Syracuse was in town, no excuse for letting down again the ‘Cuse. Not the strongest rival but always a hurdle.
Games between the University of Louisville and Syracuse women’s basketball teams always seem to be rough and tumble affairs. Thursday’s game was no exception, with UofL holding on at the end for a 74-64 win before 7,442 fans at the KFC Yum! Center.
Rough and tumble, indeed, with no break in defensive intensity on either side. Louisville led 33-30 at the half, improved the lead to 59-51 in the third quarter, but went scoreless for almost four minutes in the fourth. In fact, seven of UofL’s 12 points came at the free throw line in the final 12 minutes.
Tajianna Roberts led the Cardinals in scoring with 13 points, closely followed by Jayda Curry with four of four from behind the 3-point line for 12 points. Two other UofL players had double-doubles, Ja’Leah Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Nyla Harris (10 points, 11 rebounds).
With Syracuse out the way, Louisville is 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange is 7-10 overall, 1-5 in conference play.
UofL is on the road Sunday at 4 p.m. for a game against Virginia Tech. The Hokies lost their coach and two best players to the University of Kentucky (Virginia Tech West in Lexington).
