Pregame Notes:
Good evening Card Nation, Coach Walz and the University of Louisville women’s basketball team welcome the Bellarmine Knights and former Louisville great and current Bellarmine assistant coach Monique Reid. The Cards are coming off a great DePaul Day, with a 81-74 victory, but unfortunately for the Cards they dropped in the latest poll.
STARTING LINEUP:
Jayda Curry (10ppg, 1apg, 1.5rpg)
Sydney Taylor (9.5ppg, 2rpg)
Kiki Jefferson (6.5ppg, 3.5rpg)
Nyla Harris (9.5ppg, 7rpg)
Olivia Cochran (14ppg, 7.5rpg, 3apg)
1ST QUARTER:
Olivia Cochran started it off with the layup off the assist by Taylor. Louisville scored the first 8 points of the game and also used a run in the last 5 minutes of the quarter to take a 24-6 lead into the second quarter. Outside of two offensive foul turnovers by Russell, Louisville didn’t do a bad job of taking care of the basketball and moved the ball really well and unselfishly.
2ND QUARTER:
The Louisville talent and depth was showcased early in the quarter. Louisville’s bench outscored the entire Bellarmine team during the quarter (8-3). The Cards defensive pressure forced 12 turnovers in the quarter and forced Bellarmine to shoot 1-12 from the field. UofL took a 48-9 lead heading into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 20-33 (60.6%)
3pt field goal %: 2-9 (22.2%)
Free throw %: 6-8
Rebounds: 24 (5 offensive)
Assists: 10
Steals: 6
Turnovers: 9
Leading Scorer: Jayda Curry (9)
3RD QUARTER:
Louisville came out and started the quarter on an 8-0 run, continuing to build off of their second quarter dominance. Coach Walz played his reserves for most of the quarter and the Cards kept up the pressure and intensity on both ends of the floor. UofL punished the smaller Knights in the paint on their way to scoring 22 of their 30 3rd quarter points in the paint. The Cards led 78-21 heading into the 4th quarter.
4TH QUARTER:
The Cards depth was too much for the Knights. Louisville scored 33 points in the quarter, the same amount Bellarmine scored for the entire game. Louisville shot over 71% from the field in the quarter and punished the smaller Knights on the backboards and in the paint. Louisville beats Bellarmine 111-33.
Field goal %: 41-66 (62.1%)
3 pt field goal %: 6-18 (33.3%)
Free Throw %: 23-26
Rebounds: 49 (12 offensive)
Assists: 23
Bench Points: 50
Leading Scorer: Sydney Taylor (15)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Louisville moves to 3-0 on the season after a dominant game from start to finish over the crosstown Bellarmine Knights. In a game that saw very limited minutes from the starters, Louisville’s reserves really got the job done. Elif came in and registered her 1st career double-double as a Card. Redshirt sophomore Alexia Mobley scored a career high 12 points and Hennie Van Schaik got some valuable game time reps. Louisville had 8 players in double figures scoring, led by Sydney Taylor with 15. Louisville still needs to find some consistency beyond the arc as the season goes on so they can take advantage of their post players. The Cards are back in action Sunday at 4 pm when they take on the Bucknell Bison.
