Angel Guides Lady Cards Past Alabama, 73-56

By Sonja Sykes

Sometimes, it’s good to have an Angel looking over your shoulder. So it was for the Lady Cards Friday night, who used the senior wing to defeat Alabama 73-56. Angel also became the leading rebounder in Lady Cards’ history, grabbing nine boards to go with her 28 points.

UofLSports.com Photo

“It’s a great honor to have both those records,” said McCoughtry, who set the all-time career scoring mark earlier this season. “I guess it shows that hard work pays off. It means a lot to me. I just try to go out and be the best I can be.”

The final score was a little misleading. Alabama kept it close in the first 20 minutes, and the Cards only led by seven, at 35-28.

In his post game interview, Walz related that he preached the need for the Cards to concentrate on proper execution in the second half. But it backfired early and Bama trimmed the lead to 37-33 early in the final 20 minutes.

Just when you thought the Cards were on the ropes, Louisville’s senior All-American took flight. The Tide forced the Louisville into an out-of-bounds possession with one second on the clock, but a quick pass to McCoughtry led to a deep desperation three that beat the buzzer and swished the nets. Louisville used it to go on a 19-3 run over the next seven minutes and led 56-36 with 10 minutes to go.

The Lady Cards play Nevada at 11 o’clock tonight

Candyce Bingham joined Angel in double figures, dropping 12 points and 10 boards on the Tide.  Laura Terry, who injured a knee Tuesday night against Utah did not play for the Cards. How long she’ll be out isn’t certain yet.

With Terry out, Coach Jeff Walz made extensive use of the five freshmen on the roster. Monique Reid gave the Cards eight points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. Janae Howard and Becky Burke added six points each to the Cards effort. Sophomore Dez Byrd logged 33 minutes of playing time for the Cards but managed only two points.

The Cards play Nevada, winner over Northern Iowa, in the final of the Nugget Classic tonight at 11 o’clock.