NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship Game Notes
April 07, 2009 | Women's Basketball
April 7, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Raleigh Regional Champions; Ranked No. 7 by Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN
Record: 34-5, 14-2 BIG EAST (2nd); At-Large Bid, No. 3 seed
NCAA Tournament Results: First Round def No. 14-seed Liberty, 62-42; Second Round def No. 6-seed LSU, 62-52; Regional Semifinal def No. 2-seed Baylor, 56-39; Regional Final def. No. 1-seed Maryland, 77-60; National Semifinal def No. 1-seed Oklahoma, 61-59; National Championship lost to No. 1-seed Connecticut, 76-54
Louisville NCAA Notes:
• 30.9 shooting percentage (21-68) by Louisville is the second-lowest field goal percentage in a championship game and the ninth-worst in a Final Four game (the worst shooting mark in a championship game is 29.6 percent by Western Kentucky vs. Stanford, 4/5/92; Final Four record is 26.4 percent set by LSU vs. Rutgers in the semifinals, 4/1/07)
• Louisville's 33.3 percent shooting effort in a two-game Final Four-series is the second-lowest percentage in history (43-for-129) (record is Tennessee in 2007, 30.6 percent, 37-for-121)
• Louisville advanced to its first-ever Elite Eight, Final Four and National Championship game during the 2009 NCAA Tournament
• Louisville became the first team to play three No. 1 seeds since Stanford did so during its 2008 run to the national championship game (def No. 1 Maryland in Regional Final, def No. 1 Connecticut in National Semifinal, lost to No. 1 Tennessee in National Championship game)
• Louisville became just the second team from Kentucky to advance to the Final Four since Western Kentucky in 1992. The Hilltoppers also advance in 1985 and 1986, with only the 1992 team reaching the national title game (lost to Stanford, 78-62)
• Louisville became the 35th different team to earn a spot in the Final Four; seven different teams won the NCAA title in their Final Four debut (Louisiana Tech-1982, Southern California-1983, Texas-1986, Stanford-1990, Texas Tech-1993, North Carolina-1994, Baylor-2005)
• Louisville became the 24th different team to advance to the national championship game (Rutgers in 2007 was the last team to do so)
• There have been two No. 3 seeded teams that have won the NCAA title (1994-North Carolina and 1997-Tennessee)
• The last time a team won the NCAA title in its Final Four debut was Baylor in 2005, which defeated another first-timer Michigan State, 84-62, in the final
• The No. 3 seed owns a 7-4 record in national semifinal games and a 2-5 record in championship games
• Louisville's 14-point comeback against Oklahoma in the national semifinal game (trailed 16-2 with 12:07 to go in the first half) was the fifth-largest deficit overcome in a national semifinal game and the first time a team rallied from a double-digit deficit since April 1, 2007, when Tennessee overcame a 12-point hole, 48-36 with 8:18 remaining in the game against North Carolina; it's the largest comeback since the 2005 national semifinal games, when both games featured rallies (Michigan State trailed Tennessee, 47-31 (16 points), with 16:03 remaining in the game; Baylor trailed 24-9 (15-points) with 7:42 remaining in the first half)
Louisville Team Notes:
• Louisville ends the most successful season in program history having won 13 of its last 15 games, with both losses coming to UConn, (also a 75-36 loss in the BIG EAST championship game)
• Louisville's 34 wins are the most in program history (record was 27 wins in 2006-07 season)
• Louisville ends the year with an 8-3 record this season against nationally-ranked opponents, with all three losses coming against Connecticut
• Three of Louisville's five losses this season were against Connecticut, coming by an average margin of 29.6 points per game
• Tuesday's 30.9 percent shooting percentage (21-68) was Louisville's second lowest this season (lowest field goal percentage of the season was 21.1 percent (12-57) vs. UConn in BIG EAST Championship game)
• Louisville was out-scored in the paint by 18 points (40-22), its largest differential of the season (was 16 vs. UConn, 30-14, in BIG EAST Championship game)
• Louisville sported a 6-3 record this season when wearing BLACK uniforms, including Tuesday's championship game
• Louisville shot 37.5 percent (6-for-16) in the opening 11:43 of the game, when Angel McCoughtry hit 4-of-6 during that span, with her fourth field goal giving the Cardinals a 15-13 lead; Louisville shot just 4-of-21 the rest of the half, with McCoughtry held scoreless, missing all six of her attempts from the floor
• Louisville was held without a field goal for a 9:26 span, that began with 4:40 remaining in the first half and ended with Monique Reid's bucket with 15:14 left in the game
• Tuesday was the fifth time this season Louisville had trailed at halftime; also trailed during Sunday's national semifinal game to Stanford, 34-22; defeated Xavier after trailing 28-24; lost to UConn after trailing 45-32; lost to UConn in BIG EAST Championship game after trailing 50-24 (the Cardinals were 2-3 when trailing at halftime this year)
Louisville Individual Notes:
• Including Tuesday's result, head coach Jeff Walz owns a 7-2 record in NCAA Tournament games
• Walz became only the second head coach to reach the NCAA Championship game with two or less years experience as a head coach (Carolyn Peck was the other, winning the title with Purdue in 1999)
• Walz is the first coach in their second year as a head coach to guide a team to the Final Four since Pokey Chatman led LSU in 2005
• Walz has compiled a 60-15 overall record in his two years as a head coach
• Senior Angel McCoughtry ends her career as Louisville's all-time program leader for points scored (2,779), scoring average (20.0 ppg) rebounding (1,261), steals (481), blocked shots (162), free throws made (552), free throws attempted (774), games played (139)
• McCoughtry's career point total is the most in Louisville basketball history - men's or women's, passing Darrell Griffith's 2,333 points and Nell Knox's previous women's record of 1,899 points
• McCoughtry, who led the country in steals during the 2008-09 season, collected three in Tuesday's game, ending the year with 164
• McCoughtry averaged 20.7 points (124 total) and 9.3 rebounds (56 total) through the six NCAA Tournament games in 2009
• Louisville's senior class includes Candyce Bingham, Angel McCoughtry and Chauntise Wright (Wright missed the 2008-09 season with a knee injury and is expected to return for 2009-10); it is just the second Louisville senior class in program history to participate all four years in the NCAA Tournament
• Bingham ends her two-tenure at Louisville with 985 points, 562 rebounds and 167 assists (spent first two seasons at Xavier)
• Bingham tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season
• Louisville's departing senior class compiled a 106-33 record, the most wins during a four-year span in program history
• McCoughtry scored 11 of Louisville's first 15 points, shooting 4-of-6 during the first 11:43 of the game (her 11th point gave Louisville a 15-13 lead); UConn held McCoughtry scoreless for the rest of the half, as she missed all six field goal attempts
• McCoughtry missed nine consecutive shots from the floor during a 17:06 span that ran from 11:43 remaining in the first half to 14:27 left in the game when she put-back an offensive rebound
• McCoughtry was named the Raleigh Regional Most Outstanding Performer
