Clemson, SC — The No. 9 Louisville Cardinals handed the Clemson Tigers its 39th straight conference loss in a 60-46 decision.
The Louisville Cardinals, picking up its 800th program win, struggled to put the Clemson Tigers away.
“We’ll take the win,” Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said. “We did not come out prepared to play. I watched them in warm ups screwing around. We tried to address it, we tried to get their focus. Unfortunately, it showed.”
The Cardinals started out hot as Asia Durr fired off her 72nd three-pointer on the season.
Despite two early turnovers, Victoria Cardaci fired off a triple and put Clemson on the board. But a step-back 18-footer for Durr, followed by a 17-footer for Myisha Hines-Allen put the Cardinals back on top, 7-3.
Ivy Atkism countered for the Tigers as she drove to the bucket for two. Kobi Thornton followed suit on the next possession for Clemson. Thornton’s layup tied the Cardinals and the Tigers at 7.
Midway through the first period, the Tigers moved into a 2-3 zone, forcing Kylee Shook to perimeter to fire off a triple and put the Cardinals up 10-7.
At the end of the first period, Louisville was able to pull ahead behind Sam Fuehring and Briahanna Jackson. The Cardinals led 14-11 heading into the second period.
Despite being a poor rebounding team, the Tigers dominated the glass in the first period, 11-7. Clemson also held the advantage in the paint, outscoring Louisville 8-4.
Durr fired off a triple to extend the Cardinals’ lead in the second period, but Clemson went on a 4-0 run to cut the Louisville lead to two, 17-15.
The Tigers were able to tie the game at 18 after Cardaci connected on a three-pointer midway through the second period. Clemson held the Cardinals scoreless for nearly 4:00.
Mariya Moore broke the Cardinals’ drought as she fired off a triple with 3:23 remaining the half. Sparked by Moore, Louisville was able to close out the first half behind a 6-0 run and a 24-18 lead.
Clemson held Louisville to its lowest first half on the season, allowing the Cardinals to score only 24 points.
The Cardinals connected on 9-of-27 from the field for 33%. But Louisville was able to force 9 turnovers, converting the turnovers into 8 points.
While Clemson out rebounded the Cardinals 21-16, pulling down 15 defensive boards.
Despite a dismal first half, the Cardinals came out in the third period ready to roll. Louisville scored 4 unanswered points behind Cortnee Walton and Hines-Allen to take a 10 point lead, 28-18.
Atkism broke the run as she connected on a jump-shot, but Durr countered with a triple, followed by a Hines-Allen jumper to give the Cardinals a 33-20 advantage and forcing a Clemson timeout.
Louisville continued its run out of the time out as Hines-Allen fired off another jump-shot.
Clemson locked down defensively, holding the Cardinals scoreless for 2:00, while scoring 4 unanswered points.
Durr broke the Louisville silence as she drove to the bucket for two with 2:45 remaining in the third period.
However, the Tigers would hold the Cardinals scoreless for the final 2:45. Clemson added four more points to cut Louisville’s lead to 9.
The Cardinals were able to find momentum in the final period as Louisville outscored Clemson 21-16.
Danielle Edwards kicked off the final period for the Tigers as she racked up 5 quick points behind two free throws and a triple.
Louisville’s offense appeared to wake up as it scored 7 unanswered points in 29-seconds. A three-pointer by Shook kicked off the run, followed by a jump-shot from Jackson. Moore added two at the charity stripe as the Cardinals took a 48-35 lead.
A foul committed by Shook put Jaia Alexander to the line to sink two, but Moore fired back with a three-pointer forcing a Clemson timeout.
Again, behind Moore, Louisville picked up 8 unanswered points to sprint ahead to a 56-37 lead.
Despite a late 7-0 push from Clemson, the Tigers were unable to pull off the upset.
Louisville defeated Clemson 60-46.
The Cardinals finished the contest behind 40% shooting. Louisville had 13 assists on 23 made field goals. The Cardinals capitalized behind the arc nailing 7 three-pointers.
While Clemson finished shooting 29% from the field, the Tigers held a 39-34 advantage on the glass. Clemson also outscored the Cardinals in the paint, 18-16.
Top Scorers
The Cardinals had three-players notch double-digits: Myisha Hines-Allen paced the Cardinals with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Both Mariya Moore and Asia Durr finished with 13 points a piece. Durr and Moore accounted for 6 of Louisville’s 7 three-pointers.
For the Tigers, Aliyah Collier notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards, while Kobi Thornton nearly missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 boards.
Next Up
Both Louisville and Clemson are back in action on Sunday, January 29th.
The Cardinals continue their road stint as they head north to face the Pittsburgh Panthers, while the Clemson Tigers remain at home to face Georgia Tech.
** This article is from SB Nation’s Swish Appeal. To read other women’s basketball news or to view more of Paige’s work, please visit SwishAppeal.com. **
