Pregame Notes:
Good evening, Card Nation. Coach Jeff Walz your 22nd-ranked Louisville women’s basketball team take on the 20-8 Florida State Seminoles. FSU and UofL are both tied with an 11-5 ACC record. You hate to say it, but this is a MUST win for Louisville in terms of ACC conference tournament seeding. The Cards suffered a heartbreaking defeat at home on Sunday to the Virginia Cavaliers 68-73. It was the first time the Cards lost back-to-back home games in a long time. Nyla Harris led the way with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Louisville trails the all time series with the Seminoles 17-19. Louisville won the last meeting between the teams 82-75 on Morgan Jones’ return to the Tucker Center in Tallahassee. Tonight is also senior night for the Cards, as they recognize 3 players; Nina Rickards, Sydney Taylor, and Kiki Jefferson. Olivia Cochran, Eylia Love, and Merissah Russell are also seniors, but will not be participating in Senior Day festivities.
STARTING LINEUP:
Nina Rickards (7.0ppg, 3.5rpg)
Sydney Taylor (10.7ppg, 2.8rpg)
Kiki Jefferson (13.3ppg, 4.4rpg)
Nyla Harris (10.4ppg, 6.1rpg)
Olivia Cochran (10.9ppg, 6.4rpg)
1ST QUARTER:
Olivia Cochran got the scoring started for the Cards with a basket inside the paint. Louisville then went on a 8-0 run thanks to great defense and scoring quickly on the break. They then went cold and turned the ball over a few times, as FSU made some tough shots and ended the quarter on a 16-10 run. The Cards led 18-16 heading into the 2nd quarter.
2ND QUARTER:
FSU (Gordon to be exact) started the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a brief 22-18 lead. Louisville used a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 24-22 before absolutely blasting the Seminoles in the final 6:18 of the quarter. The Cards finish the quarter on a 19-2 run, with 10 of the points courtesy of Sydney Taylor, to take a 43-26 lead heading into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 18-38 (47.4%)
3pt field goal %: 3-10 (30.0%)
Free throw %: 4-6 (66.7%)
Rebounds: 28 (8 offensive)
Assists: 7
Steals: 1
Turnovers: 9
Leading Scorer: Sydney Taylor (12)
3RD QUARTER:
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm offensively in the quarter. Louisville shot 38.9% and FSU shot 17.6% from the field. The two teams combined for 0-9 from beyond the arc in the quarter. The Cards did outscore FSU 16-11 in the quarter and Louisville led 59-37 heading into the final quarter of intermission.
4TH QUARTER:
The Cards got off to a really slow start in the quarter as FSU continued to make plays on both ends of the floor. Louisville shot 25% from the field in the quarter and committed 5 turnovers. UofL had a 20-point lead at the beginning of the quarter, and despite struggling most of the quarter, FSU wasn’t able to get any closer than 14. The Cards ran away from the Seminoles 70-55 to end the 2-game home slid.
Final Stats:
Field goal%: 28-68 (41.2%)
3pt field goal %: 3-14 (21.4%)
Free throw%: 11-15 (73.3%)
Rebounds: 57 (17 offensive)
Assists: 9
Steals: 1
Turnovers: 18
Bench Points: 7
Leading Scorer: Olivia Cochran & Sydney Taylor (16)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Louisville improves to 23-7 and 12-5 in ACC play. With both NC State and Notre Dame winning tonight, the winner between Louisville and Notre Dame will most likely be the 3rd or 4th-seed in the ACC tournament. Louisville was led in scoring by Olivia Cochran and Sydney Taylor with 16 each. They dominated FSU on the glass and especially on the offensive board 17-6. Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris ended the game with impressive double-doubles. Louisville now heads to Notre Dame with a lot to play for on Sunday at 2 pm.
