The University of Louisville women's basketball squad celebrated their return to then KFC YUM! Center with a resounding 101-58 win over the EKU Colonels yesterday afternoon. There was a lot to like about the Cards 43-point victory, Just seeing fans and friends back in the YUM! was special -- but the biggest treat was the action on the court. And what action!
-- Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith totaled 20 points each and sank a total of nine threes. Van Lith continued her amazing rebounding skills with a team-high 11.
-- Louisville out-rebounded EKU 58-29 and held the visitors to just 33.9% shooting.
-- The Cards had 13 steals and forced 20 turnovers.
This Cardinal squad has depth and talent and it was on full display yesterday, with all 11 that dressed for the game scoring and seeing at least 12 minutes of court time. They shot 45.8% from the floor and committed just 13 turnovers in their run and gun, never slow down offensive onslaught. Louisville led 17-12 after the first quarter but exploded for a 18-2 start of the second quarter to grab a 35-14 lead and Walz Warriors never looked back.
FIVE THINGS OF NOTE:
-- The Cards opened their scoring each quarter with a three-pointer. Louisville shook off the three-point woes of the SEMO game with 14-36 three-point accuracy and five Cards sank shots from beyond the arc
-- Olivia Cochran continued her impressive beginning as a Cardinal with 15 points (on 5-7 shooting) and grabbed nine rebounds. You don't want to foul "O.C" -- she went 5-6 from the free throw line.
-- Cards guards Evans and Van Lith shot 50% from the floor and 50% from the deep. Evans had seven assists and the two had but one turnover between them in 47 minutes of court time.
-- Give it up for Kasa Robinson! The 5'7" guard had seven rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. I love all the Cards WBB players, but Kasa is emerging as my favorite. She just dons the hard-hat, goes to work and gets the job done.
-- Merissah Russell had a very productive third quarter with four points and two steals. There's a lot to like about the 5'11" Canadian sensation and her intensity is so beautiful to watch.
This was a definite "feel-good" win and the 2600+ in attendance were very appreciative of the effort that UofL displayed. Despite a lot of substituting, EKU was a tired team by the middle of the third quarter -- Louisville's un-relenting force the pace and team speed doing Sam Williams squad in.
It was good to see Sam Williams back in the KFC YUM! Center and she was working with seven new players on her squad. I saw some very good things out of the Colonels and have to believe that they'll get a little better each outing and make some noise in the OVC. Amerah Steele is a talented guard who can create and Corriana Evans (no relation to Dana) works well with her. The Colonels were simply over-matched Sunday.
Player of the Game? I award it to both Dana and Hailey. They work so well with each other and their court-awareness is so fantastic to watch.
The Cards definitely are working on adding to the schedule. Walz mentioned in the postgame that he's trying to add a couple of games before UTM comes to town Sunday, he hopes to re-schedule with Cincinnati and a trip to the Mohegan Sun Arena was still on the table to play a "top 20" opponent.
Best moment for me: Seeing Dana sink back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter within 30 second of each other and the Hailey "three" right before them.
A wonderful afternoon in the YUM! and a fun time watching Louisville WBB work. Be very scared, ACC and future opponents.
--sonja--
-- Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith totaled 20 points each and sank a total of nine threes. Van Lith continued her amazing rebounding skills with a team-high 11.
-- Louisville out-rebounded EKU 58-29 and held the visitors to just 33.9% shooting.
-- The Cards had 13 steals and forced 20 turnovers.
This Cardinal squad has depth and talent and it was on full display yesterday, with all 11 that dressed for the game scoring and seeing at least 12 minutes of court time. They shot 45.8% from the floor and committed just 13 turnovers in their run and gun, never slow down offensive onslaught. Louisville led 17-12 after the first quarter but exploded for a 18-2 start of the second quarter to grab a 35-14 lead and Walz Warriors never looked back.
FIVE THINGS OF NOTE:
-- The Cards opened their scoring each quarter with a three-pointer. Louisville shook off the three-point woes of the SEMO game with 14-36 three-point accuracy and five Cards sank shots from beyond the arc
-- Olivia Cochran continued her impressive beginning as a Cardinal with 15 points (on 5-7 shooting) and grabbed nine rebounds. You don't want to foul "O.C" -- she went 5-6 from the free throw line.
-- Cards guards Evans and Van Lith shot 50% from the floor and 50% from the deep. Evans had seven assists and the two had but one turnover between them in 47 minutes of court time.
-- Give it up for Kasa Robinson! The 5'7" guard had seven rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. I love all the Cards WBB players, but Kasa is emerging as my favorite. She just dons the hard-hat, goes to work and gets the job done.
-- Merissah Russell had a very productive third quarter with four points and two steals. There's a lot to like about the 5'11" Canadian sensation and her intensity is so beautiful to watch.
This was a definite "feel-good" win and the 2600+ in attendance were very appreciative of the effort that UofL displayed. Despite a lot of substituting, EKU was a tired team by the middle of the third quarter -- Louisville's un-relenting force the pace and team speed doing Sam Williams squad in.
It was good to see Sam Williams back in the KFC YUM! Center and she was working with seven new players on her squad. I saw some very good things out of the Colonels and have to believe that they'll get a little better each outing and make some noise in the OVC. Amerah Steele is a talented guard who can create and Corriana Evans (no relation to Dana) works well with her. The Colonels were simply over-matched Sunday.
Player of the Game? I award it to both Dana and Hailey. They work so well with each other and their court-awareness is so fantastic to watch.
The Cards definitely are working on adding to the schedule. Walz mentioned in the postgame that he's trying to add a couple of games before UTM comes to town Sunday, he hopes to re-schedule with Cincinnati and a trip to the Mohegan Sun Arena was still on the table to play a "top 20" opponent.
Best moment for me: Seeing Dana sink back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter within 30 second of each other and the Hailey "three" right before them.
A wonderful afternoon in the YUM! and a fun time watching Louisville WBB work. Be very scared, ACC and future opponents.
--sonja--
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