After a brilliant first half against the #1 seed in the Alamo Region, the University of Louisville women's basketball squad saw their season end.
The Stanford height and a key Stanford sub made the difference in the final 20 minutes, especially in the fourth quarter, where the Trees out-scored the Cards 30-13.
Dana Evans was brilliant for Louisville in the loss, with 24 points and six of eight three-point shooting, but, the Cardinal defense allowed 52 second-half points and 62.5% shooting in the final twenty minutes.
Stanford was up 68-60 with just over 3 minutes left when Kiana Williams hit a step-back 3 that sealed the victory. She finished with 14 points.
Lexie Hull scored 21 points for the Cardinal, while Ashten Prechtel came on in the second half and added 16 points on 6-6 shooting, 3-3 from three-point range, in just 15 minutes of action.
''What a great substitution that (Prechtel) was. She changed the entire game,'' head coach Jeff Walz said. ''Her 15 minutes, she's plus-27 on the plus-and-minus side. She won the game for them. ...She was remarkable there in the second half.''
Dana Evans was named to the Alamo Region All-Tournament Team after finishing with 24 points on 9-20 shooting from the floor and 6-8 from 3-point range. She is the only player in UofL history to win four regular season conference championships and she has the best winning percentage and fewest losses of any player in program history.
Kasa Robinson finished with seven points and eight rebounds, while Kianna Smith had eight points and seven rebounds.
Yes, a season ended too soon for UofL WBB fans, but a season where the Cards created a lot of excitement, joy, fond memories and went 26-4.
A huge "thank you" to Dana for the four years of joy, excitement, hard work, dedication and effort she gave the UofL WBB program. And, best wishes for a very long and successful WNBA career. We'll always remember you, Dana.
So, the Cards go home.
Poignant and touching -- as the squad gathered on the floor after the game, Jeff Walz instructed his student-athletes to turn and watch the celebration on the other end of the floor and them told them to remember that. He asked them if they wanted to be the ones celebrating this time next year and to strive for a situation next year where they were doing that.
Stanford advances to face South Carolina in the NCAA WBB Final Four and the winner of that contest will face the winner of UConn versus Arizona.
A fun season ended too soon, but the Cards return everyone except Dana. Who knows what twists and turns the transfer portal will bring, this is college's athletics version of free agency, but this will be a squad that will be long remembered for their fight, desire, effort and success during a global pandemic. They, and I, look forward to next season, in front of (hopefully) a loud and raucous crowd in the KFC YUM Center.
Thank you Jeff, thank you Sam, Steph, JP and Beth, and thank you student-athletes for the thrills you brought CardNation this season.
--sonja--
The Stanford height and a key Stanford sub made the difference in the final 20 minutes, especially in the fourth quarter, where the Trees out-scored the Cards 30-13.
Dana Evans was brilliant for Louisville in the loss, with 24 points and six of eight three-point shooting, but, the Cardinal defense allowed 52 second-half points and 62.5% shooting in the final twenty minutes.
Stanford was up 68-60 with just over 3 minutes left when Kiana Williams hit a step-back 3 that sealed the victory. She finished with 14 points.
Lexie Hull scored 21 points for the Cardinal, while Ashten Prechtel came on in the second half and added 16 points on 6-6 shooting, 3-3 from three-point range, in just 15 minutes of action.
''What a great substitution that (Prechtel) was. She changed the entire game,'' head coach Jeff Walz said. ''Her 15 minutes, she's plus-27 on the plus-and-minus side. She won the game for them. ...She was remarkable there in the second half.''
Dana Evans was named to the Alamo Region All-Tournament Team after finishing with 24 points on 9-20 shooting from the floor and 6-8 from 3-point range. She is the only player in UofL history to win four regular season conference championships and she has the best winning percentage and fewest losses of any player in program history.
Kasa Robinson finished with seven points and eight rebounds, while Kianna Smith had eight points and seven rebounds.
Yes, a season ended too soon for UofL WBB fans, but a season where the Cards created a lot of excitement, joy, fond memories and went 26-4.
A huge "thank you" to Dana for the four years of joy, excitement, hard work, dedication and effort she gave the UofL WBB program. And, best wishes for a very long and successful WNBA career. We'll always remember you, Dana.
So, the Cards go home.
Poignant and touching -- as the squad gathered on the floor after the game, Jeff Walz instructed his student-athletes to turn and watch the celebration on the other end of the floor and them told them to remember that. He asked them if they wanted to be the ones celebrating this time next year and to strive for a situation next year where they were doing that.
Stanford advances to face South Carolina in the NCAA WBB Final Four and the winner of that contest will face the winner of UConn versus Arizona.
A fun season ended too soon, but the Cards return everyone except Dana. Who knows what twists and turns the transfer portal will bring, this is college's athletics version of free agency, but this will be a squad that will be long remembered for their fight, desire, effort and success during a global pandemic. They, and I, look forward to next season, in front of (hopefully) a loud and raucous crowd in the KFC YUM Center.
Thank you Jeff, thank you Sam, Steph, JP and Beth, and thank you student-athletes for the thrills you brought CardNation this season.
--sonja--
