Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation, Coach Jeff Walz and your 17th-ranked UofL women’s basketball team make their home debut this afternoon against the DePaul Blue Demons, Yes, it’s DePaul Day!!! Louisville opened the season with a tough road win vs rival Cincinnati 77-59. Louisville was led in scoring by transfers Sydney Taylor (16) and Jayda Curry (13).
STARTING LINEUP:
Jayda Curry (13 ppg, 2apg, 2 rpg)
Sydney Taylor (16ppg, 2rpg)
Kiki Jefferson (9ppg, 5rpg, 1apg)
Nyla Harris (6ppg, 3rpg)
Olivia Cochran (7ppg, 10rpg, 3apg)
1ST QUARTER:
Sydney Curry got the scoring started for the Cards giving them a 2-0 lead. DePaul, however, got off to a hot start and forced Coach Walz to take an early timeout as the Cards trailed 6-15 early. After the timeout, Louisville went on an 23-14 run including a 7-0 run in the final 1:30 to tie the game at 29.
2ND QUARTER:
Rickards hit a layup to give the Cards their first lead since 3-0 to start the quarter. The Cards used an 8-3 run to take their biggest lead of the game (5) at 37-32 forcing a DePaul timeout. Louisville opened up an 8-point lead twice in the quarter, but went cold offensively to finish the quarter and that allowed DePaul to cut the lead to 4 before the half. Louisville led 42-38 heading into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 16-36 (44.4%)
3pt field goal %: 1-11 (9.1%)
Free throw %: 9-10
Rebounds: 18 (6 offensive)
Assists: 5
Steals: 3
Turnovers: 4
Leading Scorer: Olivia Cochran (12)
3RD QUARTER:
Louisville came into the quarter with a 4-point lead and got the lead up to 6, but for most of the quarter the teams traded baskets, stops and turnovers. They struggled with their offensive execution and for a brief moment, DePaul was able to take a 2-point lead (56-54). Louisville ended the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 63-58 lead heading into the final quarter.
4TH QUARTER:
Louisville allowed only 4 baskets in the quarter and opened up an 11-point lead twice in the quarter. Unfortunately, two of the open shots Louisville gave up were to Clarke, who shot 50% from beyond the arc. The story of the quarter was the apparent knee injury to star Louisville post player Olivia Cochran. Cochran was having a great offensive game for the Cards before the injury forced her exit from the game. She did not return. The Cards defeated the DePaul Blue Demons 81-74.
Final Stats:
Field Goal %: 27-60 (45.0%)
3 pt field goal %: 2-17 (11.8%)
Free Throw %: 25-31 (80.6%)
Rebounds: 41 (10 offensive)
Assists: 9
Turnovers: 14
Bench Points: 33
Leading Scorer: Olivia Cochran (21)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Louisville improves to 2-0 on the young season. UofL was led in scoring by senior post player Olivia Cochran who had 21 points. She also added 5 rebounds. Key reserve Eylia Love chipped in with 16 points and 3 rebounds. Louisville really gutted this win out, even after being down a few times and struggling from behind the arc. The Cards finished with 3 scoring in double figures. Nyla Harris notched her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Louisville is back at home on Thursday, November 16th at 7 pm as they face the Bellarmine Knights.
