Wednesday night saw a round of 32 matchups between 7-seed Northwestern and 2-seed Louisville. Northwestern comes into the contest after a 62-51 win over 10-seed UCF. Louisville defeated 15-seed Marist 74-53 in the first round.
Northwestern posted a 16-9 record in the regular season. Veronica Burton and Lindsey Pulliam lead them. Burton averaged 16.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 3.9 steals per game. Pulliam averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1 steal per game.
Louisville had a great regular season, winning 25 games and losing just 3. They are led by the ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans. Evans light up the scoreboard this season, averaging 19.8 points per game. Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith both averaged 11.4 points per game this season for Louisville.
First Half
The first half belonged to Northwestern. They were able to play a near-perfect first half, playing great offense and defense. Northwestern was able to shoot 40% from the field. They were also on fire from deep, making 5-6 shots from three-point range. Louisville wasn’t as hot in the first, making just 28.1% of their shots from the field and making just 2-10 of their attempts from deep.
Beyond playing great offense, Northwestern was playing great defense in the first half. Northwestern registered 6 steals, blocked 6 shots, and forced 11 turnovers before halftime. Louisville did hold a slight edge in the rebounding department, 23-18. While Northwestern would lead by as many as 18 points in the first half, they were ahead of Louisville 32-20 at the break.
Northwestern got a big first half from Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton scored 12 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. Veronica Burton also had a good first half scoring 8 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists.
Louisville’s star player Dana Evans led the way for them in the first. Evans was able to score 7 points but made only 3 of her 9 first-half shot attempts. Olivia Cochran also stepped up in the first, scoring 6 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Second Half
Before the game Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said Louisville was a 1-seed “masquerading as a 2-seed”. In the second half Louisville played like a 1-seed.
After being dominated in the first, Louisville made adjustments in the locker room which helped them mount a comeback. Heading into the fourth, the squads were tied 40-40. Louisville soon took the lead and never looked back. They would catch fire from the free throw line in the last two minutes to secure a 62-53 win.
A mix of Northwestern’s hot shooting calming down and Louisville being able to make shots helped fuel the comeback. Louisville was also able to cut down on turnovers, only committing 5 in the second half.
Jordan Hamilton led the way for Northwestern. She scored 17 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Burton finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Northwestern’s leading scorer Pulliam was only able to score 4 points. The loss brings an end to Northwestern’s season.
Kianna Smith scored 16 and grabbed 6 rebounds in the win for Louisville. Cochran finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Evans finished with 14 points. With the win, Louisville will advance to the Sweet 16, where they will face 6-seed Oregon.
