgia Tech pulling down a team-best eight rebounds.
The Cardinals will face the winner of Syracuse vs. NC State in the ACC Women’s Tournament Semifinals tomorrow at 2:30 PM EST.
** Also seen on Swish Appeal
