Louisville Defeats Miami 71-57

Louisville started off the game with a slew of turnovers but after committing 9 early they only finished the game with 13. They fixed their mistakes and turned up the intensity on defense and took the lead. As Coach Walz said, “We’re really good at times. There’s moments I’d put us up against anybody out here. And then there’s moments I’m not sure who we are. We just have some mental breakdowns, we get frustrated, and then we don’t communicate on defense.... If we can clean those things up I’m telling you... I wouldn’t want to play us.”

Once again Hailey Van Lith led all scorers. She finished with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Mykasa Robinson scored a career-high 12 points and added 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Liz Dixon had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Hailey talked about Liz’s contribution, “We love Liz. She just shows up every day and puts the work in so when she has great games I love that for her.” She added, “We need her, and I think her ability to step up this year is great. That shows guts from her, and I love it.”

Josie Williams came in briefly at the end of the 3rd quarter and got 5 points and 1 steal. Coach Walz praised her saying, “I’m so excited for Josie and I know she only played a minute-thirty in the game but I told the kids that she took advantage. Her minute-thirty was as important a minute-thirty as we’ve had, and I’m really, really proud of her.”

Mykasa talked about the possibility that she could be ACC Defensive Player of the Year. “The last few years I’ve made the defensive team and this is something that I’ve been striving for and I’m very blessed to be on a team that has my back and supports me in that.” Hailey jumped in to say, “Kas IS ACC Defensive Player of the Year. If they don’t give it to her that’s the biggest snub I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never seen someone who can lock down 1 through 5. She can guard the biggest girl in the conference and the quickest guard in the conference. I’m glad she’s on my team. If she guarded me that sh*t would be tough.”

Next up the Cards have a rematch against Notre Dame. It is Senior Night and the ceremony will start at 11:35 with tip off at noon. Hailey called their last game a heartbreaker but said, “We don’t lose on Senior Night and we don’t lose at home. That’s our mindset going in.” The game can be seen on ESPN.