Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation, the Louisville Cardinals will start their quest for another ACC regular season title today as they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Before we get into the pregame notes, huge congrats to the Louisville volleyball team as the made it to the National Championship game, but unfortunately fell to the University of Texas. Congrats to the football team on keeping the Keg of Nails here in Louisville after they beat Cincinnati 24-7.
The Cards are currently undefeated in ACC openers (8-0)
Starters:
Chrislyn Carr
Hailey Van Lith
Morgan Jones
Olivia Cochran
Liz Dixon
1st Quarter:
Morgan Jones gave the Cards the early 2-0 lead. Both teams struggled offensively early. There were a lot of missed shots and turnovers for most of the quarter. Louisville kept up their pressure and used a 13-0 run to open up a 16-3 lead. However, Pitt fought back and used a last second 3-point field goal to cut the Cards lead to 7 (19-12) heading into the 2nd quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Russell got the Cards on the board first in the quarter. The Cards continued to play excellent defense and made life difficult for the Panthers all quarter. The Panthers were only able to score 7 points in the quarter, whereas the Cards poured in 20. A Hailey Van Lith buzzer-beating 3-ball gave the Cards a 20-point lead (39-19) heading into intermission.
Halftime Stats:
Field Goal %: 15-26 (57.7%)
3PT Field Goal %: 4-7 (57.1%)
Free Throws: 5-5 (100%)
Total Rebounds: 24 (8 offensive)
Turnovers: 9
Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (11)
3rd Quarter:
Olivia Cochran gave Louisville a 22-point lead with a layup coming out of the break. The Cards continued their efficient offensive execution as they opened up a 29-point lead midway through the quarter. Louisville increased their scoring output in every quarter. HVL had yet another buzzer beater that gave Louisville a 30-point lead (64-34) heading into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
Both teams played to a stalemate in the quarter. Louisville was able to open their biggest lead of game at 31 a couple times in the quarter. They got some much needed playing time for their reserves and the Panthers weren’t able to get any closer than 24 points. Louisville won 77-53 and are now 1-0 in ACC play.
Final Stats:
Field Goal %: 29-53 (54.7%)
3PT Field Goal %: 7-12 (58.3%)
Free Throws: 12-13 (92.3%)
Total Rebounds: 41 (9 offensive)
Assists: 19
Steals: 5
Blocks: 2
Bench Points: 24
Turnovers: 2
Leading Scorer: Hailey Van Lith (20)
Post Game Notes:
The Cards improves to 8-4 on the season and 1-0 in the ACC. They were led in scoring by Hailey Van Lith with 20 points. She also added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. After a slow start offensively, the Cards defense stayed engaged and gave the team time to find their rhythm offensively. Olivia Cochran picked up her 3rd double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Louisville used their size and length advantage to score 32 points in the paint. They were also able to get 24 points from their bench. The Cards showed flashes of being the defensive team college basketball is used to seeing, as they held Pittsburgh to 33.9% from the field and 26.3% from beyond the arc. Pittsburgh came in as one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the conference.
Next Opponent:
UofL stays on the road as they face the DePaul Blue Demons Wednesday, December 21st at 8:30 pm.
