WBB: Cardinals Outlast Cardinal, 74-65

Mark BlankenbakerFebruary 10, 2025

The Louisville women’s basketball team (17-7, 10-3 ACC) used a strong third quarter to hold on for a 74-65 win over Stanford (11-12, 3-9 ACC) on Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center. In the final game of their homestand, the Cards went 6-for-14 (42.9%) from beyond the arc while holding the Cardinal to just 2-for-16 (12.5%) from long range. Louisville won the rebounding battle 35-28 and pulled down 11 offensive boards in the process.

Tajianna Roberts once again led the way for the Cards offensively, racking up 21 points on 8-for-17 (47.1%) shooting with four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. She went 4-for-7 (57.1%) from three and her 14-point third quarter helped her to her fourth 20-point performance of the season. Jayda Curry finished with 19 points on 4-for-9 (44.4%) shooting with three assists and two steals of her own, scoring 15 in the final quarter to boost Louisville to victory. Ja’Leah Williams joined Roberts and Curry in double figures with 13 points, going 5-for-12 (41.7%) from the field.

Both teams got out to a slow start offensively, with the Cards shooting 3-for-9 and the Cardinal shooting 2-for-7 from the field going into the first media time out. Stanford began to knock down shots as the quarter came to a close, finishing the first on a 9-2 run and leading 15-13 after 10 minutes.

Louisville began to find its groove offensively in the second quarter, hitting four consecutive field goals to pull out to a 23-18 lead with just under five minutes left in the half. After the Cardinal began to claw back toward the end of the quarter, Roberts nailed the Cards’ first three of the game and Williams hit a tough jump shot to give Louisville a 30-23 lead heading into the break.

The Cards forced 10 Stanford turnovers and outrebounded the Cardinal 20-16 in the first half. Nyla Harris led all Louisville scorers and rebounders with eight points and five boards in 13 first half minutes. Williams added seven points on 3-5 shooting.

The Cards scored the first five points of the second half before Stanford struck for six quick points to cut the Louisville lead in half. Roberts knocked down her second three pointer of the quarter and dropped in a fastbreak layup to swing the momentum back in Louisville’s favor and force the Cardinal into a timeout. The freshman continued her third quarter explosion with another short jumper and three pointer to cap a 10-0 Cards run, extending their lead to 45-29. Roberts outscored Stanford by herself in the third, as her 14-point outburst on 5-for-6 shooting led Louisville to a 52-34 advantage with ten minutes left to play.

The physicality ramped up in the fourth quarter, and the Cardinal hit five of their first eight field goals of the quarter to bring the Cards’ lead down to 13 at the final media timeout. Stanford kept its foot on the gas out of the break, finishing off a 9-0 run to pull within seven points. Curry ended the run with a corner three to get Louisville’s lead back to double digits at 63-53. The Cardinal kept fighting in the final minutes, cutting the Cards’ lead to as little as four with under two minutes remaining. Curry gave Louisville some breathing room with an and-one layup on the next possession, bringing the lead back to three possessions. The senior guard, who finished with 15 points in the final quarter, knocked down eight of her nine free throws down the stretch to keep the Cards afloat and finish off a 74-65 win.

Louisville hits the road to Tallahassee for a matchup with #22 Florida State on Thursday, February 13 at the Tucker Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.