Cards Hang On To Advance Over Nebraska

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 21, 2025

The No. 7 seed Louisville Cardinals (22-10) rallied back in the fourth quarter to outlast No. 10 seed Nebraska (21-12), 63-58, Friday night at the Schollmaier Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Facing a four-point deficit with six minutes left in the game, the Cardinals ended the game on a 13-4 run to close out the win. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 15-1 in the first round under head coach Jeff Walz.

Tajianna Roberts led the way with a game-high 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting. Ja’Leah Williams led the team with nine rebounds to go with five points and four steals. Jayda Curry scored in double figures with 13 points and a team-best six assists. Cochran joined the duo in double figures with 14 points and was 5-for-9 from the field.

Cochran wasted no time getting involved early, scoring six of the first eight points for the Cardinals. Louisville hit a cold spell from the field, going almost five minutes of game play without a made field goal. A late Merissah Russell three-pointer pulled them closer and the first quarter ended with a 16-14 Nebraska advantage.

After going scoreless in the first quarter, Roberts began to heat up in the second. She scored five-straight points, including the second three-pointer for the Cards on the night. Roberts finished the quarter 5-for-6 from the field and sparked a 9-0 Louisville run to end the quarter. Heading into the half, the Cards held a 36-32 lead.

Roberts had a game-high 12 points in the first half, all coming in the second quarter. Cochran battled foul trouble but had eight first half points. Williams was active on the boards with five rebounds and also had five points.

Louisville stepped it up defensively in the third quarter. They held the Huskers scoreless for the first 4:53 of the frame while they extended the lead up to seven. Lead grew to nine before Nebraska battled back and pulled it within two. The Cardinals hit their final three shots in the quarter, including back-to-back layups by Elif Istanbulluoglu, to take a 50-44 lead into the fourth.

Nebraska regained the lead as they started the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and forced the Cardinals to burn a timeout. Facing the four point deficit, the Cards scored six of the next eight points to tie the game up on a jumper from Curry.

After a defensive stop, Curry hit another basket to put the Cards back in the lead. The Huskers responded with a layup to tie the game with under a minute left. That was the last basket Nebraska would hit as the Cards closed the game out on the free throw line with the final five points to clinch the win.

The Cardinals move on to the second round where a matchup with the hosts, No. 2 seed TCU, awaits. Louisville and TCU will square off on Sunday, March 23 from Schollmaier Arena with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Game time and TV designation will be determined later this evening.