Louisville women beat Nebraska 63-58 in March Madness and advance to face former guard Van Lith

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tajianna Roberts scored 16 points while Jayda Curry made two free throws and drew a charging foul in the final minute as seventh-seeded Louisville beat 10th-seeded Nebraska 63-58 in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Cardinals (22-10), who now face second-seeded TCU and their former guard Hailey Van Lith, recovered after falling behind when Nebraska opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run.

“This group is so special. We just don't even know how good we are yet,” said forward Olivia Cochran, who played her fifth NCAA Tournament with the Cardinals by scoring 14 points.

Curry finished with 13 points after missing the ACC tournament with a shoulder injury.

After their only first-round loss under coach Jeff Walz last year, the Cardinals advanced this time for a game with Van Lith on the other team.

"We had really good basketball teams. She was a big part of it,” Walz said of the guard who was part of three Elite Eight appearances from 2021-23, with one of them going to the Final Four.

Freshman guard Britt Prince had 14 points to lead Nebraska (21-12) while Alexis Markowski had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Amiah Hargrove had 10 points.

Louisville got even at 56-all with 2:20 left on a jumper by Curry, who was hopping awkwardly on her right foot while defending after the shot. Curry stayed in and also scored the next basket, after Cochran’s offensive rebound and pass.

“Just a cramp. .. That's all that was,” Curry said. “My teammates and my coaches talked to me, pushing me through, that was a big factor. I was able to make big plays in those moments.”

With the Cardinals holding on to a 59-58 lead with 25 seconds left, Curry drew a charging foul when Logan Nissley drove to the basket. Curry made two free throws seconds later.

“I was really proud of how she had gutted out,” Walz said.

The Cornhuskers had matched their biggest lead at 32-27 on Prince's layup that made it 32-27 with 2:45 left in the first half. Louisville was up 36-32 at halftime after Roberts scored seven points in a 9-0 spurt.

They then missed 10 shots in a row until Markowski scored inside while being fouled and added the free throw with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

Nebraska was still down 42-36 then, but went ahead 54-50 with that 3 1/2-minute spurt to start the fourth quarter that was capped when Markowski made a cross-court pass to Alberte Rimdal for a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Huskers bench.

“It’s just the strangest emotion to feel like we’re not just happy to be here so there’s a strong disappointment and just bad taste in our mouth because this is a team that came to win,” Nebraska coach Amy Williams said.

Made it to face Van Lith this time

After leaving Louisville, Van Lith transferred to LSU and went to another Elite Eight last season. That is who the Cardinals would have played in the second round last year before losing to Middle Tennessee. Van Lith is now playing her fifth and final college season at TCU.

Coach vs. former player

Walz, now in his 18th season with the Cardinals, was a young assistant in his first season on Nebraska’s staff when Williams was a senior guard for the 1997-98 Cornhuskers.

“Amy has done a remarkable job there. It's fun to watch,” Walz said. “Sure, you’re playing out there to win, but I do feel for her because I’ve been there. I understand how hard the amount of time and effort your staff, head coaches, the players all put into it, especially this time of the year.”

Up next

Louisville plays Sunday against second-seeded TCU, a first-time NCAA host. The Horned Frogs are 20-0 at home this season, including their 73-51 win over Fairleigh Dickinson earlier Friday.

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