Pregame Notes:
Good night Card Nation. Tonight, Louisville Women’s Basketball looks to remain undefeated as the take on #4 NC State. NC State was previously ranked #2 in the country before they fell to upset-minded Virginia Tech on Thursday. Louisville leads the all-time series 8-3 and are 8-1 since joining the ACC.
Early in the Day, Louisville freshman guard Hailey Van Lith was named to the Lieberman Award Top 10 list. The Nancy Lieberman Award goes to NCAA Division 1’s top point guard. Previous winners include: Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Skylar Diggins, Ivory Latta, Dianna Taurasi, and Sue Bird.
Louisville senior guard Dana Evans was named to the John Wooden Award Top 20 list. The Wooden Award recognizes the most outstanding players for both men and women. Previous award winners include: Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu.
Starting Lineup:
Dana Evans (19.5ppg, 4.4apg)
Hailey Van Lith (12.3ppg, 5.8rpg)
Kianna Smith(11.6ppg, 3.9rpg)
Elizabeth Dixon (8.6ppg, 5.9rpg)
Olivia Cochran (12.3ppg, 6.4rpg)
1st Quarter:
Olivia Cochran got the scoring started for Louisville, as she has done many times this season. The first quarter was what you expected from two top 5 teams. Louisville trailed in the quarter, but also had a lead as big as 5. NC State, however, hit a corner 3-ball as time expired to give us a tied game at 18 to end the quarter.
2nd Quarter:
A Balogun corner 3 on an assist from Dana Evans stopped the NC State 8-0 run, that continued over from the first quarter. Outside of baskets by Evans and Balogun, the Cards had no scoring and midway through the half the Cards were down by 2. The Cards struggled mightily in the quarter and managed to only score 7 points. UofL went into intermission trailing the Wolfpack 25-29.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 11-29 (37.9%)
3PT%: 3-10 (30.0%)
FT%: (0%)
Assists: 4
Turnovers: 7
Total Rebounds: 18-23
Leading Scorer: Dana Evans (10)
3rd Quarter:
Cochran got the first basket of the half for Louisville, but then it was all Wolfpack. NC State led 41-31 with 4:52 left in the quarter. The Louisville offense came alive late in the quarter to cut the lead to 5. Louisville trailed 49-44 heading into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
NC State refused to give Louisville any prolonged confidence and started the quarter on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 12. NC State was able to extend their lead to 18 and although Louisville made a few runs late, it just wasn’t enough. NC State was able build an 18-point lead in the quarter and it was too much for the Cards to rally from. The Cards fell to NC State 60-74.
Final Stats:
FG% 23-60(38.3%)
3PT% 8-19 (42.1%)
FT% 6-8 (75.0%)
Assists: 6
Blocks: 8
Steals: 8
Turnovers: 13
Total Rebounds: 29-44
Offensive Rebounds: 6-13
Bench Points: 7
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
The Cards have suffered their first lost of the season and are now 16-1. The combination of a lack of a legitimate post presence and team rebounding hurt Louisville tonight. Louisville couldn’t put everything together, as NC State made it tough on the Cards on both ends of the court tonight. Louisville also had some good looks at the basket that didn’t fall. The Cards were led by Dana Evans with 29 points.
Next Opponent:
The Cards look to rebound as they head on the road to face Boston College at 8pm on Thursday.
