Louisville moves on to Elite 8 with 86-59 win over Stanford

In a Lexington arena filled with red instead of blue, Louisville took one step closer to another Final Four. The Cardinals started out the game looking a little out of the flow, but when things settled down and finally started clicking then the Cardinal didn’t have an answer.

Myisha Hines-Allen had 17 points which moved her into the 2,000 point club alongside only Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel. She said this of her accomplishment, “It means a lot. I mean, I really can’t explain it...Angel McCaughtry and Shoni Schimmel in this program have gotten it. Just to be with those type of players is amazing, and I know Asia Durr is about to be up there, too, soon.”

After the game Asia Durr said of her teammate, “I have so much fun playing with her. She brings me so much confidence....I mean, she plays her butt off...I feel like she’s the best post player in the country”

The players were asked about their rebounding which led to this exchange:

Sam: I feel like I’ve been going to the glass a lot more than in the regular season. I don’t really know why I’ve changed like that, but I mean, it’s been working.

Myisha: She wants to steal my rebounds.

Sam: No, Myisha used to steal all of my rebounds, all of them.

Asia: Now you steal mine.

They joke, but the reason I know Jeff Walz was trying to rush through the extra late post-game presser is that he never mentioned this sequence:

Despite this Louisville out-rebounded Stanford 34-29.

Asia Durr led all scorers with 24. She also added 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Same Fuehring had 9 points and 11 rebounds. Arica Carter added 13 points.

When Jeff Walz was asked about how much he appreciates the effort of Myisha, Sam and Asia he joked, “Yeah, when we recruited them, they weren’t very good. My staff has done a fantastic job of taking bad players and making them good.” Then he got serious and added, “They’re the first ones in the gym, last ones out of the gym. They’re great -- not just great players, they’re great young women.” He talked about how coaching is more than just about games, “The games are -- you know, obviously it’s what we do, but it’s a time that we get to spend with them off the court that really is what this is all about. It’s why I love coaching women’s basketball, because you get these young women for four years, so you actually get to watch them grow.”

He also added that family is the most important thing in life and that coaching comes second. “I tell people all the time, I’m going to play the power ball, I’ve got my tickets. I think it’s about 485, and there’s a chance if I win, Steph might be coaching tomorrow. You know, 485 million, I mean, I’d like to go count that, you know? I’ll ask for it all in 5s and 10s.”

You can tell they’re having fun on and off the court. For example, here at practice where Myisha accidentally beaned the ball off of Coach Purcell’s head.

Hopefully the fun will continue on Sunday at noon when the Cards take on Oregon State for a shot at the Final Four. The game can be seen on on ESPN.