Comeback Falls Short For No. 14 Miami In Battle With No. 9 Louisville
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LOUISVILLE (CBSMiami/AP) — The Miami Hurricanes women faced a very tough test this week, playing consecutive games against ranked ACC opponents.
The Louisville Cardinals proved to be a more than formidable opponent.
Mariya Moore took her coach's advice and helped Louisville seal its win against Miami.
After grabbing a Hurricanes' miss the Cardinals forward was fouled with 7 seconds left and her team clinging to a three-point lead, Moore hit her first foul shot, but missed the second.
She stayed with the play, though, running down the rebound to preserve No. 9 Louisville's 63-59 victory over 14th-ranked Miami on Sunday.
"I was actually really mad that I missed it, but (Cardinals coach Jeff Walz) had been yelling at me all game about making a mistake and just continuing to play through, so instead of just standing on the free throw line I decided to go get my miss," said Moore, who scored eight of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Louisville led by five with 3 minutes left before Miami cut it to 60-59 with 57 seconds left. Myisha Hines-Allen hit two free throws to extend the lead.
Jessica Thomas missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left that would have tied it. Moore grabbed the rebound setting up her strong finish.
Briahanna Jackson added 11 points while Hines-Allen had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Louisville (16-4, 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference).
Adrienne Motley had 13 points to lead the Hurricanes (14-4, 3-3).
Miami trailed for the entire game and was down by nine late in the third quarter before rallying to within 47-43 at the end of the period.
"I went into the fourth quarter saying we are exactly where I expected us to be and wanted us to be, which was down four," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "I was more than happy with where we were on the road. I thought we were just going to play well and we were going to make plays down the stretch and steal a really important basketball game. So, I thought we were right in position there. We were down four, which is perfect, a perfect spot to be in. That's just when you go and you execute it."
THE BIG PICTURE
Miami: The Hurricanes have split their first six ACC games. Their three conference losses have come to No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Florida State and No. 9 Louisville.
"Miami's 3-3 in the league, but look who they've played starting off. ...They're playing some pretty darn good basketball teams," Walz said. "If I'm (Hurricanes coach) Katie (Meier) am I concerned about being 3-3? Not at all, because they've been in every game and she has a heck of a ball club and she does a great job."
Louisville: The Cardinals bounced back from their Thursday night 72-65 loss at No. 7 Florida State with their 10th win in their past 12 games.
"We know what we're capable of doing, now it's a matter of continuing to get some consistency from our entire team," Walz said.
UNBEATEN IN JANUARY
Louisville has enjoyed success in the month of January under Walz. The Cardinals, with the victory, have won 27-straight games at home, dating back to the 2009-10 season. Louisville beat Villanova on Jan. 26, 2009, in Freedom Hall, and has won the last 26-consecutive games in the first month of the year in the KFC Yum! Center.
BIG CROWD
Louisville drew over 10,016 fans for the Top 25 match. It was the second time this season the Cardinals went over the 10,000 mark this season. The Cardinals had 12,245 fans for their matchup against rival Kentucky on Dec. 4.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Miami: The Hurricanes, who handed No. 15 Virginia Tech its first loss (82-75) Wednesday before losing to Louisville, shouldn't move too much in the next poll.
Louisville: The Cardinals, who lost by seven to the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla. before beating Miami, could be in danger of dropping out of the Top 10.
UP NEXT
Miami: The Hurricanes play at Syracuse next Sunday.
Louisville: The Cardinals host Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
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