UofL WBB Recap: Cards Dominate The Glass; Win Battle Of The Bluegrass

Pre Game Notes:

Good afternoon Card Nation, the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals square off against their in-state rivals from Lexington. Louisville is currently on a 4-game winning streak, after dominating NC A&T 80-40 a week ago. Louisville won the last meeting between the two team 86-72 in Lexington last year. Louisville trails the all-time series 23-34, but are 9-6 under Coach Walz (5-2 at home). Senior post Olivia Cochran is 7 points away from reaching 1,000 points in her career.

STARTING LINEUP:

Nina Richards (8.8ppg, 4.7rpg)

Sydney Taylor (11ppg, 3rpg)

Kiki Jefferson (12.2ppg, 3.3rpg)

Nyla Harris (8.7ppg, 4.9rpg)

Olivia Cochran (11.3ppg, 5.4rpg)

1ST QUARTER:

Nyla Harris tied the game at 2 with a bucket in the post. The Cards were able to disrupt the uk offense a little in the quarter by forcing 5 turnovers. The did allow uk to shoot 50% from the field. Sydney Curry led all scorers with 9 in the quarter. Louisville led 18-16 lead heading into the 2nd quarter.

2ND QUARTER:

The Cards fell behind 20-23 before a strip steal by Curry that led to a 3-ball by Russell on the assist by Curry. The Louisville offense struggled to find their rhythm. Meanwhile, uk shot 50% for most of the half. The Cards had more turnovers (6) than field goals (4) in the quarter. Louisville got sped up, missed a lot of shot they normally make, and committed a few unforced turnovers. They ended the quarter with 4 turnovers in the last 3:45, but still took a 28-27 lead heading into intermission.

HALFTIME STATS:

Field goal %: 10-27 (37%)

3pt field goal %: 4-10 (40%%)

Free throw %: 4-6 (66.7%) 

Rebounds: 21 (7 offensive)

Assists: 6

Steals: 5

Turnovers: 10

Leading Scorer: Sydney Taylor  (9)

3RD QUARTER:

Louisville came out of the locker room wanting to establish their offensive game. On the other side, they wanted to continue to muck up the game and keep it low scoring. It was a back-and-forth struggle for control early in the quarter, but midway through the quarter, the cream started to raise to the top. After uk opened up a 3-point lead, Louisville used a 10-0 run to take a 47-40 lead and never looked back. The Cards took a 50-44 lead heading into the final quarter of regulation.

4TH QUARTER:

Louisville’s Love hit the corner 3 to give an early 53-44 lead in the quarter. The Cards stepped up their defensive pressure in the fourth and opened up their biggest lead of the game (59-46) early in the quarter. They forced 6 turnovers and only committed 2 of their own in the quarter.  UofL kept their composure when the game got within 5 points and went on 7-0 run to close the game. The Cards make it 7 straight wins in the Battle of The Bluegrass with a 73-61 win.

Final Stats:

Field goal %: 27-59 (45.8%)

3pt field goal %: 6-19 (31.6%)

Free Throw %: 13-19 (68.4)

Rebounds: 45 (15 offensive)

Assists: 14

Turnovers: 18

Bench Points: 24

Leading Scorer: Eylia Love (14)

POSTGAME NOTES:

The Cards improve to 9-1 on the season and Coach Walz is now 10-6 vs the team to the east and 6-2 at home. Louisville was dominant on the glass and out-rebounded the opposition 45-23, including (15-2 offensive rebounds). Louisville was led in scoring by Eylia Love with 14. She also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. UofL had 5 players score in double digits. Senior forward Olivia Cochran eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in her career, as she scored 10 points to go along with 8 rebounds. Louisville certainly didn’t play their best ball in the 1st half, but they were able to turn it on both offensively and defensively in the 2nd half. UofL will face Morehead State, Wednesday December 13th at 4pm. Make sure to wear pink.