GREENSBORO, NC. — The Louisville Cardinals defeated the Clemson Tigers in Overtime, winning 70-68 to advance to the quarterfinals in the ACC Tournament. The Cardinals prevailed in a game that came down to the final few possessions. With the win, they advanced to play the 11th-ranked Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 7th, at 7:30 PM EST.

After the first quarter, the Tigers found themselves on top 13-11 over the Cardinals. Raven Thompson scored five points in the period for Clemson and finished with 12. Mia Moore also chipped in a three-pointer in the period, finishing the loss with 12 points. Louisville was led by Olivia Cochren (COCK-ren), who started the game with four points. Their scoring was more spread out, as they had three other players with two points each. The first quarter set the tone of the game, as the rest of the first half was equally as competitive.  

 As the first half came to a close, Clemson found themselves down by one, losing 29-30. After going scoreless in their previous win against Stanford, Hannah Kohn (CONE) scored eight of her 14 points in the first half. She later became an important player for the Tigers down the stretch. Izela Arenas, daughter of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, scored eight points before the break for the Cardinals, as remained in a tight contest. With each team fighting towards the finish line, the second half proved to be worth any price of admission.    

In the third quarter, Clemson regained the lead, 47-43. Thanks to Summah Evans (SUH-muh), who scored all eight of her points in the quarter. The Cardinals had more spread out scoring to start the second half, however, their free throw struggles were their downfall. They missed a total of 11 free throws in the game, with five being in the third quarter. In a competitive game like this one, every shot matters, including free ones. As the game remained close through the third, the fourth quarter proved to be worth the wait. Furthermore, to every fan’s benefit, it exceeded those expectations.  

Louisville relied on their big off the bench, Mackenly Randolph, the daughter of former NBA star Zach Randolph. With her dad in attendance, she became important down the stretch. She scored five of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, but there was a key moment of note in the closing seconds. With the opportunity to push the lead to four with 11 seconds left, Randolph made one of two free throws, keeping the lead at three. After the Tigers called a timeout, Kohn made a clutch three in the closing seconds to force overtime. While the missed free throw could’ve dragged her down, that didn’t let it define her. In the last seconds of overtime, she had another opportunity to push the lead to a two-possession game, and she capitalized. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz commented on her growth in that short period and how Randolph has been important for them all season.

“Everybody remembers the last free throws you missed and the last 30 seconds of a game. We also missed 10 other ones,” Walz said after the win. “(Randolph)’s starting to come into her own offensively and defensively. She wants to learn the game. There’s plenty of areas of growth throughout the game.”

Randolph’s short memory proved to be big for the Cardinals in their path to victory. Although Clemson fell short, Cohn played a huge part in forcing overtime, hitting two threes in the second half. Head coach Shawn Poppie talked about the confidence he had in her to step up and make those plays down the stretch, especially after not scoring in their previous game.

“(Cohn)’s been struggling to shoot and I think it’s weighed a ton on her shoulders,” Poppie said after the loss. “She continues to put the work in, and ultimately, she just wants Clemson women’s basketball to win. She stretches the floor so much for us not only to shoot it but just how defenses guard her.”

The sophomore guard played a massive part in the clutch moments against a talented Louisville team, setting up the Tigers for the future. They have shown a lot of promise as their rebuild is in its first stages. The Cardinals are set to face Duke in the quarterfinals, hoping to repeat history as they delivered them their only home loss.