University of Louisville
Vanderbilt
Cards Fall to Vanderbilt 76-64 in NCAA Tournament
March 19, 2006 | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Caroline Williams hit six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, and Vanderbilt beat ninth-seeded Louisville 76-64 Saturday night to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The eighth-seeded Commodores will play No. 1 North Carolina on Monday in the second round of the Cleveland Regional. North Carolina defeated Vanderbilt 87-67 earlier this season.
Carla Thomas had 20 points and nine rebounds for Vanderbilt (21-10), which improved to 15-0 in tournament games on its home floor at Memorial Gym.
Jazz Covington scored 13 points for Louisville (19-10), which has lost four straight NCAA tournament games. Yuliya Tokova added 11 points and six rebounds, and Jessica Huggins had 10 points and five assists.
Vanderbilt closed out the game with a 13-0 run, scoring on its final 10 possessions.
The Commodores erased a six-point second-half deficit. Williams' basket and free throw with 2:24 to play gave Vanderbilt the lead for good at 66-64, then Nicole Jules banked home a shot. Vanderbilt then hit eight straight free throws to seal it.
Louisville went on a 13-2 run early in the second half to turn a 44-39 deficit into a 52-46 lead with 13:30 to play. The Cardinals hit three 3-pointers during that stretch, including back-to-back treys by Angel McCoughtry to close the run. McCoughtry entered the game shooting 24 percent from 3-point range (4-for-17).
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 24-16 lead midway through the first half in front of its home crowd, but Louisville was able to answer with a 10-2 run to tie it at 26. The Cardinals made five of 11 3-pointers in the first half and Patrika Barlow converted a driving layup for Louisville just before halftime to tie it at 36.
Vanderbilt is 1-1 against North Carolina in the NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt has won seven straight first-round games.
