Photo by Seth Spalding, River City Cards
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hines-allen, durr sharp in win

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The Louisville Cardinals are headed to Lexington. For the second consecutive year, Jeff Walz's squad has made the Sweet 16. 

The Cards defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 90-72. Four Cards had over 10 points, led by Myisha Hines-Allen's 14. The Senior forward also had a double-double, in her last game in front of the Louisville faithful. It was her last game at the KFC Yum! Center. She had 13 boards. 

It didn't take much time for Louisville to assert dominance. In fact, Louisville had a 10-point lead within the first five minutes. Louisville went on a 9-0, 7-0, and a 6-0 run in the first period. When the period ended, Louisville had a 34-18 lead. They hit 77.8 percent. Sam Fuehring and Asia Durr had over 10 points. Myisha Hines-Allen scooped up six rebounds. 

The second was closer, but Louisville still won it. The Cards weren't as efficient on offense, but forced Marquette to shoot from the outside, and miss a lot of shots. The Eagles made just two of 10 three-point tries. They hit just three shots overall; out of 18. 

Meanwhile, Louisville hit nine of 15 from the field. They scooped up 14 rebounds. While the Cards didn't have a huge run in the quarter, they were still efficient. Hines-Allen scored 10. Three players were in the double-digits before halftime. When the Cards went into the locker room, they enjoyed the 52-27 lead. 

Louisville dominated most categories during the first half. They shot 70 percent overall, and held Marquette to 29. Louisville had the 13-6 assist advantage, and the 24-11 rebound lead. Louisville also was dominant from the inside, and scored 32 points from the paint. 

If it wasn't for such a large deficit, Marquette could have won, if they played like they did in the third. The eight-seed shot 84 percent, and hit two of five threes. They held Louisville to just eight baskets, one of which was from beyond the arc. Heading into the fourth, Louisville had the 71-53 lead. 

Louisville's sloppy play continued into the fourth. They committed seven turnovers, and let the ball get away from them a number of times. Despite this, they were able to hold on, and punched their ticket to the Sweet-16.

Louisville will face either Florida Gulf Coast or Stanford on Friday, in the Lexington regional semifinals. After that, the Cards will face off in the Elite 8 for a Final Four spot in Columbus. Their next game will be at Rupp Arena. 

images from the game

​Photos by Seth Spalding