Spring Break
L'ville knocks off Oklahoma, will face UConn in title game
Mike Northup
Issue date: 4/6/09 Section: March Madness
ST. LOUIS - Down two to Louisville and with two seconds left, Oklahoma's Nyeshia Stevenson shot off a desperation wide-open 3-pointer attempt. The ball rolled around the rim and flew out, sending the Cardinals to their first NCAA Tournament finals game in school history with a 61-59 comeback victory.
"Gosh, nobody expected us to be here right now," said Louisville forward Angel McCoughtry. "It feels so good to prove everybody wrong."
It was the second straight game in which the No. 3 seed Cardinals knocked off a No. 1 seed - they beat top-seed Maryland in the Raleigh Regional final - but McCoughtry doesn't want people to look at this Louisville team as a Cinderella.
"I wouldn't really say we're Cinderella, because I think we're just as good as any of these teams," McCoughtry said.
McCoughtry overcame a first half where she finished with just four points on 0-for-7 shooting, prompting coach Jeff Walz to call her performance "an embarrassment."
She responded in the second half by taking over - finishing with a game-high 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five steals, helping the Cardinals to erase a 12-point halftime deficit.
"That shows a lot of heart to come back and play against this Oklahoma team who have a lot of players and to come out with the win," McCoughtry said.
Louisville trailed 34-22 at halftime after a dismal first half on offense, but opened up the second half red-hot. Just over four minutes into the second half, McCoughtry blew by a pair of Sooners defenders to give Louisville its first lead of the game at 37-35. That basket was part of a 20-4 Louisville run to start the half, putting the Cardinals up 42-38.
The Sooners fought back hard, tying the game on five occasions in the game's final nine-and-a-half minutes, but only managing to take one short-lived lead on a Courtney Paris free throw. Paris' sister Ashley, who finished with a team-high 16 points, brought the game to within one at 60-59 on a layup with eight seconds left. Louisville forward Candyce Bingham made one of her two ensuing free throws for the final two-point margin of victory.
Louisville will face UConn in the national championship game at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
"Gosh, nobody expected us to be here right now," said Louisville forward Angel McCoughtry. "It feels so good to prove everybody wrong."
It was the second straight game in which the No. 3 seed Cardinals knocked off a No. 1 seed - they beat top-seed Maryland in the Raleigh Regional final - but McCoughtry doesn't want people to look at this Louisville team as a Cinderella.
"I wouldn't really say we're Cinderella, because I think we're just as good as any of these teams," McCoughtry said.
McCoughtry overcame a first half where she finished with just four points on 0-for-7 shooting, prompting coach Jeff Walz to call her performance "an embarrassment."
She responded in the second half by taking over - finishing with a game-high 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five steals, helping the Cardinals to erase a 12-point halftime deficit.
"That shows a lot of heart to come back and play against this Oklahoma team who have a lot of players and to come out with the win," McCoughtry said.
Louisville trailed 34-22 at halftime after a dismal first half on offense, but opened up the second half red-hot. Just over four minutes into the second half, McCoughtry blew by a pair of Sooners defenders to give Louisville its first lead of the game at 37-35. That basket was part of a 20-4 Louisville run to start the half, putting the Cardinals up 42-38.
The Sooners fought back hard, tying the game on five occasions in the game's final nine-and-a-half minutes, but only managing to take one short-lived lead on a Courtney Paris free throw. Paris' sister Ashley, who finished with a team-high 16 points, brought the game to within one at 60-59 on a layup with eight seconds left. Louisville forward Candyce Bingham made one of her two ensuing free throws for the final two-point margin of victory.
Louisville will face UConn in the national championship game at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
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