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Monday night Louisville was visited by a ghost of conference past when #19 USF came back to the Yum! Center The Bulls (who much to my chagrin have dropped my favorite nickname in all of college sports---the Lady Bulls. Lady. Bulls. ) played an impressive first half led by the smooth play of senior Courtney Williams and her 13 points. Louisville was led by Mariyah Moore's 12 points and the Cards went on a 9-0 run to end the half up 31-27.
The game was very physical on both sides and at one point Williams seemingly decapitated Briahanna Jackson.
USF’s Courtney Williams fouls @GoCards Briahanna Jackson at the @kfc_yumcenter. #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/8KuIIbXuPE
— Sam Upshaw Jr. (@CJ_Upshot) February 16, 2016
In all seriousness Briahanna seemed so frustrated all night that she may have actually wished somebody would take her head off and give it a good scrubbing of all memories of this game.. She scored 1 point and at just under 7 minutes to go she reluctantly passed up an open shot and threw the ball to a teammate with a heavy sigh. One has to believe if she continues doing other things to help the team that she'll find her shot again, but right now she looks defeated.
Conversely, Arica Carter had one of her best games as a Cardinal. There is always at least one freshmen each year that seems to have a difficult time adjusting to Coach Walz's....ahem...."spirited" coaching style. Last year Arica seemed to hang her head the most after a good tongue lashing, and it affected her play. There have been no signs of that her sophomore year. She has been a steady leader at the point and last night she was an additional offensive threat for the team. She finished with a career high 15 points including a clutch three to end the first half.
Myisha Hines-Allen continued her stellar sophomore season. She was Louisville's answer to Courtney Williams finishing the game with 25 points (10-14 FG/5-6 FT) and 10 rebounds. After the game Coach Walz praised her efficiency but challenged her to improve in the area of offensive rebounding.
Going into the last quarter the Cards took their 52-43 lead and extended it. USF's Williams finally got tired from carrying the team on her back with her 25 points and started missing shots. In fact, the Bulls only had 3 baskets in the 4th. After a hard fought game Louisville ended up with a comfortable 67-50 victory.
Next up the Cards get back to ACC competition vs. Virginia at home in the Yum! Center at 7pm. The game is a Pink Out It for Cancer Awareness and can be seen on ESPN 3.