Hurricanes push No. 4 Louisville to limit but can’t repeat upset magic, fall 69-66
The last time the University of Miami women’s basketball team toppled a Top 5 opponent was nearly three years ago, when the Hurricanes beat then-No. 2 Louisville.
With 47 seconds to go Tuesday night at the Watsco Center, the Hurricanes were on the verge of doing it again. They were leading the fourth-ranked Cardinals by a point after a three-pointer by Kelsey Marshall, who raised her fists in the air and roared in jubilation as her shot went in.
But Louisville forward Olivia Cochran outmuscled Miami defenders to the rim to give the Cardinals the lead 15 seconds later, UM turned the ball over on the next possession and Kianna Smith made a pair of free throws to seal the 69-66 win and break the Hurricanes’ hearts.
“What a great basketball game, players were just making plays after plays after plays on both ends of the court,” said UM coach Katie Meier. “Louisville scored 23 points on us in the fourth quarter, our defense didn’t hold. At a certain point you have to give them a ton of credit. They executed down the stretch.”
Meier said she asked her players to sacrifice, play with purpose and determination, and she felt they did all three. “There wasn’t a moment we weren’t determined to win that game,” the coach said.
Smith led the Cardinals with 21 points with seven assists and Cochran had 18. Miami was led by freshman point guard Ja’Leah Williams with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting with five assists. Destiny Harden scored 13 points and Kelsey Marshall added 11.
“The mood was kind of down in the locker room after because we lost to Louisville by three, but also the game gives us hope because it showed we are a tough team,” said Williams.
The Canes had a history of sometimes fading late in games against highly-ranked opponents, but on this night it appeared they were going to pull off the upset. They had opened an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by senior forward Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi.
Tuesday’s game was billed as International Night, honoring UM’s many foreign-born players, so it was only fitting that Djaldi-Tabdi of France played a key role. She scored nine points in the second half and gave Louisville fits.
Another international player, guard Karla Erjavec of Croatia hit a three with six minutes to go to give Miami a nine-point lead – its largest of the night. And then, after the Cardinals closed the gap to three, Williams blocked a Louisville three-point attempt and made the layup on the other end of the floor to stretch UM’s lead to 63-58.
But Louisville (19-2, 9-1 ACC) made key plays down the stretch, when it mattered most. One of the biggest plays came from Boca Raton native Chelsie Hall, whose three-pointer helped Louisville regain the lead. There was a loud roar from Hall’s friends and family in the stands when she scored.
“I think Hall had hit one three-pointer in ACC play, and she made two (tonight) and they were big,” Meier said. “Hell of a performance by Kianna Smith. Without her I don’t think they’re even in the game. It wasn’t the (Hailey) Van Liths or (Emily) Engstlers. It was Kianna Smith that really broke our back. They’ve just got a lot of firepower.”
The Hurricanes (11-8, 4-5 ACC) went toe to toe with the heavily favored Cardinals from the opening whistle and trailed 19-18 after the first quarter. UM redshirt senior Harden scored the first basket of the game and led the Canes with seven first-quarter points.
Miami went on a four-minute scoring drought and Louisville took an eight-point lead early in the second quarter. But then freshman Williams, a graduate of Pompano Beach Blanche Ely, played tenacious defense and got hot. She led Miami with 12 first half points on 5-of-6 shooting and Marshall nailed a three at the buzzer to tie the game 35-35 at intermission.
The Hurricanes drove the lane, attacked the rim, drew repeated fouls, and took advantage with 9-of-11 free throw shooting in the first half. Louisville, by contrast, got to the line just once.
Marshall hit a three to open the second half and give the Canes a 37-35 lead and the Hurricanes held the Cardinals to just four points in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 41-37 lead.
Among the familiar faces in the audience were two WNBA players -- former Miami High and UM basketball star Beatrice Mompremier of the Connecticut Suns and A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces.
The Hurricanes are back home Thursday night against Syracuse.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 9:56 PM.