WBB: Cards Knock Off #21 Cal 70-63

Mark BlankenbakerFebruary 6, 2025

The Louisville women’s basketball team (16-7, 9-3 ACC) rode a strong defensive effort to a 70-63 win over #21 California (19-5, 7-4 ACC) on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards forced 23 Golden Bear turnovers to just 22 field goals allowed in the game, holding Cal, who came in with the second most made three pointers in the ACC on the season, to 6-28 from beyond the arc. The win marks Louisville’s second win over a ranked opponent on the season.

In a game in which she reached 1,500 career points, Olivia Cochran led the way for the Cards offensively, coming up just shy of a double-double with 18 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Imari Berry contributed 14 points on 4-5 shooting off the bench, and Ja’Leah Williams also reached double figures with 11 points of her own. Jayda Curry continued her impressive defensive play with four more steals, giving her nine in the last two games.

Cal jumped out to a hot start, scoring each of their first three trips down the court and forcing Louisville to call an early timeout not even two minutes into the game. The Cards answered back, cutting the deficit to two with a Tajianna Roberts layup and a Williams and-one. After the Golden Bears controlled the lead inside three minutes, a jumper by Cochran brought the game back within two, and a quick steal in the backcourt and layup by Izela Arenas tied the game at 16. Louisville finished the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a three point lead into the break, 21-18.

Louisville opened the second quarter on a 10-2 heater, holding Cal without a field goal for the first eight and a half minutes of the quarter and pulling their lead out to as much as 11. The Golden Bears’ finally broke the seal with a layup with 90 seconds remaining, but the Cards’ consistent offense ensured that they held their double digit lead at 37-27 going into the half.

With Louisville’s defensive intensity, Cal committed the same number of turnovers as points scored in the second quarter at nine. Even though they only hit one three pointer in the first half and got outrebounded 20-16, the Cards rode seven steals to a 16-for-31 (52 percent) clip inside the arc through 20 minutes. Cochran led the way on offense for Louisville with 12 points and four rebounds.

Both teams traded blows throughout a physical start to the second half. Louisville kept its lead at eight going into the media timeout thanks to a couple of tough baskets by Curry. Berry hit a mid range jumper, stole the ball right back, and hit a contested three to bring the Cards’ lead to 13 with just under three and a half minutes remaining in the quarter. Her two free throws the next time down the floor brought her personal scoring run to 7-0 and tied Louisville’s largest lead of the night at 49-34. Two free throws by Cochran gave her 1,500 points in her career and helped the Cards to a 55-44 lead heading into the final ten minutes.

The physicality carried over into the fourth quarter, with hard fouls committed on both ends of the floor. Curry’s steal and fastbreak and-one brought the Yum! Center to its feet and gave the Cards their largest lead of the game at 62-46. Late turnovers and missed free throws by the Cards allowed Cal to cut the lead to as little as six, but Louisville got key stops down the stretch and gutted out a 70-63 victory.

The Cards will finish their homestand this weekend with a matchup against Stanford on Sunday, February 9 at the KFC Yum! Center. Tipoff is set for 12:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.