After easily dispatching Albany in their NCAA Tournament opener, the Louisville women's basketball program had a closer one in store vs. Gonzaga in the Round of 32, but were able to weather the storm and capture a 68-59 win Sunday.
The top-seeded Cardinals (27-4, 16-2 ACC) punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen with the victory over the ninth-seeded Bulldogs (27-7, 16-2 WCC), their 11th appearance under head coach Jeff Walz.
Being their final game at the KFC Yum! Center this season, it also caps off a perfect 16-0 record at home, just the third time in program history and first since 2000-01 that they have gone undefeated at home.
Louisville now heads to Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas for a showdown with either No. 4 Tennessee or No. 12 Belmont. Tip-off is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 26, with time and television designation to be determined later this week.
Early on, it looked like Louisville was going to run away with it early. Fueled by a raucous KFC Yum! Center atmosphere, the Cardinals fired off a 14-0 run to start the game, and were on the verge of delivering the knockout punch after just one quarter. But Gonzaga settled in after the first timeout, responding with a 12-0 run of their own, and trimming Louisville's lead to just four after the first period.
The Zags started to find their stride on both ends of the court in the second quarter. They shot 8-13 from the floor in the period, while simultaneously holding the Cardinals to just 7-16 percent and 1-6 on threes. Fortunately for Louisville, they ended the half with a bit of momentum, going on a 7-2 run to go up 36-32 at halftime.
Gonzaga scored the first four points of the second half to tie things up, but then Louisville, and specifically Van Lith, flipped a switch. The Cardinals fired off a 15-3 run to take control of the game, with 10 of those points coming from the Washington State native.
Louisville didn't shoot it particularly well in the fourth quarter, going just 5-14, but held Gonzaga to 3-11 in the final period to ensure that they would be moving on. They led by as much as 15 in the final two minutes, before desperation fouls and free throws from the Bulldogs cut it to single digits.
(Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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