Guard Haley Cavinder broke into the 2,000-point club as she scored 16 points, including shooting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, but this performance was not enough as the Miami Hurricanes dropped their second game in a row, losing 71-57 on the road against the Louisville Cardinals.
Cavinder joined an elite company by becoming the 18th active player in Division I women’s college basketball to reach 2,000 points. She also added eight boards.
“You can see how gritty she is in that she almost had a double-double tonight,” UM head coach Katie Meier said. “She’s a competitor and a fighter. What an honor and what a huge milestone for her. I’m really proud of her.”
Miami found itself in a bit of a hole at the half, trailing 36-27.
Louisville was dominant in the second half, as it shot over 60% from the field. The Cardinals were led by junior guard Haliey Van Lith, who had 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field.
Senior Liz Dixon also had a double-double for the Cardinals and was essential off the bench for coach Jeff Walz.
Miami (17-11, 10-7 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC))was able to take the lead by as much as five points at the beginning of the second quarter.
The Cardinals stormed back, however. Louisville led for 31 minutes of the game, including the entirety of the second half. Louisville had 22 points off turnovers compared to Miami’s seven.
“This is life on the road in the ACC. You have to play, pretty much, mistake-free basketball,” Meier said. “Foul trouble killed us in the first half, but I thought we sustained it pretty well. We stayed in the game in the first half and didn’t get frustrated.”
Louisville (21-9, 12-5 ACC) was able to keep Miami’s Destiny Harden in check, holding her to five points. Harden did lead the ‘Canes in rebounds with nine.