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| The Louisville men's and women's basketball teams earned a place in the Final Four and Elite Eight respectively. (https://www.facebook.com/GoCards) |
Both teams were in action on Easter Sunday. The men's team was set to battle Duke with a trip to the Final Four in Atlanta on the line. The women's team faced a huge challenge facing the No. 1 overall seed in Baylor in a Sweet Sixteen matchup.
The men's Elite Eight game between Louisville and Duke got off to an evenly matched start. The Cardinals led 21-20 with 6:33 left in the first half when a game-changing incident happened. Louisville guard Kevin Ware jumped as he attempted to block a 3-pointer by Tyler Thornton.As he landed, his leg severely broke and he collapsed to the ground.
Players, coaches, and fans were all visibly shaken. The Louisville players were overcome by emotion. Chane Behanan sobbed on the floor, Wayne Blackshear was on his hands and knees, Montrezl Harrell was doubled over and Russ Smith wept visibly as he pulled his jersey over his head to cover his tears. Even the Duke players could be seen clearly crying and distraught over what had occurred.
The Cardinals players gathered together. They weren't sure how they would be able to move on from this. Head coach Rick Pitino called his players over to where Ware lay on the ground. The sophomore guard couldn't walk, but he was fully capable of talking to his teammates.
"Kevin told us to win this game for him, so we had to take it upon ourselves to do that," Harrell said. "That's what we had to do. We didn't have a choice."
"He told us countless times: 'Just go win this game for me. Just go win this game. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just go win this game,'" explained Peyton Siva. "I don't know how he did it. I don't know how he got strength to do it, but he told us to go out there and win."
In the second half, the Louisville players held up their end of the bargain. With the score tied 42-42, the Cardinals went on a 17-2 run that proved to be the knockout punch to a Duke that could never recover. When the final buzzer sounded, they had prevailed 85-63.
There has been one question in women's college basketball that no seemed to be able to answer. How do you stop Brittney Griner? Baylor had won 32 straight games and 74 of 75 behind Griner, who is among the greatest players ever in her sport. Louisville finally found the answer during their Sweet Sixteen game Sunday night. As a result of doing so, they were able to accomplish one of the biggest upsets in the history of women's basketball.
The strategy the Cardinals utilized was referred to as box-and-chase. They tried to keep defenders both in front and in back of Griner. They were successful enough to hold Griner to 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, which tied for the fourth fewest field goals she has attempted in a game this season.
Louisville made it interesting though. During the final 7½ minutes of the game, they blew a 17-point advantage. As the final seconds began to tick off the clock, the Cardinals forced Griner into another mistake. She committed a foul with 2.6 seconds left in the game that gave Louisville a chance to win.
Senior forward Monique Reid made both foul shots to propel the Cardinals to a 82-81 victory.
The Louisville women's basketball team has already accomplished history. They pulled off one of the most colossal upsets in the history of women's sports. The Cardinals will now face the University of Tennessee in the Elite Eight. The winner will advance to the women's Final Four in New Orleans.
As the Louisville men's team posed with their Midwest Regional trophy, what they were focused on was the No. 5 jersey with the name Ware emblazoned on it that they proudly held up. They knew what they had accomplished for their fallen comrade. The Cardinals know that their mission is not complete yet. The team will head to Atlanta, where they are two victory away from becoming national champions. That No. 5 jersey will provide all the motivation they need.
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