The Louisville Cardinals came to Spokane having to know that they had an uphill battle in front of them against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
And losing forward Monique Reid early due to injury didn't exactly help.
Despite a valiant effort to come back from down 20 points in the second half, Louisville fell 76-69 in the first of two games tonight at Spokane Arena for the Sweet Sixteen.
The hero of the game is probably less surprising that the outcome: Bulldogs point guard Courtney Vandersloot finished with 29 points, seven assists, and seven steals as they used their home court advantage to make a little history as a team.
Gonzaga beats Louisville 76-69 to reach Elite 8 - College Women's Basketball - Rivals.com
Gonzaga (31-4) became the lowest seed in NCAA history to reach the Elite Eight. They will play the winner of top-seeded Stanford and No. 5 seed North Carolina in the regional final on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Vandersloot made more history as an individual by setting a new single-season record for assists, which she will have a chance to add to on Monday against a Cardinal team that they've already played tough once in Spokane.