Recap: Louisville Defeats Chattanooga to Sweep HOF Tournament

Louisville started the final game of the Hall of Fame Tournament looking like they took Coach Walz's warnings about having to play focused to heart.  About halfway through the first quarter they were shooting 80% (8-10) while holding a good Chattanooga team to 22% (2-9). Naturally as the game progressed they couldn't sustain that level of dominance.  In fact, despite the Cards having a double digit lead the Mocs didn't seem comfortably out of striking distance until the final minutes.  The final was 63-47 with no Louisville player achieving double figures in scoring.

By far the highlight of the game (season?) came in the first half.  The ball got wedged between the rim and the backboard and for about five seconds every single person on the floor just stood and stared at it.  Then 5' 6" Briahanna Jackson decided she didn't have time for the refs to get it together and fix the problem.  She jumped up and grabbed the net, pulled herself up, and punched the ball out.  I am also 5' 6" and am now convinced I'm about 3 weeks in the gym away from TOTALLY being able to pull off that same feat.

Just when you think you have seen it all.... @bj_hoopstar jumps up & knocks the ball down from the rim. No need for the broom. #SheIsOurPG pic.twitter.com/S8VyeqkMm8

— Sam Purcell (@coachsampurcell) November 22, 2016

Other notes:

- Asia Durr was named ACC Player of the Week but she had an off night.  She played 18 minutes and had 7 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 2 turnovers.  What struck me about this was that if that had happened last year we very well may have lost as opposed to winning handily.  Balance.

- Mariya Moore joined teammate Myisha Hines-Allen in the 1,000 point club.  As Coach Walz pointed out in the post-game if you counted Briahanna Jackson's numbers from USF we would currently have three players with 1,000 career points.

.@UofLWBB's Mariya Moore was honored by coach Jeff Walz after scoring 1000 career points against Chattanooga at the @kfc_yumcenter. #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/faLf5nitvF

— Sam Upshaw Jr. (@CJ_Upshot) November 22, 2016

- Freshman Jazmine Jones played 16 minutes and had 8 points and 4 steals.  Despite a wicked crossover for a layup in the final seconds right now she leads the team in jaw-dropping moves to the basket that end in a missed shot.  Still, you can see the magic is there.  She's on the cusp of getting comfortable with the game at the college level and then she's going to blow people away.

- Jeff Walz pointed out that we started the game with 10 assists and 1 turnover until he started substituting.  He did say that he was impressed with Brianna Jones.  "I was really proud of her...she took advantage of her opportunity."  He also said that he was really pleased with starter Taylor Johnson but he has to teach not to play at only one speed-- "warp speed"-- but that she really wants to learn.

- On a non-basketball related note, condolences and prayers to the community of Chattanooga after the tragic bus crash on Monday.

Next up is #3 South Carolina at 1pm Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women's Challenge in Massachusetts.  The game will be shown on ESPN2.