LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — 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).
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.
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.
REAL REASON FOR STEELERS’ GAME TIME CHANGE
After the game Walz, a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan, was asked about Sunday night’s NFL playoff game between Pittsburgh and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“They (the NFL) had asked us to change our time, but ESPN said we couldn’t do it so they changed their game,” Walz responded, tongue firmly in cheek. “When they called, they were concerned about our game and the Steeler game going on at the same time about their ratings, because the NFL ratings have kind of dropped, so they said they were going to switch the Steeler game to a night game. It had nothing to do with the weather, they were worried about their viewership.”
UP NEXT
Miami: The Hurricanes play at Syracuse next Sunday.
Louisville: The Cardinals host Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.