Louisville advances to first ACC final with 64-59 win over NC State

NC State held an 18-12 advantage over Louisville at the end of the first quarter. They also had 11 rebounds to the Cards’ 4. After a spirited timeout where Coach Walz told Myisha Hines-Allen if she didn’t start rebounding he was going to sit her on the bench—things changed. Myisha got 2 rebounds in the next minute and the team differential shrank to 11-15. Not by coincidence Louisville had a 32-31 lead at halftime. As Coach Purcell said, “It came down to heart, passion, and will and we fought, fought, fought.”

Asia Durr struggled to score again (9 points) but according to Coach Purcell, “Asia is the Player of the Year, and I have to tip my hat. She was so unselfish. Two people have to guard her and Jazmine benefits from that. We played together and passed the ball and it was beautiful.” Jazmine finished with 13. Of Sam Fuehring he said, “Thanks to everybody who didn’t vote for her [for the ACC team] because it motivated her even more. We know how much she brings to our team.” Sam finished with 15 points.

Louisville plays for the ACC tournament championship against the winner of FSU/Notre Dame on Sunday at 2PM. The game is on ESPN2.