Louisville women's basketball 'here to stay' after routing Wake Forest in ACC Tournament

Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly stated Wake Forest beat Louisville in the 2022 ACC Tournament. This story has been corrected to say Miami beat Louisville in 2022.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — History had not been kind to Louisville.

The Cardinals women’s basketball team had lost to Wake Forest in its last meeting Jan. 26 and were upset in the 2022 ACC Tournament quarterfinals by Miami.

That wasn’t happening again Friday.

Louisville’s postseason mode kicked in with a dominant defensive performance and 26 points from Hailey Van Lith as the Cardinals dropped Wake Forest 74-48 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals at Greensboro Coliseum, in Greensboro, N.C.

The 26-point margin of victory is the largest by Louisville (22-10) in ACC Tournament history, according to ESPN.

U of L head coach Jeff Walz called one of their most complete performances of the season, certainly coming at the right time of the year.

"Except for that little stretch there in the second quarter (when Wake Forest ended the half on a 7-0 run), the way we came out that third quarter is exactly the way you have to play," Walz said. "I mean, we scored on the first play. ... I thought when that one went in to start the half the second half, I was like, 'OK, this is going to be a good sign,' and it was."

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Van Lith carried the team early. The junior had 21 points in the first half.

Van Lith drained three straight 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the opening quarter then completed a three-point play to give Louisville a 20-8 lead with 32 seconds to go.

Van Lith then headed to the bench but returned at the 8:38 mark of the second quarter. No sooner than she had returned, Van Lith drained a shot just inside the arc off an inbounds pass from Mykasa Robinson.

"I think I just played off how their defense was playing me," said Van Lith, who went 4 for 5 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. "At the beginning of the game, they weren't in a face guard, so I came off the pin downs and was aggressive off the catch. When they had bigger girls on me, I knew I could beat them off the bounce, so I took them to the basket. Then when they went to a face guard, I played out of my backdoor cuts."

The Cardinals' biggest lead of the half was 18 before Wake went on an 8-0 run in the final 3:37 that gave Louisville a 34-24 lead at the break.

But it was the final 20 minutes the Cardinals had to be concerned with.

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The Demon Deacons had made a habit in the ACC Tournament mounting comebacks. They outscored Virginia 21-2 in the third quarter of the first-round contest Wednesday and put together a 29-8 third-quarter performance against Florida State on Thursday.

On the other end, Louisville has struggled to close out games in the second half. During the regular-season finale against Notre Dame on Sunday, the Cardinals shot 4 for 15 from the field and gave up 25 points to the Fighting Irish in the fourth quarter, blowing a 46-43 the held at the start of the final frame.

Louisville stopped both trends Friday and held Wake Forest to 11 points in the third quarter, seven of which came in the final two minutes.

The Cardinals’ ball pressure and half-court trap kept the Demon Deacons’ offense, specifically Jewel Spear, in check. Spear went 5 for 16 and was held to 15 points, just slightly below her 16.2-point average, with Louisville fifth-year senior Robinson guarding her.

"I think we've got the best defensive player of this league," Walz said of Robinson, who made her third straight All-ACC defensive team this week and ended the quarterfinal contest with 10 assists, eight rebounds, four points and three steals. "We knew, hey, she's our best defender. We're going to have to put her on Spear, and I thought she did a really good job of trying to frustrate her, trying to make her work. (Spear) made a few tough shots, but I think eventually (Robinson) wore her down."

On offense, Van Lith’s scoring prowess took a backseat after halftime. Cochran, who sat much of the second half in foul trouble, scored the team’s first six points of the second half and finished with 11 points.

"I know sometimes I get in my head about foul trouble, but (my teammates) just kept me motivated," Cochran said. "It was like, this is our game so just took over."

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Louisville moves on to the semifinals to play top-seeded Notre Dame — which beat No. 8-seed N.C. State 66-60 Friday afternoon — in what will be the third meeting in less than three weeks at noon Saturday.

"We already know what they're like. They know what we're like," Louisville forward Olivia Cochran said. "So, it's gonna be a game we're ready for."

Avenging a loss to either team won't be easy. But, the Cardinals have confidence and motivation.

"We have a lot of seniors, who, this is their last chance," Van Lith said. "And me personally, I've never won an ACC championship. It wasn't an option for us to lose this first game. I think we put our hearts out there, and it was evident. We've made a statement that we're here to stay."

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: ACC Tournament: Louisville women make statement, blow out Wake Forest