UofL WBB Senior Day Recap Vs. Virginia Tech

Pregame Notes:

Good afternoon Card Nation. Today, your Cards take on the Virginia Tech Hookies. Louisville will recognize 3 seniors today; Chelsie Hall, Emily Engstler, and Kianna Smith.

Louisville is coming off a 66-65 lost to North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Thursday. The loss dropped Louisville 13-2 in ACC play. Louisville needs a win today to stay in the race for a chance at having a share of the ACC regular season title. Louisville leads the all-time series 23-17. However, Louisville is 8-0 against the Hookies since joining the ACC. Louisville also welcomes back Norika Konno and Merissah Russell to the bench today.

Starting Lineup:

Chelsie Hall (6.3ppg, 2.2apg, 3.3rpg)
Hailey Van Lith (13.3ppg, 3.1rpg)
Emily Engstler (10.9ppg, 8.6rpg )
Kianna Smith (11.8ppg, 3.4rpg)
Olivia Cochran (8.9ppg, 5.5rpg)

1st Quarter:

Kianna Smith scored on the Cards first possession of the game. Louisville took an early 8-0 lead, before a 3-ball by King. Louisville led 13-4 at the under 5 minute timeout. VT went on a 5-0 run out of the timeout, but the Cards regained their composure and finished the quarter strong. Louisville took a 22-14 lead into the second quarter.

2nd Quarter:

HVL scored with the beautiful mid-range fadeaway to give the Cards a 10-point lead early in the quarter. The Cards led 30-22 lead with 4:36 left in the half. Louisville was able to push the lead out to 15, but the Hookies scored the final 4 points of the quarter. Louisville still took a 38-27 lead into intermission.

Halftime Stats At A Glance:

FG%: 15-34 (44.1%)
3PT%: 2-5 (40%)
FT%: 6-9 (66.7%)
Assists: 4
Turnovers: 3

Total Rebounds: 21-19
Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith(13)

3rd Quarter:

HVL got the scoring started for the Cards in the quarter. Louisville led 44-29 with 4:51 left in the quarter. Louisville used a 14-2 run to open a 52-29 lead. UofL’s defensive pressure and cohesion helped them hold yet another team to under 10 points in a quarter. Louisville led 57-36 into the final quarter.

4th Quarter:

A Kianna Smith 3-ball gave Louisville a brief 60-36 lead. The Cards didn’t finish the game as strong as Coach Walz would’ve loved to, so the starters stayed out there most of the quarter. Coach Walz allowed the crowd to give the 3 seniors one last standing ovation. Louisville won 70-56.

Final Stats:

FG% 28-67 (41.8%)
3PT% 3-12 (25%)
FT% 11-15 (73.3%)
Assists: 7
Blocks: 1
Steals: 10
Turnovers: 9
Total Rebounds: 43-31
Offensive Rebounds: 15-5
Bench Points: 12

Post Game Notes and Leaders:

Louisville improves to 14-2 in ACC play today after beating the Hokies. They remain in 2nd place in the ACC. The Cards had 3 players in double figures scoring today. Although the Cards struggled from beyond the arc, they dominated the boards in this game which helped them get extra offensive possessions. Louisville was led in scoring today by Hailey Van Lith with 20 points and she added 5 rebounds. Emily Engstler fouled out with 19 points and 15 rebounds for her 8th double-double  of the season. Kianna Smith finished with 11 points, 1 board, and 1 steal. Fellow senior Chelsie Hall finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Next Opponent:

Louisville will be hitting the road for their remaining games. The Cards take on Pittsburgh on Thursday, February 24th at 6pm.