GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Underdog Clemson pushed Louisville to the limit and beyond on Thursday night, but the sixth-seeded Cardinals found a way to survive and advance.
Mackenly Randolph and Taj Roberts each connected on a pair of free throws in the final 39 seconds as Louisville slipped past the 14th-seeded Tigers for a 70-68 overtime win in the second round of the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at First Horizon Coliseum.
Louisville (21-9), playing without injured All-ACC standout Jayda Curry, moves on to face third-seeded Duke (23-7) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. ET quarterfinal. The Cardinals defeated the Blue Devils 70-62 in Durham in the regular-season meeting in Durham, North Carolina, on February 20.
Roberts scored seven of her 16 points in overtime and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ja’Leah Williams also posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 boards as Louisville reached the quarterfinals of the ACC Women’s Tournament for the 11th consecutive year since joining the league.
Clemson ended its season at 14-17, but not before treating the Coliseum crowd of 5,828 to some high drama. Hannah Kohn connected on a 3-point jumper with 4.6 remaining in regulation that tied the game and forced overtime.
Then, with 48 seconds remaining in OT, Raven Thompson fired in a three that gave the Tigers a short-lived 67-66 lead.
Kohn, who went 4-for-6 from 3-point range, led the Tigers with 14 points. Thompson, Loyal McQueen and Mia Moore added 12 each.
After falling behind 18-13 at the outset of the game, Louisville countered with a 15-2 run to lead 28-20 at the four-minute mark of the opening half. But the Cardinals did not register another field goal before the halftime break, and Moore scored five points to lead the Tigers back to within 30-29.
Summah Evans hit a pair of 3-pointers and added a short jumper to lead a Clemson charge that put the Tigers in front 47-43 as the game entered a fourth quarter that featured three lead changes and four ties.
Thursday’s contest was the first ACC Tournament second-round game since 2014 to go into overtime and the first tournament overtime game in any round since 2022.
Louisville improved to 16-9 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 14-8 in tournament games at First Horizon Coliseum. Clemson is 36-46 all-time in the event, including 11-25 in Greensboro.