Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation, Coach Walz and the Louisville Cardinals look to clinch their 4th consecutive regular season title as they take on the Florida State Seminoles. The Cards are 20-1 and 13-1 in conference. The Cards won the last meeting 84-56 in mid-January as FSU was coming off a covid pause.
Starting Lineup:
Dana Evans (21.2ppg, 4.3apg)
Hailey Van Lith (11.3ppg, 5.4rpg)
Kianna Smith(11.8ppg, 3.7rpg)
Mykasa Robinson (3.9rpg, 2.3apg)
Olivia Cochran (8.3ppg, 6rpg)
1st Quarter:
Kianna Smith got the scoring started for Louisville with a 3-ball and the Cards led briefly 3-2. Both teams traded baskets early in the quarter as their were 3 ties and 4 lead changes early. With 4:25 left to go, the score was tied at 9. FSU comes out of the timeout with a 5-0 run, but the Cards answered with a 8-0 run to take a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
The Cards got the first points of the quarter, but had a scoring drought of nearly 3 minutes. Yet, they still led 20-16. Dana Evans scored her first bucket of the game with a transition 3, that tied the Cards biggest lead of the game 26-21. FSU ended the half on a 7-0 run and Louisville trailed 28-26 going into intermission. The Cards trailed for only the second time at the half all season.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 10-27 (37.0%)
3PT%: 2-9 (22.2%)
FT%: 4-10 (40.0%)
Assists: 7
Turnovers: 7
Total Rebounds: 20-18
Leading Scorer: Elizabeth Balogun (6)
3rd Quarter:
Both teams traded turnovers on their first possession before a Kianna Smith 3-ball gave the Cards a 29-28 lead. Olivia scored her 8th point of the quarter while giving the Cards their biggest lead of the game (39-32). FSU was able to cut the lead down to 2, but the Cards took a 43-39 lead into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
Louisville struggled early in the quarter, allowing FSU to tie the game at 43. Both teams traded a couple baskets, but FSU went on a 7-0 run to take a 52-47 lead with 4:45 left to go. Hailey Van Lith scored her first basket of the day, trimming the FSU lead to 5. Louisville had their chance to make this a game, but allowed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and allowed FSU to milk the clock and get a bucket. Louisville was never able to get any closer than 5 the rest of the game. Louisville was outscored 16-29 in the final quarter and lost 59-68.
Final Stats:
FG% 21-60 (35.0%)
3PT% 3-20 (15.0%)
FT% 14-23 (63.6%)
Assists: 13
Blocks: 4
Steals: 5
Turnovers: 11
Total Rebounds: 41-45
Offensive Rebounds: 14-19
Bench Points: 16
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Louisville loses their 2nd game of the season and will have to wait another game before they can secure their 4th consecutive ACC regular season title. The loss puts Louisville at 20-2 for the season. This Louisville team has been prone to multiple scoring droughts during games this season. Scoring droughts that come at the most inopportune times. Louisville needs to improve their rebounding on both ends of the floor if they want to reach their ultimate goal of winning a national championship. The Cards were led in scoring by Dana Evans with 13 points, while Olivia Cochran chipped in with 12 points. Dana Evans was held in check by the FSU defense as she scored 13 points on 5-21 shooting, but she also managed 5 assists. It was clear the FSU length hurt this Louisville team.
Next Opponent:
The Cards have their last regular season game next Sunday in South Bend at 3pm vs Notre Dame.
