Give Jeff Walz’ Louisville team credit. While the Cardinals came up short against UConn in the Big East Tournament championship game, they gave the top-ranked Huskies all they could handle.
Playing their fourth game in four days, Louisville couldn’t quite get over the hump against a talented UConn team, falling to the Huskies 65-59.
But the Cardinals played hard, fought the Huskies for every inch and battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit against a team that has beaten teams by an average of more than 30 points per game this season.
Down 42-26, Louisville had a 12-0 run midway through the second half to cut the Huskies lead to 42-38 with 8:51 left in the contest.
The Cardinals kept chipping away at the Huskies lead. Brandie Raddie hit two three’s to cut the lead to 46-44 with six minutes left and Patrika Barlow cut UConn’s lead to one at 48-47 on a three-pointer with just over five minutes remaining.
UConn then used a quick 5-0 spurt on a layup and three free throws to extend their lead to 53-47 with just under four minutes remaining.
Louisville came right back though, cutting the lead to 53-51 with 2:15 after two free throws and a rebound put back by Bingham.
McCoughtry made 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to 56-52 with just over one minute remaining.
But UConn hit 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to close out the game – and the victory.
Maya Moore made 1 of 2 free throws at 56 seconds to give the Huskies a 57-52 lead and UConn grabbed the rebound and was fouled, hitting 1-2 free throws to take a 59-52 lead. After a missed shot by Louisville, the Huskies hit two free throws to make it 61-52 with 30 seconds to play.
Angel McCoughtry finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Now, Louisville will wait to see what seed they’ll get in the NCAA Tournament. Based on their performance in the Big East and their second place finish in the conference tournament, the Cardinals appear headed for the highest NCAA seed in program history. Louisville could be a No. 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.