Pregame Notes:
Good afternoon, Card Nation. The Louisville Cardinals begin their quest for a deep tournament run and their 1st National Championship in women’s basketball today against the Vermont Catamounts. The Catamounts might be undersized, but they are tough and well coached. Priede can be a handful down low in the post, she has a number of moves and countermoves to get shots up in the post. Louisville will need to speed up the tempo of the game, control the boards, and rely on their depth to tire out the Catamounts.
STARTING LINEUP:
Tajianna Roberts:
Mackenly Randoplh:
Anaya Hardy:
Laura Ziegler:
Elif Instanbulluoglu:
1ST QUARTER:
Priede for Vermont with the and-1 opportunity, but failed to convert at the line, gave Vermont their first lead of the game (2-0). Louisville showed a glimpse of their dominance, but the problem is, they only showed a glimpse of dominance. Hanson for Vermont really got to her spot in the mid-range area and made the Cards pay. The Catamounts opened up a 16-12 lead, but were only able to take a 17-16 lead heading into the second quarter.
2ND QUARTER:
Berry with the layup to push Louisville back on top (18-17). After only making 1 3-pt field goal in the first quarter, Louisville connected on 3 of their 4 attempts from beyond the arc in the quarter. Imari Berry was key in sparking the Cards run, as the sophomore showed why she’s the ACC 6th POY. She scored 5 points, had 4 rebounds, pushed the pace, and played excellent defense. The Cards took a 32-28 lead into halftime.
HALFTIME STATS:
Field goal %: 12-33 (52.9%)
3pt field goal %: 4-11 (55.6%)
Free throw %: 4-6 (75.0%)
Rebounds: 21 (9 offensive)
Assists: 13
Steals: 6
Turnovers: 7
Leading Scorer: Mackenly Randolph (8)
3RD QUARTER:
Louisville came out of the locker room energized and focused, they also slapped the floor on defense the first possession of the quarter. Outside of 2 layups, the Louisville defense really picked up their intensity and made everything difficult for Vermont. The Catamounts only had 4 field goals made in the entire quarter, while Louisville opened up a 17-pt lead at the end of the quarter (55-38). Mackenly Randolph had herself a quarter. The sophomore played great defense, on top of scoring 9 points, grabbing 7 boards (4 offensive), dishing out 1 assist, and getting 1 steal.
4TH QUARTER:
Randolph’s corner 3-ball gave the Cards a 20-pt lead early in the quarter, and effectively put the game out of reach for Vermont. Coach Walz was able to get his starters rest in the quarter and allow some key reserves to get some playing time in the NCAA tournament. The Catamounts made a couple of 3’s late in the quarter to cut into the Louisville lead. Louisville advances to the second round with a 72-52 win.
Final Stats:
Field goal%: 29-64 (45.3%)
3pt field goal %: 8-19 (42.1%)
Free throw%: 6-11 (54.5%)
Rebounds: 40 (16 offensive)
Assists: 13
Steals: 9
Turnovers: 8
Bench Points: 20
Leading Scorer: Mackenly Randolph (20)
POSTGAME NOTES:
Coach Jeff Walz and the Cards advance to the 2nd round and a guaranteed game Monday against the winner of Alabama vs the University of Rhode Island. Mackenly Randolph led Louisville in points and rebounds with a 20-pt, 11-rebound performance. Laura Ziegler and Tajianna Roberts each added 12 points. Imaari Berry came off the bench and had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Louisville struggled a bit offensively in the first half, but found their rhythm in the 3rd quarter and never looked back.
