Cardinals Take Control Early, Roll Past Syracuse 87–61 in ACC Tournament

The third game on Day 3 of the Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament featured a matchup between the Syracuse Orange and the Louisville Cardinals. Syracuse entered the game after defeating California 70–59 in the previous round, while Louisville came into the tournament with a double bye. The two teams last met in February when Louisville defeated Syracuse 84–65.

Louisville wasted little time setting the tone in the opening quarter. The Cardinals jumped out with eight unanswered points as Mackenly Randolph, Tajianna Roberts, and Imari Berry fueled an early surge before the 5:29 mark. Syracuse finally broke through when Leila Phelia knocked down a basket to stop the run, but Louisville’s early pressure had already created separation.

The Orange found a spark late in the period when Uche Izoje came out of a timeout with purpose. The sophomore scored six straight points with 2:11 remaining, giving Syracuse a brief lift. Still, Louisville remained firmly in control, closing the quarter with a 25–12 advantage.

Syracuse looked to chip away in the second quarter, leaning on Izoje’s presence inside. She added another six points in the paint, helping the Orange stay within reach. Jasmine Cooper drilled a three pointer with 3:22 remaining, trimming Louisville’s lead to eight and briefly shifting the momentum.

The Cardinals answered quickly.

Louisville responded with another scoring run that pushed the lead to as many as 17 points before Syracuse closed the half with a late 6–0 push. Just when it looked like the Orange might carry momentum into the locker room, Imari Berry delivered the final word of the half with a buzzer beater, sending Louisville into the break ahead 45–33.

The Cardinals continued to dictate the tempo in the third quarter. Louisville stretched the lead to 57–40 with 4:39 remaining as the offense continued to click. Balanced scoring and perimeter shooting from Laura Ziegler, Mackenly Randolph, and Tajianna Roberts helped the Cardinals keep Syracuse at arm’s length.

Sophie Burrows helped keep the Orange competitive during a key stretch, scoring eight points as Syracuse tried to stabilize the game before the 3:04 mark. But every time the Orange threatened to close the gap, Louisville had an answer.

By the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had full control.

Imari Berry quickly pushed the lead back to 22 early in the period. With 5:53 remaining, Tajianna Roberts knocked down a three pointer that stretched the advantage to 24, the largest margin to that point. Anaya Hardy added her first points of the night to push the lead to 25, and Grace Mbugua followed with a basket inside as Louisville continued to build momentum.

Reyna Scott later extended the lead to 28, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Louisville closed the night with steady defense and efficient shooting, defeating Syracuse 87–61 to advance in the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Uche Izoje led Syracuse with 16 points, while Tajianna Roberts paced Louisville with 17.

The Cardinals will now face the winner of North Carolina and Virginia Tech tomorrow at 2:30 pm ET.T