Rickards, Louisville Squeak Past Boston College

Rickards led the Cardinals in scoring, and had the go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds.

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The No. 18 Louisville women's basketball team (21-5, 10-3 ACC) found a way Thursday night at Conte Forum and came away with a 69-67 win over Boston College (11-16, 3-11 ACC). The Cardinals trailed for a majority of the night heading into the fourth quarter but a 6-0 run to start the quarter gave the Cards the lead and they never let Boston College get back in front. Nina Rickards got the game-winning bucket with her layup with 19.1 seconds remaining.

Rickards led the Cards in scoring for the first time this season as she tied a season high with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Rickards also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal in the win. Sydney Taylor scored all 13 of her points in the second half and she was joined in double figures by Kiki Jefferson with 14 and Olivia Cochran with 11. Cochran was one shy of a double-double as she had a team-best nine rebounds.

The Cardinals struggled in the first quarter as they had nine turnovers and shot 4-for-12 in the opening 10 minutes. At the end of the quarter, Louisville faced a 17-8 deficit.

The Cardinals got down as much as 10 in the second quarter before they ripped off an 8-0 run and made it a one possession game. Louisville got the final possession of the quarter and Jefferson converted a floater in the lane to tie the score at 32-32 heading into the half.

Nina Rickards scored in double figures in the first half with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Olivia Cochran tallied a team-best four rebounds to go with four points in the first half.

Louisville took its first lead of the night at the 2:40 mark in the third quarter after Cochran went 2-for-2 from the free throw line. The Cardinals grew the lead to five but Boston College scored the last six points of the quarter and the Cardinals faced a 52-51 deficit going into the final quarter.

The Cardinals regained the lead as they scored the first six points and eight of the first 10 points in the fourth quarter. Louisville hit its first five shots from the floor to begin the fourth quarter. After a Boston College bucket, the score was tied 67-67 with under a minute left in regulation. Following a BC turnover, Rickards converted the driving layup and gave the Cardinals a 69-67 lead with 19.1 seconds left.

The Cardinals return home and a top-20 matchup awaits them this weekend. Louisville is set to welcome the league-leading No. 12/13 Virginia Tech Hokies to the KFC Yum! Center Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals and Hokies will square off at 2 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

(Photo via University of Louisville Athletics)

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