UofL Women’s Basketball Recap: Cards Cage Bearcats in Season Opener

Pregame Notes:

Coming off their 4th Final Four appearance, your Louisville Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in their season opener. The 7th-ranked Cards begin the season ranked in the Top 10 for the 8th consecutive year under Coach Jeff Walz. The Cards lead the all-time series 40-24.

Starters:

Chrislyn Carr

Hailey Van Lith

Morgan Jones

Olivia Cochran

Liz Dixon

1st Quarter:

Liz Dixon scored the first 4 points of the Cards’ season to give the them an early 4-0 lead. Morgan Jones then went on a run and scored 5 quick points. Louisville used a 15-3 run and held the Bearcats scoreless for over three minutes to take a 24-10 lead after the first. Louisville played 9 players in the first quarter, Carr was the only starter to play the entire quarter.

2nd Quarter:

The Cards struggled to find their offensive rhythm early in the quarter, but the defense stayed solid. Hailey Van Lith and Jones made it a point to attack the rim and went to the line a lot in the quarter.

Halftime Stats:

Field Goal %: 15-29 (52%)

3PT Field Goal %: 4-14 (29%)

Free Throws: 14-19 (74%)

Total Rebounds: 20 (5 offensive)

Turnovers: 6

Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (16)

3rd Quarter:

After a cold beginning to the quarter for the Cards, in which their 20-point lead was cut to 8 on a couple of occasions. Hailey Van Lith and the Louisville defense woke up. The Cards ball movement on offense picked back up and Louisville extended the lead back to double digits by the end of the quarter. UofL led 60-46 heading into the fourth.

4th Quarter:

Louisville got a lot of playing time for their reserves, as 11 Cards played in this game. Louisville got a lot of contributions from their bench, as the bench scored 21 of the 27 points scored in the quarter. UofL outlasts the Bearcats 87-68 to start 1-0 for the season.

Final Stats:

Field Goal %: 31-60 (51.7%)

3PT Field Goal %: 5-21 (23.8%)

Free Throws: 20-28 (71.4%)

Total Rebounds: 39 (14 offensive)

Assists: 12

Steals: 14

Blocks: 5

Bench Points: 28

Turnovers: 18

Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (28)

Post Game Notes:

The Cards improve to 1-0 on the young season. They were led in scoring by Hailey Van Lith with 28. Olivia Cochran led the Cards in rebounding with 8 total and 3 offensive. Mykasa had a huge impact off the bench as she usually does. She scored 5 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and came up with 5 steals. Coach Walz went with a 2 big lineup tonight, with Dixon and Cochran starting. Cochran added 4 points to go along with her 8 rebounds and 1 steal. Dixon added 12 points and 6 rebounds to go with 2 blocked shots. The bench was huge for the Cards tonight as they scored 28 points. The Cards outscored Cincinnati by 30 points in the paint (48-18). They will have to continue to work on their timing and chemistry as the had 18 turnovers.

Next Opponent:

IUPUI at The Yum Center, Thursday November 10th at 7 pm.