LOUISVILLE ESCAPES
ST. LOUIS — Nyeshia Stevenson’s 3-point attempt was almost halfway down — and then, suddenly, so was Oklahoma.
The junior forward’s attempted 3-pointer beat the buzzer, but not Louisville, which, after Candyce Bingham had missed the second end of a one-and-one with 7.6 seconds remaining, thanked its lucky stars, an unforgiving rim, and 17 Sooner turnovers for a 61-59 victory last night that moved the Cardinals into tomorrow night’s NCAA women’s final.
Down 14 points after seven minutes, hitting only one of its first 14 shots, third-seeded Louisville plugged away largely through the offensive efforts of Angel McCoughtry, who had 18 points, and Becky Burke, who came off the bench to hit two critical corner threes down the stretch.
Oklahoma, a one-seed, got 16 points and 16 rebounds from Courtney Paris, but ended up shooting only 35 percent as Louisville, 33-4, overcame its early jitters.
Louisville 61 Oklahoma 59
