Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation. The UofL women’s basketball team has a top 15 matchup against Notre Dame in South Bend. Louisville is coming off a tough road victory over Pittsburgh 66-55 on Thursday night. Emily Engstler recorded her 9th double-double of the season with a 17 point, 15 rebound performance against the Panthers. Louisville won the last meeting vs ND when the teams met two weeks ago. Kianna Smith had 17 points and HVL added 16 points in the Cards 73-47 rout of Notre Dame. Notre Dame does lead the all-time series 16-11, but the Cards have gained ground over the last couple years.
Starting Lineup:
Chelsie Hall (6.3ppg, 2.2apg, 3.3rpg)
Hailey Van Lith (13.3ppg, 3.4rpg)
Emily Engstler (11.1ppg, 8.9rpg )
Kianna Smith (11.5ppg, 3.4rpg)
Olivia Cochran (8.9ppg, 5.5rpg)
1st Quarter:
Emily Engstler gave the Cards an early 3-0 lead. The Cards then opened up an 18-1 lead midway through the quarter. UofL increased the lead 27-3, forcing Coach Ivey to call yet another timeout. The Cards went 7/7 from beyond the arc in the quarter. Louisville used a 24-2 run that spanned over 6 minutes to take a 31-3 lead into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Chelsie Hall scored yet another bucket to start the quarter off for the Cards. UofL continued to attack Notre Dame on offense and defense, in route to a 45-4 lead. The Cards held ND to 2-19 from the field with 5 minutes left in the quarter. Things got a little chippy after a Miles fastbreak layup, as she got in the face of Mykasa Robinson. After a long stoppage, 4 technical fouls were assessed (2 on each team). Notre Dame found a little bit of rhythm, but Louisville still took a 54-15 lead into intermission.
Halftime Stats At A Glance:
FG%: 23-34 (67.6%)
3PT%: 8-12 (66.7%)
FT%: 0-0 (0%)
Assists: 15
Turnovers: 8
Total Rebounds: 25-10
Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (16)
3rd Quarter:
Olivia got a free throw to drop for the Cards first points of the half. Notre Dame came out of the intermission more focused as they were able to hold the Cards to only 17 points in the quarter. HVL didn’t score in the quarter, but other Cards stepped up. Louisville lost the scoring battle in the quarter (17-19), but still took a sizable 71-34 lead heading into the final quarter of regulation.
4th Quarter:
Louisville again was able to work on a few sets and get some reserves valuable minutes during the quarter. Louisville led wire-to-wire and by as many as 42 points. The Cards got their 6th straight victory over Notre Dame. Louisville beat Notre Dame on ND’s senior 86-64.
Final Stats:
FG% 38-65 (58.5%)
3PT% 8-14 (57.1%)
FT% 2-4 (50%)
Assists: 19
Blocks: 5
Steals: 6
Turnovers: 16
Total Rebounds: 42-27
Offensive Rebounds: 12-10
Bench Points: 13
Post Game Notes and Leaders:
Louisville improves to 16-2 in ACC play today after beating Notre Dame. Louisville will be the #2 seed in the ACC Tournament later this week. Louisville will be rooting for Virginia Tech to beat NC State later tonight. A loss by NC State will give Louisville a share of the ACC Regular season title for 5 consecutive years. Louisville was led in scoring by Kianna Smith and HVL with 20 points each. Emily Engstler added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Next Opponent:
Louisville’s next game will be in the ACC Tournament. They have a double bye.
