The University of Louisville women’s basketball team secured a hard-fought victory against Florida State on Sunday, January 15th, with a final score of 82-75. The game, which took place at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, was a closely contested affair that came down to the final minutes of play.
The Cardinals (14-6, 5-2) used a 31-point fourth quarter to erase a six-point deficit as they shot 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the field in the final quarter. Morgan Jones, who returned to Tallahassee after playing her first four seasons with the Seminoles, recorded her first double-double with the Cardinals. Jones had a game-high 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting and led the team with 10 rebounds. Hailey Van Lith also had a strong game, scoring 20 points and leading the team with a career-high eight assists and five steals to go with eight rebounds. Olivia Cochran had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Chrislyn Carr added 11 points.
The Cardinals held ACC leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson, to 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting, both season-lows. Latson came into the game averaging 25.0 points per game.
Both teams were held scoreless for over two minutes to start the first quarter as the teams struggled to find their shots. The Seminoles built a nine-point lead during the middle portion of the quarter, but the Cardinals cut into the deficit and at the end of the first, the Cards trailed 20-14.
The Cardinals continued to cut into the Seminoles’ lead in the second quarter and got their first lead of the game with 3:30 left in the quarter on a Jones jumper. Jones took over in the second quarter, as she scored the final eight points of the quarter for the Cardinals. The Seminoles jumped back in front in the final minutes and Florida State had a 33-29 lead at the break.
The Cardinals responded with the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take the lead and the Seminoles called a quick timeout. The Cardinals continued the hot shooting in the quarter, making 6-of-7 shots, to build a five-point lead at 70-65 and the Seminoles called another timeout. Florida State cut the lead to two with under two minutes when Jones grabbed a crucial offensive rebound, hit the layup and got fouled. She completed the three-point play to put the Cards up five with 1:36 left.
Van Lith sealed the win for the Cardinals with a fall-away shot just inside the three-point line with 25 seconds left. The Seminoles did not score again as the Cardinals closed out their sixth road win of the season.
The Cardinals return to campus as they have a two-game homestand starting on Thursday, January 19. The Cardinals will welcome Boston College to the KFC Yum! Center before closing out the week with NC State on January 23rd.
