Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation. Welcome to your Battle Of The Bluegrass recap. Your 5th-ranked Louisville Cardinals took on the 14th-ranked team in the country uk. Louisville is on a seven-game winning streak and they are looking for their fifth consecutive Battle Of The Bluegrass victory. The Cards are currently 7-1 and have one of the best defenses in the country. Louisville is 21-34 all-time versus the team up the road, and 14-11 at home in the series. Louisville has won the last 3 games when both teams have come into the game ranked.
Starting Lineup:
Chelsie Hall (5.9ppg, 2.1apg, 3.8rpg)
Hailey Van Lith (10.3ppg, 3.5rpg)
Emily Engstler (8.9rpg, 10.6ppg )
Kianna Smith (11.5ppg, 3rpg)
Olivia Cochran (6.5ppg, 5rpg)
1st Quarter:
Chelsie Hall got the scoring started for Louisville with a beautiful floater. The Cards failed to capitalize on a number of attempts on the inside and allowed uk to hang around. UofL led 19-13 after the first quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Ahlana Smith gave Louisville a huge lift off of the bench, with 7 points. Things began to get a little chippy between the players, as Mykasa picked up a horrible taunting technical foul. Olivia Cochran also picked up a taunting technical towards the end of the quarter. The Cards continued to squander opportunities in the paint and trailed 32-33 going into intermission.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 13-36 (36.1%)
3PT%: 3-8 (33.3%)
FT%: 3-4 (75.0%)
Assists: 4
Turnovers: 6
Total Rebounds: 22-18
Leading Scorer: Chelsie Hall (9)
3rd Quarter:
Kianna hit a beautiful step-back 3-ball to get the scoring started in the 3rd quarter. UofL regained the lead 35-33. The Cards picked up the defensive intensity and held the kittens scoreless the first 5-plus minutes of the quarter. Louisville held the blue team to 6 points the entire quarter and Louisville took a 44-39 lead into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
Chelsie Hall extended the Louisville lead by 1 after hitting a free throw and scoring her first point since the second quarter. The blue team was able to battle all the way back to take a brief 1-point lead (54-53). Louisville promptly answered with a 6-0 run of their own. Hall hit some crucial free throws and HVL hit a huge mid-range jumper and the Cards pulled away late, winning 64-58.
Final Stats:
FG% 26-65 (40.0%)
3PT% 4-13 (30.8%)
FT% 8-12 (66.7%)
Assists: 9
Blocks: 6
Steals: 10
Turnovers: 13
Total Rebounds: 37-37
Offensive Rebounds: 13-11
Bench Points: 18
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
The Cards beat uk for the 5th consecutive time. Louisville made this game a whole lot closer than it should’ve been. Missed opportunities in the paint, unforced turnovers, missed assignments on defense, and long scoring droughts help uk stay in the game. Olivia Cochran’s and Liz Dixon’s playing time decreased in the 2nd half as Coach Walz elected to go with a smaller lineup. The Cards trailed late, but regained the lead and never let go. UofL was led in scoring by Chelsie Hall with 15. Hailey Van Lith and Ahlana Smith chipped in with 13 each. Engstler led the way in rebounding with 10.
Next Opponent:
Louisville takes on EKU Thursday, December 16th at 8pm at the KFC YUM! Center.
Here are the Post-Game Pressers from Coach Walz, Ahlana Smith and Chelsie Hall
Head Coach Jeff Walz
Ahlana Smith and Chelsie Hall
