Cardinals Comeback Falls Short Against Notre Dame, 77-68

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 8, 2024

The No. 5 seed Louisville Cardinals (24-9) dropped its quarterfinal matchup to No. 4 seed Notre Dame (24-6), 77-68, Friday afternoon at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Louisville struggled from the floor in the first half and faced a big halftime deficit. The Cardinals fought back in the second half and got the deficit down to three but were unable to come all the way back.

Jayda Curry had her best game in a Louisville uniform as she sparked the comeback bid in the second half. She scored a team-best 26 points on 8-for-16 shooting, 3-for-6 from behind the arc and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals. 23 of Curry’s 26 points came in the second half as the Cardinals made their comeback bid. Nyla Harris had a team-best 10 rebounds and was one point shy of a double-double with nine points.

Louisville got off to a slow start from the field in the first quarter. The Cardinals did not hit a field goal until the 3:20 mark of the opening quarter. After the first 10 minutes, the Cards faced a 19-10 deficit.

The shooting struggles continued into the second quarter as the Cards’ first make from the field did not happen until the 6:33 mark. Heading into the half, the Cardinals trailed 34-17.

The Cardinals started to knock down some shots in the third quarter and ripped off a 7-0 run to cut into the deficit. The Cardinals nearly shot 50 percent from the floor in the quarter and outscored the Irish 22-17. With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Cardinals trailed 51-39.

Louisville continued to chip away at the deficit into the fourth quarter as Jayda Curry scored six of their first eight points to begin the frame. The Cardinals got the deficit down to three with under one minute left as Curry continued her feverous run. Curry tallied 15 points in the fourth quarter alone but the Cardinals were unable to complete the full comeback.

The Cardinals will await their fate for the NCAA Tournament on Section Sunday, which is set for next Sunday, March 17. The selection show will begin at 8 p.m. ET and it will be aired on ESPN.