Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation. Louisville is coming off a 93-71 victory over Clemson on Thursday night. The Cards were led by Hailey Van Lith, who scored a career high 34 points. Van Lith scored 24 of her 34 points in the second half and helped Louisville put away the Clemson Tigers. Louisville is currently 20-2 overall and 10-1 in ACC play, a record that is good enough to be tied with NC State in 1st place. Louisville’s Emily Engstler is making a return trip to the Dome in Syracuse, where she played for the first 3 years of her career. Louisville leads the all-time series 16-7, Louisville has won 10 out of the last 12 games vs the Orange.
Starting Lineup:
Chelsie Hall (5.8ppg, 2.2apg, 3.2rpg)
Hailey Van Lith (13.2ppg, 3.1rpg)
Emily Engstler (11ppg, 8.5rpg )
Kianna Smith (11.6ppg, 3.3rpg)
Olivia Cochran (8.8ppg, 5.1rpg)
1st Quarter:
Chelsie Hall got the scoring started for the Cards with a mid-range jumper against the zone. Louisville held a double-digit lead multiple times during the first quarter, but Syracuse always made a run. A corner 3ball by Verhulst extended the Louisville lead to 30-17 heading into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Syracuse started the quarter on a 5-0 run, but a mid-range jumper by Ahlana Smith put an end to the Syracuse run. Louisville led 38-30, with 5:00 left in the quarter. The Louisville ball movement continued to bear fruit, but Syracuse continued to make 3 after 3. Louisville was still able to take a double-digit lead of 50-39 into intermission.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 22-38 (57.9%)
3PT%: 4-7 (57.1%)
FT%: 2-2 (100%)
Assists: 14
Turnovers: 5
Total Rebounds: 23-11
Leading Scorer: Chelsie Hall (9)
3rd Quarter:
HVL hit a layup in transition for the Cards first bucket of the quarter. The defense and press began to take it’s toll on Syracuse, as the Syracuse 3s didn’t continue to fall like they did in the first half. Louisville opened up their biggest lead of 15 points in the quarter and was able to take a 65-50 lead into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
Louisville opened up a 20-point lead early in the quarter with Liz Dixon’s stellar play. The Syracuse hot shooting really cooled off throughout the second half. Mykasa Robinson hits 2 consecutive corner 3s on her birthday and helped the Cards break the 100-point mark today. Louisville wins 100-64.
Final Stats:
FG% 41-77 (53.2%)
3PT% 7-22 (31.8%)
FT% 11-15 (73.3%)
Assists: 23
Blocks: 7
Steals: 8
Turnovers: 15
Total Rebounds: 55-26
Offensive Rebounds: 23-11
Bench Points: 43
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Louisville improves to 11-1 in ACC play today after beating Syracuse in Emily Engstler’s return to the Dome. The Cards dominated the Orange on the backboards today to the tune of 55-26. UofL had six players score in double figures. Louisville was led in scoring by Liz Dixon, who scored 18 points and added 7 rebounds off the bench. Kianna Smith had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Cards. Engstler, who didn’t get to play much due to foul trouble had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 10 points. Olivia Cochran added 9 points and led the team in rebounds with 11 rebounds.
Next Opponent:
Louisville will be returning home for a Thursday date with UVA, February 10th at 7pm in the Yum Center.
