Pregame Notes:
Happy New CardNation from the staff at CSZ. The #2 Louisville Cardinals looks to shake off some rust due to a covid shutdown as they take on NKU. Louisville beat NKU last year on the road 85-57. This time the Norse comes into town with a familiar face. Former Louisville player and former Miss Kentucky basketball Lindsey Duvall, comes in averaging 14.5ppg and 8rpg for NKU. The Cards lead the all time series 12-11. The Cards last game was a 73-49 drumming of Duke on December 9th, 2020.
Starting Lineup:
Dana Evans (21ppg, 4.6apg)
Hailey Van Lith (15.6ppg, 6.8rpg)
Kianna Smith (15.3ppg, 3.3rpg)
Elizabeth Balogun (4.8ppg, 2.2bpg, 3.6rpg)
Olivia Cochran (13.8ppg, 9rpg)
1st Quarter:
Olivia Cochran gets the Cards started with a bucket off an offensive rebound. Six different Cards scored in the first quarter, not named Dana Evans. Cards showed rust early, but turned up the defense midway through the quarter. Cards lead 15-11 after one.
2nd Quarter:
A Dana Evans 3 ball got the scoring started for Louisville in the quarter, but Duvall answered with a 3 of her own on the ensuing possession. Cards held NKU without a field goal for over 4 minutes. A slow first half came to a close with Louisville leading 31-29.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%:14-40 (35.0%)
3PT%:1-14 (7.1%)
FT%: 2-4 (50.0%)
Assists: 11
Turnovers: 5
Total Rebounds: 23
Leading Scorer:Liz Dixon (8)
3rd Quarter:
The Norse came out of intermission the sharper more focused team, as they started to hit some shots and got some stops on defense. Louisville fell behind 36-41 midway through the quarter before Dana Evans asserted herself on both ends of the floor. Louisville ended the qquarter on a 17-2 run and took a 53-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
4th Quarter:
The Norse began the final quarter with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 4, but the Cards answers with a run of their own. It took all 40 minutes for Louisville to put away a very gamed NKU Norse team led by Lindsey Duvall. Cards win 74-64.
Final Stats:
FG% 30-72 (41.7%)
3PT% 4-22 (18.2%)
FT%10-13 (76.9%)
Assists:18
Blocks: 7
Steals:11
Turnovers: 13
Total Rebounds: 45-41
Offensive Rebounds: 13-11
Bench Points:18
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Cards improve to 6-0 on the season. Dana Evans led the Cards with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kianna Smith led Louisville in rebounds with 10, she also chipped in 11 points. Liz Dixon was key off the bench with 12 points and 3 rebounds. Elizabeth Balogun added 4 blocks, 2 steals and 8 rebounds. Lindsey Duvall led the Norse with 20 points.
Next Opponent:
The Cards next scheduled game is back home in the YUM Center at noon vs the Bellarmine Knights.
