Pregame Notes:
Good evening Card Nation and Happy New Year from all of Cardinals Sports Zone. Louisville sports ended 2024 with a bowl victory 35-34 over Washington in El Paso. The Louisville men’s basketball team took down UNC at home yesterday and also got a signed commitment from Mikel Brown Jr. Now, it is the women’s basketball team’s turn to continue on the good fortune in the new year. The Cards are 8-5 and take on the 11-2 Miami Hurricanes. The Cards are currently on a 2-game winning streak and are 1-1 in the ACC.
STARTING LINEUP:
Tajianna Roberts: (12.0ppg,2.4rpg)
Jayda Curry: (10.3ppg, 1.9rpg)
Ja’ Leah Williams: (5.8ppg, 3.7rpg)
Nyla Harris: (9.2ppg, 5.0rpg)
Olivia Cochran: (10.4ppg, 6.8rpg)
1ST QUARTER:
Miami scored the first basket of the game, but the Cards immediately answered with a 7-0 run, sparked by 5 straight points by Olivia Cochran. Louisville took an 11-6 with 4:31 remaining. Coming out of the under 5:00 minute timeout, Louisville went on an immediate 8-0 run, sparked by their defense and took a brief 19-9 lead. Both teams traded 4-0 runs to end the quarter, and Louisville took a 23-14 lead into the second quarter.
2ND QUARTER:
A welcomed 3-ball from reserve Istanbulluoglu gave Louisville a 12-point lead (26-14). Miami, more specifically the Cavinder sisters, scored the next 7 points for Miami to cut the Cards lead in half (28-21). Louisville shot 50% from the field in the quarter. They also took care of the ball, committing only 2 turnovers. Meanwhile, they continued to harass Miami defensively. Miami went 0-3 from beyond the arc and 4-14 overall in the quarter, as Louisville took a 43-27 lead heading into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 18-32 (56.3%)
3pt field goal %: 5-13 (38.5%)
Free throw %: 2-2 (71.4%)
Rebounds: 20 (3 offensive)
Assists: 10
Steals: 4
Turnovers: 6
Leading Scorer: Tajianna Roberts (14)
3RD QUARTER:
An inside the paint basket by Nyla Harris gave the Cards their biggest lead of the game (18) 45-27. After a good shooting 1st half by Louisville, the Cards went 1-5 on their first 5 shots until Jayda Curry nailed a 3-pointer and was fouled. The basket also stopped the mini 5-0 run Miami had. Louisville shot over 47% from the field in the quarter, including 3-6 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Miami took 8 shots and committed 8 turnovers in the quarter, 5 of those turnovers were Louisville steals. The Cards took a 25-point lead (65-40) into the final quarter of intermission.
4TH QUARTER:
The Cards offense looked lethargic early, as Miami outscored them 10-5, forcing Coach Walz to call a timeout at the 7:00 mark with the Cards up 70-50. Louisville made life difficult for Miami all night long. Coach Walz finished the game with his 5 freshman (Arenas, Berry, Bender, Randolph, and Juffermans). Louisville defeats Miami 74-56.
Final Stats:
Field goal%: 29–61 (47.5%)
3pt field goal %: 9-26 (34.6%)
Free throw%: 7-7 (100.0%)
Rebounds: 30 (6 offensive)
Assists: 18
Steals: 11
Turnovers: 13
Bench Points: 10
Leading Scorer: Jayda Curry(21)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Louisville improves to 9-5, and moved to 2-1 in the tough ACC. The Cards were led in scoring by Jayda Curry (21). Ja’Leah Williams finished the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, and a whole lot of trash talking. Louisville had 3 players finish in double-figures scoring, and two others just a basket shy. Louisville played excellent defense all game long and forced Miami into 19 turnovers. The Cards will fly to Winston-Salem, to face Wake Forest on January 5th, at 4 pm. They’ll be looking to extend the winning streak and continue to climb up the ACC standings.
