GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshmen have delivered big-time performances in this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, and top-seeded Louisville was thankful Hailey Van Lith followed suit Friday afternoon.
With the Cardinals facing a serious challenge from ninth-seeded Wake Forest, Van Lith responded with a career-high 24 points and keyed Louisville’s fourth-quarter surge to a 65-53 win in the opening quarterfinal session game at Greensboro Coliseum.
Louisville (22-2) advanced to Saturday’s noon semifinal game against the winner of Friday’s second quarterfinal between No. 4 seed Florida State (10-7) and No. 5 Syracuse (13-7).
Van Lith, a 5-7 guard from Wenatchee, Washington, went 6-for-10 from 3-point range, including a pair from long range in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals broke open a 46-46 stalemate with a 13-0 run. Van Lith also had a key steal and layup during the decisive stretch.
Wake Forest (12-12) saw its bid for an upset unravel despite outscoring Louisville 18-0 from the foul line and limiting ACC leading scorer and Player of the Year Dana Evans to eight points on 3-for-15 shooting from the floor.
Evans, however, did hand out a game-high seven assists, including a pair as the Cardinals applied the knockout punch with layups on three consecutive possessions in the final two minutes.
Ivana Raca’s 13 points led Wake Forest, while Jewel Spear chipped in 12 and Christina Morra scored 11.
Louisville built a 19-10 lead in the early stages of the second quarter before enduring a scoring drought that included six consecutive missed shots and a pair of turnovers. The Deacons fought back to tie the score at 22-22 on Morra’s follow shot with 4:10 remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets and remained even until Van Lith connected on two 3-pointers in the final 48 seconds to put the Cardinals back in front 32-28 at the halftime break.
Van Lith finished 3-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half to lead all scorers with 11 points – matching her season’s average coming into the game. Morra’s seven points led Wake Forest, which made 11-of-15 free throws in the first 20 minutes.
Wake Forest grabbed a brief one-point lead after Spears connected on a 3-pointer late in the third quarter, and the teams went into final minute even at 44-all before Van Lith and Louisville staged their decisive closing run.
OF NOTE
- Louisville improved to 11-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament as it seeks its second championship and the first since 2018. The Cardinals own a 66-9 record versus ACC opponents (regular-season and tournament combined) over the last four seasons.
- The Cardinals split with Florida State during the regular season, with each team winning at home, and won their lone meeting against Syracuse in Louisville.
- Van Lith posted her 16th double-figure scoring game for Louisville this season, second on the team behind Evans’ 23. It marked the third time this season Van Lith has led the Cardinals in scoring.
- Louisville got past Wake Forest for the second time this season following a hard-fought 65-63 road win on Jan. 24.
- Wake Forest fell short in its bid to reach its fifth ACC Tournament semifinal and its first since 2013.