For Louisville basketball’s Jeff Walz, faces change but rivalry remains as heated as ever

LEXINGTON — Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz faced his third Kentucky head coach in 18 seasons Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum.

Matthew Mitchell (2008-2020), Kyra Elzy (2021-2024) and Kenny Brooks (2024-present) — regardless of who’s at the helm, Walz knows he can point to the U of L-UK game every year and expect an exciting matchup. Mitchell and Walz’s 12-year overlap in particular? “Damn, we had some games,” Walz said Saturday night, reminiscing.

Take the overtime thriller in 2016, when AD Durr’s and Myisha Hines-Allen’s double-digit points allowed the No. 7 Cardinals to squeak through with a 69-67 victory over the No. 17 Wildcats. Or the heartbreak of 2013, when Shoni Schimmel’s squad blew a 14-point lead to fall 69-64.

“This game is always coming down to where it’s a battle,” Walz said. “Nothing’s gonna change with that. And really, to be honest with you, I don’t think it matters who’s coaching. It just doesn’t matter. It’s the rivalry game.”

Saturday night, the Cardinals felt it.

No. 19 Kentucky defeated No. 18 Louisville, 71-61, in overtime at Memorial Coliseum in the latest installment, snapping a seven-game win streak for U of L over UK. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 35-24.

UK fans knew they had the game won when veteran point guard Georgia Amoore went to the free-throw line with 30 seconds left in overtime. Before she took her shots, they began chanting “Go Big Blue! Go Big Blue! Go Big Blue!”

U of L had not played at Memorial Coliseum since 2017, as the two most recent games in Lexington tipped off at Rupp Arena.

Louisville introduced its starters to a sold-out Coliseum (full of 6,117 fans including Louisville native and famous singer Bryson Tiller) before tipoff met with a cacophony of boos and cheers from a mostly blue crowd peppered with red. Kentucky fans donned “Ls Down” shirts and flashed the upside-down hand gesture to every camera they saw. The student section was riddled with copies of the student newspaper that…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/louisville-basketballs-jeff-walz-faces-011921897.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2024-11-17 01:19:00

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