Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation. The ACC regular season champion Louisville Cardinals start the quest for an ACC Tournament championship today vs Wake Forest. Wake Forest beat North Carolina 82-71 yesterday to advance the quarterfinals. As some of you might remember, Louisville squeezed out a 65-63 win against Wake Forest earlier this season in Winston-Salem. Dana Evans came up clutch with the game winning basket and free throw to give the Cards that victory.
Starting Lineup:
Dana Evans (21ppg, 4.3apg)
Hailey Van Lith (11ppg, 5.4rpg)
Mykasa Robinson (3.9rpg, 2.3apg )
Kianna Smith (11.7ppg, 3.8rpg)
Olivia Cochran (11ppg, 6.7rpg)
1st Quarter:
Olivia Cochran got the scoring started for Louisville with a baseline jumper. The Cards made their presence on the boards known early as they got a number of offensive rebounds. They led 11-6 early. Louisville struggled on offense late in the quarter, but a Kianna Smith layup at the buzzer gave the Cards a 17-9 lead.
2nd Quarter:
Louisville’s offensive struggles continued early in the second quarter as Wake Forest was able to cut the lead to 3. A Hailey Van Lith 3 on an assist from Mykasa Robinson pushed the Louisville lead back to 6. Wake Forest again was able to capitalize on Louisville’s offensive struggles to tie the game at 22. A Konno layup gave the Cards the lead and ended a 4-minute scoring drought. Two three-pointers by Hailey Van Lith gave the Cards a 4-point lead (32-28) going into intermission.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 14-38 (36.8%)
3PT%: 4-12 (33.3%)
FT%: 0-0 (0.0%)
Assists: 10
Turnovers: 3
Total Rebounds: 20-19
Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (11)
3rd Quarter:
Hailey Van Lith got the second half scoring started with a 3-ball on a Mykasa Robinson assist. Foul trouble and turnovers continued to plague Louisville in this quarter. Wake Forest took their first lead 43-42, but a Kianna Smith jumper gave the Cards the lead right back. A foul at the buzzer on Ahlana Smith allowed the Demon Deacons the opportunity to tie the game. Heading into the final quarter, the score was tied at 44.
4th Quarter:
Dana Evans started the quarter on the bench for Louisville. A steal and layup by Hailey Van Lith gave Louisville the lead briefly before Wake Forest tied the game back up. Louisville freshmen (Parker and Van Lith) scored the first 7 points for Louisville in the quarter. UofL used a 13-0 run to open a 13-point lead. The Louisville defense put the clamps on Wake Forest in the final quarter and won 65-53.
Final Stats:
FG% 28-64 (43.8%)
3PT% 9-21 (42.9%)
FT% 0-2 (0.0%)
Assists: 20
Blocks: 2
Steals: 9
Turnovers: 11
Total Rebounds: 37-36
Offensive Rebounds: 9-9
Bench Points: 19
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Louisville survives another very tough test from Wake Forest, pulling away to win convincingly this time. Louisville advances to the semifinals tomorrow. Hailey Van Lith led the Cards in scoring with 24 points. She added 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Ramani Parker played a ton of minutes and was a huge contributor with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and a big block. Dana Evans finished the game with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Next Opponent:
The Cards play at noon tomorrow and will face the winner of FSU and Syracuse.
