by CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Louisville coach Jeff Walz brought his eighth-ranked team to Virginia looking for momentum.
The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament starts this week, and Walz wanted the third-seeded Cardinals in top form.
Instead, they will arrive in Greensboro, North Carolina coming off a 75-59 loss on Senior Day at Virginia.
“Our goal was to come in here and win and go into the ACC tournament on a high note,” Walz said.
The Cavaliers (17-12, 7-9 ACC) instead gave them some things to work on.
“They took things to us. I was really concerned about the rebounding side of the game,” Walz said. “They came out and did a great job of rebounding on the offensive and defensive glass. The problem was that they didn’t have to get too many offensive rebounds because they shot 50 percent from the field. We did not do a very good job on defense.”
The self-scouting won’t stop there, he said.
“We were very poor in some of our decision making at the offensive end. We didn’t step up and make some open looks,” he said. “But at the same time I thought we did do some good things. It’s something that we’ll have to look at on the film and make some adjustments. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do as we move forward.
The Cardinals (24-5, 12-4) have time because they don’t play again until the quarterfinals on Friday
For Virginia, Faith Randolph had 23 points and eight assists, Sarah Imovbioh added 22 points and 17 rebounds and the Cavaliers finished the game on a 28-10 run to get the signature victory they have been seeking all season.
After Louisville used a 13-2 run to take a two-point lead at 47-45, the Cavaliers (17-12, 7-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 16 of the next 20 points to rally for win for the second time in seven games.
Emmonnie Henderson scored 13 points and Shawnta’ Dyer had 12 to lead Louisville. The Cardinals shot 33 percent (20-60), were outrebounded 39-28 and lost for the second time in seven games. Virginia, conversely, shot 51.2 percent (21-41). Jude Schimmel had 8 points and a team-high 6 assists for the Cardinals
The game turned after the teams traded runs in the second half, with Louisville using its burst to take a 47-45 lead. The game was tied at 47 and 49, but the two free throws by Mason that pulled Virginia even started the run that gave the Cavaliers something to hope to build on in the ACC tournament.
