Louisville women’s basketball eliminated by Michigan in NCAA Sweet 16
Jeff Walz's Louisville Cardinals lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA Sweet 16, eliminating UofL women's basketball from March Madness.
FORT WORTH, TX — The Louisville women's basketball bench seemed to be a stark contrast from the players on the court. The sideline yelled, cheered and gave instructions. It projected an energy level that, unfortunately for the Cards (29-8), didn't translate to the floor.
Third-seeded Louisville's lethargic play led to a 71-52 Sweet 16 loss to second-seeded Michigan (28-6) on Saturday at Dickies Arena . Despite going up by as many as 11 points in the first half, Louisville faded. The longer the game went, the bigger Michigan's lead grew, resulting in the Cards' lowest-scoring performance of the season as the offense committed 17 turnovers.
They found a small spark in the final minutes of the game as head coach Jeff Walz called for tempo. But it wasn't enough to stop their season from ending. Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals’ Elite Eight loss to Michigan: The curse of the second quarter Even on the road and in the postseason, Louisville couldn’t avoid its habit of having one bad quarter — the second period, in particular.
The trend continued against Michigan, as the Cardinals saw their 11-point lead (25-14) midway through the frame become a five-point deficit just six minutes later. UofL had three turnovers and only one made field goal in the final six minutes of the frame. Michigan capitalized with a 16-0 run.