by TAMPA, Fla. (AP) One of Louisville’s smallest players came up big down the stretch and the Cardinals are moving on in the NCAA Tournament.
Jude Schimmel, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, scored 13 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 12 and No. 3 seed Louisville reached its third consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 by beating No. 6 seed South Florida 60-52 on Monday night.
”She was great,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. ”Size, it’s just a number. You can’t measure a kid’s heart, OK, and her heart is as big as anybody’s out there.”
Schimmel scored eight of her points over the final 3 minutes, including six in the last 69 seconds.
”I knew that I had to be a leader,” Schimmel said. ”At that point we needed somebody to step up and I said `why not me.”’
Louisville (27-6) will face Dayton in the round of 16.
Courtney Williams had 25 points for South Florida (27-8). It was the 20th time she scored 20 or more this season.
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“At that point we needed somebody to step up and I said ‘why not me.'”
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”They closed the game,” South Florida coach Jose Fernandez said.
Schimmel had an in-close basket and set up Hines-Allen’s layup to put Louisville ahead 50-47 with 2:25 remaining. Bria Smithmade it 52-47 with two free throws after a USF turnover.
”Jude is a smart player,” Williams said.
Williams and Alisia Jenkins made layups during a 6-0 spurt that gave South Florida a 47-46 lead with 5 minutes to play.
Sara Hammond had a basket and Hines-Allen followed with a layup as Louisville took a 34-26 lead 2 1-2 minutes in the second half.
The Bulls scored six consecutive points, keyed by two free throws by Williams after Mariya Moore was given a technical foul after a video review, to get within 37-34 with 13 minutes to play.
Shawnta’ Dyer had eight of her 10 points off the bench to help Louisville go up 28-23 at halftime.
Moore and Schimmel both had 3-pointers during an early 10-0 run that put Louisville ahead 12-2. It was the Cardinals’ 75th run this season of 8-0 or larger. Moore finished with 11 points.
South Florida responded with a 12-2 surge, including a pair of 3’s by Laura Ferreira, to tie it 14-14 only 7 1-2 minutes in.
”We knew it was going to be a game of runs,” Hines-Allen said. ”We just had to play smart basketball.”
Walz is 20-6 in NCAA Tournament games. The Cardinals have had success previously in advancing when a No. 3 seed, reaching the championship game in 2009 and the Elite Eight last year.
Louisville is making its sixth overall Sweet 16 appearance.
