Pregame Notes:
The newly ranked #2 Louisville Cardinals looked to get off to a 1-0 start in the ACC, as they take on the undefeated Duke Blue Devils. This will be the first time Coach Walz faces off against Kara Lawson. Louisville has won 4 of the last 5 games vs Duke. Louisville is 6-0 in ACC openers.
Starting Lineup:
Dana Evans (20.3ppg, 5.3apg)
Hailey Van Lith (16ppg, 7.5rpg)
Kianna Smith (15.5ppg, 3.5rpg)
Elizabeth Balogun (5.3ppg, 2.5bpg, 4rpg)
Olivia Cochran (14.5ppg, 8.3rpg)
1st Quarter:
Cards start off with two straight quick turnovers and fall behind 0-2 early. Newly inserted starter Kianna Smith gets the scoring started for Louisville with a 3. Van Lith and Dana Evans also connected on 3s on the following possessions. Cards shot a perfect 5-5 from 3, and led Duke 21-12 after the first quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Louisville struggled for the first 5 minutes of the quarter, as they could only muster up 5 points. UofL did, however, turn up the heat on defense and opened up a 13-point lead; a lead the Cards took into intermission, 35-22.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 13-29 (44.8%)
3PT%: 5-7 (71.4%)
FT%: 4-5 (80.0%)
Assists: 5
Turnovers: 9
Total Rebounds: 20-22
Leading Scorer: Dana Evans 13 points
3rd Quarter:
Duke turns up their intensity early on in the quarter and cut into the Louisville lead. Louisville regained their composure and led by as many as 15, as the teams came to a stalemate in the quarter. The Louisville lead remained at 13 going into the fourth quarter.
4th Quarter:
Dana Evans proceeded to take over in the beginning of the quarter, as she pushed the Louisville lead to 17. Louisville opened up a 27-point lead and never looked back.
Final Stats:
FG% 28-63 (44.4%)
3PT% 7-16 (43.8%)
FT% 10-11 (90.9%)
Assists: 9
Blocks: 4
Steals: 7
Turnovers: 12
Total Rebounds: Tied at 38
Offensive Rebounds: 12-14
Bench Points: 6
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Dana Evans leads the Cards in scoring once again with 24 points. Cochran led all players with 12 rebounds. Hailey Van Lith led the team with 3 assists. Olivia Cochran and Dana Evans both chipped in with 2 assists each. Freshman Olivia Cochran has her second double-double in three games with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Next Opponent:
The Cards next scheduled game is back home in the YUM Center at 4 pm vs North Carolina.
