University of Louisville
Princeton
Women's Basketball Defeats Princeton 68-61
November 28, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
Nashville, Tenn. - The University of Louisville women's basketball defeated Princeton 68-61 in the first round of the Vanderbilt Tournament on Friday evening. Senior point guard Sara Nord led the Cardinals with 25 points. Freshman Jazz Covington had 12 points. Angel Bradley led the Cardinals on the boards with eight rebounds.
"I think our intensity waned in the second half," said head coach Tom Collen. "I think they get a little bit of a lead and let up and just think they are going to run away with it. We need to learn to play with a lead.
"Sara came out very determined, she was the difference in the first half. She stayed poised in the second half and handled the a lot of pressure. They did a good job defending her off the high screen in the second half and didn't give her a lot of open looks. It was good to see her step up and we need her to score like that more often."
Louisville started out strong in the first half, shooting 44 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc. The Cards led 34-17 at the break and Nord led the team with 18 first half points.
The Tigers started the second half with a 5-0 lead and held the Cardinals scoreless in the first three minutes of play. Covington scored the first five points for the Cardinals as they made a 7-0 run of their own to lead the Tigers 48-28 at the 12:28 mark.
Princeton hit three consecutive three-pointers to cut the lead to 54-44 with 7:13 remaining. With 5:27 remaining, Casey Lockwood hit a trey to cut the lead to seven points. Nord matched her trey on the other end of the court to give the Cards a double-digit lead. Princeton's Katy Digovich hit a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining to cut the lead to seven.
The lead stayed within eight until the Tiger's Katy O'Brien hit a trey with 55 seconds remaining to cut the Cardinal lead to 62-59. Covington nailed a jumper and Bradley iced two free throws to give the Cards a 66-59 lead with 21 seconds remaining. Digovich hit two free throws for the Tigers to cut the lead to five but Nord stepped up and knocked down to of her own for the Cardinal win.
The Cardinals will face host Vanderbilt Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the championship game.
