Louisville ladies’s basketball coach Jeff Walz on coughing up late lead in ACC event to Miami — ‘My fault’

Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz took the blame Friday after his Cardinals noticed their sizeable late lead evaporate on their approach to struggling a surprising 61-59 upset to No. 7 seed Miami within the ACC event quarterfinals in Greensboro, N.C.

Main by 15 factors with simply 5:44 remaining, Louisville had a 99.9% likelihood to win the sport, in response to ESPN’s Basketball Energy Index (BPI), however Miami outscored the No. 2-seed Cardinals 17-Zero within the last 5 minutes to finish its livid rally. The Hurricanes’ Future Harden sealed the win with a turnaround jumper on the buzzer.

“I will take the blame for this,” Walz stated after Louisville misplaced earlier than the semifinals for the primary time since becoming a member of the ACC in 2015. “I attempted to sub a bit bit there on the finish, making an attempt to maintain some contemporary legs, probably pondering you are going via a event, three video games in hopefully three days, and we misplaced all of our rhythm offensively. After which we took some actual poor pictures, did not defend, did not guard. Every little thing that we wanted to do to permit them to come back again within the sport, we did.

“I am not going to place the blame on these youngsters. It is my fault… As a coach I realized a helpful lesson there at present.”

Louisville (25-4) was one of many prime 4 seeds within the NCAA Division I ladies’s basketball’s committee’s third and last bracket reveal Monday, together with Stanford, South Carolina and NC State. Nevertheless it might fall from the one-line if Baylor goes on a deep run within the Massive 12 event this week in Kansas Metropolis, in response to ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme.

The sport additionally marked the 10th time this season {that a} staff misplaced after coming into the fourth quarter with at the least a 14-point lead, and Louisville is the one staff that is been on the shedding finish of a number of such video games, in response to ESPN Stats & Data. The Cardinals beforehand misplaced to NC State 68-59 in mid-January after they allowed the Wolfpack to erase their 16-point lead and outscore them 31-Eight within the fourth.

“Sadly for our group, we’ve not utterly figured that out but, that I do not care what the rating is, the primary possession of the sport is simply as vital because the final possession of the sport,” Walz stated. “It is a powerful lesson to be taught, but it surely’s one which I hope we’ll be taught from and make some fast changes since you’ve received a superb week and a half now to take a seat on this. And if this does not sit in your intestine and piss you off, I do not know what to do for them.”

Guard Kianna Smith shared her coach’s frustration at letting one other large lead disappear.

“That was terrible,” she stated. “There is no query about it. That is the second time that is occurred to us this yr, and we have now to be taught from it and make modifications.”

The Cardinals went Zero for five from the sector and dedicated 5 turnovers within the last 5 minutes of the sport. Louisville had two starters, Hailey Van Lith and Olivia Cochran, in as Miami began its comeback with below 5 to play. 4 of Walz’s 5 starters had been again in after Miami minimize the deficit to eight with 3:25 to play, although Van Lith sat for almost all of the ultimate three minutes.

“I sucked. I had some unhealthy mixtures on the market, and it type of simply threw the whole lot off kilter,” Walz stated. “We did not talk.”

Harden scored 15 of her 27 within the Hurricanes run of 17 unanswered factors to propel the Hurricanes, considered one of Creme’s “final 4 bye” groups, to victory.

“Secure to say we’re off the bubble?” Miami coach Katie Meier stated. “I actually do not nonetheless know,” I used to be in search of a e-book to determine what occurred. Did Future go on a 14-Zero run by herself? Is that true? 15? Wow.”