The Louisville Cardinals kicked off conference play in a thriller against Georgia Tech that literally came down to the last second.
Asia Durr fired off a triple to start the match, but Francesca Pan and Kaylan Pugh were the highlight of the first period. Pugh picked up eight of Georgia Tech’s 20 points, while Pan added 10.
Georgia Tech’s stellar defense forced Louisville to commit seven turnovers. The Yellow Jackets took a 20 – 13 lead into the second period.
The Cardinals were down as much as nine points in the second period before sprinting out on an 11 – 1 run to take the lead, 24 – 23. Louisville was led by Durr’s six points. The Cardinals were able to keep Pan and Pugh relatively quite in the second period, holding the duo to a combined six points.
Louisville ended the first half behind a 14 – 2 run, taking a 46 – 24 lead. The Cardinals were led by Durr’s 27 first half points.
Out of the half, the Yellow Jackets came out hot outscoring the Cardinals 9 – 4. Georgia Tech came within seven points before Louisville coach Jeff Walz called a timeout to refocus the Cardinals. Louisville was able to hold Georgia Tech scoreless for nearly 2:00, but the Yellow Jackets fought back to bring the score to 62 – 56 into the final period.
In a thrilling final 10 minutes, Georgia Tech’s O’Neil dominated the glass and grabbed eight of the Yellow Jackets’ 15 points. With five seconds remaining in the game, O’Neil grabbed a put-back to even the score at 71, putting the ball back in Louisville’s possession with just five seconds. Louisville was able to inbound the ball and get it in Myisha Hines-Allen’s hands for a layup to seal the deal with 1.4 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals and the Yellow Jackets played an incredible match, but ultimately Louisville emerged victorious, 74 – 71.
Top Scorers:
The Cardinals had three players notch double-figures: Asia Durr led all scorers with 38 points on 15-of-25 shooting, including four triples. Myisha Hines-Allen nearly missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Jazmine Jones added 10 points and 5 rebounds.
For the Yellow Jackets, three players grabbed double-digits: Kaylan Pugh paced Georgia Tech with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Zaire O’Neil and Francesca Pan both added 15 points.
Next Up:
The Cardinals continue their road stint as they head to North Carolina to face the NC State Wolfpack on December 31 at 2:30 PM.
