Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation. The 15-6 (8-2 in the ACC) Louisville Cardinals take on their biggest rival (at least in my mind) in the Annual “Pink Game’,” the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Cards are returning home after winning their last 2 games out of 3 on the road. Coach Walz and the Cards are 9-1 in their last 10 games. The Cards escaped Dallas with an 80-75 win after a furious comeback attempt by the Mustangs. Freshman guard Taijanna Roberts led the Cards with 22 points and fellow freshman Izela Arenas contributed 11 off the bench.The 3rd-ranked Fighting Irish are coming in at 18-2 and are on a 13-game winning streak. Louisville trails the all-time series 14-20, but are 6-6 at home. Notre Dame defeated Louisville 77-68 in their last meeting in the ACC Tournament.
STARTING LINEUP:
Tajianna Roberts: (13.0ppg,3.0rpg)
Jayda Curry: (11.9 ppg, 2.0rpg)
Ja’ Leah Williams: (6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Nyla Harris: (10.2ppg, 5.5rpg)
Olivia Cochran: (10.1ppg, 6.5rpg)
1ST QUARTER:
Cochran got the Cards on the board with a post fadeaway shot. Louisville struggled with Notre Dame’s physicality for most of the quarter. Notre Dame hammered the Cards on the boards by a whopping 16-3. Notre Dame guards Miles and Hidalgo had as many rebounds as the entire Louisville team. Louisville held Notre Dame scoreless for 3:47 before a last second basket by Notre Dame that involved a questionable offensive foul non-call. The Cards trailed 13-22 heading into the second quarter.
2ND QUARTER:
An Olivia Miles corner 3-ball gave Notre Dame a 12-point lead (25-13) early in the quarter, but freshman Taijanna Roberts went on a personal 8-0 run to trim the Notre Dame lead to 4 (25-21). After a flagrantl foul on Notre Dame and two Curry free throws, the Cards pulled within two. The Cards were able to take lead twice in the quarter, but Notre Dame quickly answered and retook the lead both times, including a tough basket by Hidalgo as the shot clock expired. The Cards tightened up their boxout assignments and showed more tenacity on the backboards this quarter and only lost the rebounding battle by 1 in the quarter. They trailed 38-39 heading into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 14-35 (40.0%)
3pt field goal %: 5-9 (55.6%)
Free throw %: 5-7 (71.4%)
Rebounds: 16 (8 offensive)
Assists: 8
Steals: 5
Turnovers: 10
Leading Scorer: Tajianna Roberts (14)
3RD QUARTER:
Williams gave Louisville their only lead of the quarter on a basket to open the quarter. The Cards forced 6 turnovers in the first 6 minutes of the quarter, but only shot 3-11 during that time, They also missed a few shots in the paint that prevented them from taking the lead. Louisville shot an abysmal 4-17 in the quarter, while the Fighting Irish shot 58.8% in the quarter. Notre Dame’s lead ballooned to 11 (65-54) after yet another shot clock or quarter buzzer beater. Similar to the end of the first quarter, the Cards trailed by 11 heading into the final quarter.
4TH QUARTER:
An early basket by Cochran cut the Fighting Irish lead to 9 (65-56) and gave the Cards a glimmer of hope, but every time the Cards cut into the lead Notre Dame answered. Louisville ultimately wasn’t able to answer the Notre Dame runs in the quarter. After things got chippy in the quarter, Coach Walz pulled most of his starters and Notre Dame was able to extend their lead to 23. Louisville got a lot of playing time for their young freshman in the quarter, but ultimately fell to 3rd-ranked Notre Dame 71-89.
Final Stats:
Field goal%: 24–67 (35.8%)
3pt field goal %: 7-16 (43.8%)
Free throw%: 16-21 (76.2%)
Rebounds: 29 (15 offensive)
Assists: 13
Steals: 9
Turnovers: 17
Bench Points: 19
Leading Scorer: Tajianna Roberts (17)
POST GAME NOTES:
Louisville falls to 15-7 overall and 8-3 in ACC play. Although Louisville was able to take a couple of brief leads in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, they dug themselves into a big hole in the first quarter. The Cards were demolished on the backboards and struggled with Notre Dame’s physicality early. Freshman guard Taijianna Roberts led the Louisville team in scoring with 17 points. Olivia Cochran and Jayda Curry rounded out the other Cards in double figure scoring. Mackenley Randolph added 8 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Louisville had their opportunities to cut into the Fighting Irish lead or extend their lead when they gained it, but unfortunately couldn’t cash in those opportunities. The Cards will stay home, as the take on the 19th-ranked California Bears at 8 pm on Thursday, February 6th.
