Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon Card Nation and happy Sunday. Today is the home opener for the Jeff Walz-led University of Louisville Women’s Basketball team. The Cards lost their opening game to the defending National Champion UConn Huskies 66-79. In her Louisville debut, Laura Ziegler finished with 16 points and a career high 18 rebounds. Fellow newcomers Reyna Scott and Skylar Jones also played well in their debuts. Jones scored 13 points, while Scott had nine points and four boards. Sophomore Imari Berry was also in double figure scoring with 13 points.
STARTING LINEUP:
Tajianna Roberts: (6 ppg,2.9 apg)
Imani Berry: (13 ppg, 1rpg)
Mackenly Randoplh: (2 ppg, 5 rpg)
Laura Ziegler: (16 ppg, 18 rpg)
Elif Instanbulluoglu: (7 ppg, 4 rpg)
1ST QUARTER:
Instanbulluoglu used a post move finish to score the first points of the game. Basketball is a game of runs, and that was evident in this quarter. NKU matched every run Louisville had, and held a 5-point lead midway through the quarter. Key reserves Scott and Jones entered the game and turned up the defensive pressure. Louisville had 4 steals, but only 4 points off those steals. Louisville ended the quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 20-17 lead at the end of the quarter.
2ND QUARTER:
An Imari Berry jumper gave the Cards a brief 5-point lead (22-17), but NKU went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead (25-22). NKU tied their biggest lead of the game (5) a couple times in the quarter. At times the Cards looked out of sync, like a team still searching for an identity and even a lead, but they kept fighting and applying pressure. Louisville missed all 3 of their 3-point attempts in the quarter and allowed NKU to shoot just a shade over 46% for the quarter. Once again, the Cards locked in on the defensive end allowed their defense to aid in their 8-0 run to take a 35-32 lead into intermission.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 13-29 (44.8%)
3pt field goal %: 3-11 (27.3%)
Free throw %: 6-8 (75.0%)
Rebounds: 17 (7 offensive)
Assists: 4
Steals: 6
Turnovers: 6
Leading Scorer: Reyna Scott (11)
3RD QUARTER:
Coach Walz kept the team in the locker room a lot longer than usual. The Cards didn’t come back on the floor until there was 1:40 left in the break. Like the football team last night, the Cards turned it over on their first possession after intermission. Unlike the football team, the Cards rebounded quickly after NKU tied the game at 35 with an 8-3 run to take a 43-38 lead. It forced NKU to call a timeout and regroup. Louisville used a 17-6 run to open their biggest lead of the game (56-44). NKU ended the quarter with 4 consecutive points to cut into lead, but the Cards still took a 56-48 lead heading into the final quarter.
4TH QUARTER:
Louisville sure didn’t start this game game off strongly, but they definitely finished the game strongly. They used a 17-3 run to open a 22-point lead (73-51) with just under 5 minutes remaining. The avalanche continued from there. The Cards opened up a 29-point lead, which would be their largest of the game. The reserves got a lot of clock tonight and also contributed to the bench points. Graves, Putra, Bender, and Bradley all went a combined 4-6 from the field. The Cards looked impressive for most of the game offensively as they came away with an 89-61 victory in their home opener.
Final Stats:
Field goal%: 36–65 (55.4%)
3pt field goal %: 8-19 (42.1%)
Free throw%: 9-13 (69.2%)
Rebounds: 38 (11 offensive)
Assists: 16
Steals: 9
Turnovers: 10
Bench Points: 29
Leading Scorer: Tajianna Roberts (23)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Louisville moves to 1-1 on the young season. The Cards were led in scoring by Taj Roberts this afternoon with 23 points. Roberts really came alive in the 2nd half of the game. She went 7-9 from field, including 3-3 from beyond the arc in the 2nd half. Mackenly Randolph and Reyna Scott were the only other players to score in double figures. Three other Cards ( Berry, Ziegler, and Istanbulluoglu) finished with 9 points. Ziegler led the team with 9 rebounds, followed by Istanbulluoglu with 7 for the Cards. Louisville’s offense came alive in the 2nd half, especially from the mid-range area, and that helped the Cards pull away from a very tough and well coach NKU team. The Cards will face Colorado November 12th in the YUM Center at 7pm.
