From the tip, it was never a question who was in control. The Louisville women jumped out to a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and headed into half with an eight point lead, but blew it out of the water in the third quarter outscoring Oregon State 28-12 to then finish the game with a commanding 76-43 victory and advance to the Final Four
No. 6 seed Oregon State had quite a run upsetting higher seeded Tennessee (3) and Baylor (2) but couldn't slow down Louisville. From the jump, Louisville defensively put on a show forcing turnovers, empty possessions and missed shots.
Their full court pressure turned out to be too much to handle as it forced the Beavers in to quick shots. Inside, they held Oregon State to only 18 points in the paint and did a great job of containing Marie Gulich, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals allowed only seven second chance points in the game.
MORE TOURNEY: NCAA Women's Tournament Home
Louisville was able to capitalize beyond the arc versus Oregon State's zone, with Asia Durr connecting of five of their nine made threes. Durr finished the game with 18 points and Myisha Hines-Allen finished with 16 points.
They only turned the ball over three times versus Oregon State's 17. They converted those turnover into easy shots and a total of 24 points off those turnovers.
The Cardinals will head to their first Final Four since 2014, and the third in school history. There, Louisville will face fellow No. 1 seed Mississippi State in Friday's seminal in Columbus, Ohio. This arguably is one of the most exciting matchups we have seen in recent years, with the two teams combining for only three losses all season.
COMPARE: Louisville vs. Mississippi State
In order to advance to the Final, the Cards will have to find a way to slow down Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan. At 6-foot-7, she averages 18 points and 13 rebounds a game. Before their Elite Eight victory over UCLA, she had not missed a shot in nearly a game and a half and was shooting 81 percent in the tournament.
[divider]
NEXT: Women's NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Teams Ranked by WNBA Alums
