Schimmel comes up big late for U of L

TAMPA, Fla. – Jude Schimmel made a series of clutch plays, and the University of Louisville women's basketball team overcame a competitive South Florida team and the energy of the Bulls' loud home crowd to punch another ticket to the Sweet 16.

Schimmel scored eight of her 13 points in the final three minutes as third-seeded Louisville had enough answers to take down No. 6 USF 60-52 Monday night in the second round of the NCAA's Albany Regional at the Sun Dome.

U of L is off to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year and the sixth time overall, all during the eight-year coaching tenure of Jeff Walz.

Louisville (27-6) will play No. 7 Dayton in Saturday's regional semifinals at the Times Union Center in Albany. The Flyers (27-6) knocked off No. 2 Kentucky 99-94 on Saturday to eliminate the potential for an all-Bluegrass battle in the Sweet 16.

Making the second weekend of the tournament has become the norm for Walz's clubs, but each time still feels, well, sweet.

"It's never commonplace, I can guarantee you that," he said. "We don't take anything for granted. We know how fortunate we are."

The Cardinals blew a nine-point second-half lead, igniting the crowd of 5,014, and fell behind in the final four minutes before coming back. Schimmel was key in the clutch, making a layup to give Louisville a 48-47 lead after it had surrendered a 9-1 run by USF.

She then fired a pass to Myisha Hines-Allen underneath the goal for another basket, and two possessions later, went one on one for a 6-foot jump shot and a 54-49 lead. She also hit four free throws in the final 40 seconds.

Schimmel, the shortest player on the court at 5 feet 6, led U of L in points, rebounds (six) and assists (five).

"One of the biggest things Coach Walz said was that he knew this game was going to come down to the wire and would come down to whoever was disciplined enough and execute in the last few minutes of the game," said Schimmel, who added a team-high six rebounds and five assists. "I was trying to pick and choose when I go hard up until the last four minutes of the game. Then once the four minutes hit, I said, 'It's all or nothing right now.'"

Hines-Allen added 12 points and five rebounds for Louisville, which outworked the Bulls 45-32 on the boards.

"We have to own the glass, and we did that tonight," she said.

Fellow freshman Mariya Moore had 11 points and four rebounds. Senior Shawnta' Dyer had 10 and four. Walz said he was proud of all his seniors and called senior center Sheronne Vails, who played only eight minutes but had the first basket of the game, the Cards' MVP because of the energy she provided at the start of each half.

Walz improved to 20-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and his .769 tournament winning percentage trails only Connecticut's Geno Auriemma among active Division I coaches. Defending champ and overwhelming tournament favorite UConn will also be in Albany in the top half of the bracket.

The Cards were forced to play in a tough road environment despite being the better-seeded team because the KFC Yum! Center was used for the men's tournament this past weekend, but Walz and his players said Sunday that they were looking forward to being part of the atmosphere.

The Sun Dome was far from unfamiliar to the Cards, who had USF as a rival in four separate conferences until this year when they moved to the ACC.

U of L improved to 27-4 all time against the Bulls (27-8), who had been vying for their first Sweet 16 bid and the school record for wins in a season. The Cards also beat USF three times last season.

U of L came out hot, making its first four shots, and a breakaway layup by Mariya Moore put the Cards ahead 12-2. But USF quickly erased the deficit, making four 3-pointers in 2 ½ minutes to tie it at 14.

Dyer later made a 3 – her first attempt in her 92-game career - with the shot clock running down to give U of L some breathing room, 24-19. The Cards led 28-23 at halftime.

After the break, Hines-Allen scored four quick points to extend the lead to 34-26. After a breakaway layup, she jumped up and down in passionate celebration as the Cards tried to seize momentum.

The Cards pushed the lead to 37-28 on a 3-pointer by Moore with 14:35 to play, but on the Bulls' next possession, she was called for a technical foul – her second in two games – for hard contact on a USF player as they went for a rebound.

The Bulls made 4 of 4 free throws after that, and Courtney Williams' pretty driving layup on Schimmel cut the lead to 37-34.

But Sara Hammond blocked a USF shot the next time down to jump-start a fast-break layup for Schimmel, and then Hammond scored to keep the Cards' cushion at seven points.

However, Williams, USF's All-America candidate who scored 25 points, helped spark the 9-1 run that made things very interesting.

USF briefly took the lead at 47-46 on Alisia Jenkins' basket at the 5:06 mark, and the Sun Dome crowd was roaring.

" Whenever they would go on runs, the crowd was right behind them, and our biggest thing was, 'How many times could we get them to quiet down?'" Schimmel said.

She and U of L finished on a 14-5 run, the ultimate silencer as the Cards marched on in March.