Jude was huge Monday night.
Jude Schimmel, the University of Louisville women’s basketball team’s senior point guard, tallied a team-high 13 points - including eight of her squad’s final 14 - to lead the Cardinals to a 60-52 victory over South Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Freshmen forwards Myisha Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for UofL (27-6), which will make its third straight trip to the Sweet 16 later this week. The Cards, who are ranked No. 8 in both national polls, will play Dayton (26-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday in semifinals of the Albany Region. The seventh-seeded Flyers upset No. 2 seed Kentucky 99-94 on its home court Sunday.
Third-seeded Louisville had to work hard to overcome the sixth-seeded Bulls, who were playing on their home court and got 25 points from star guard Courtney Williams. Although, it didn’t look like the Cards would have to early.
UofL hit five of its first six shots - including a pair of 3-pointers - and jumped out to a 12-2 lead. However USF answered with a 12-2 run of its own to tie it at 14-all. It was deadlocked at 19 with 6:02 to play in the first half before Louisville outscored the Bulls 9-4 to lead 28-23 at intermission.
The Cards added to their lead early in the second half, going up 37-28 on Moore’s 3-pointer with 14:38 to play. South Florida roared back, though, led by Williams. The 5-foot-8 junior, who entered averaging 20.1 points per game, tallied 12 in a 19-9 Bulls run.
That’s when Schimmel took over. The smallest (5-6) Cards on the roster hit an inside hoop, off an in-bounds play, with 3:02 left to give Louisville a 48-47 lead. Then, 37 seconds later, Schimmel assisted a basket by Hines-Allen. After a Williams turnover, Bria Smith hit two free throws for UofL. USF’s Allsia Jenkins’ basket with 1:34 to play made it a three-point game (52-49), but Schimmel responded with a jumper 26 seconds later. She’d hit four more free throws after a pair of South Florida misses to seal it for Louisville.
In addition to her team-best point total, Schimmel also led the Cards in rebounds (six) and assists (five) and tied for the team-lead in steals (two).
Shawnta’ Dyer also tallied 10 points off the bench for UofL, which shot just 33.3 percent (22 for 66) from the field, but outrebounded the Bulls 45-32 (including 20-7 on the offensive end).
Photo courtesy University of Louisville Women’s Basketball Facebook Page
