The University of Louisville women's basketball team honored Dana Evans on Senior Night with a 85-70 win over Georgia Tech Thursday Night in the KFC YUM! Center. As you might have expected, Evans had a huge part in the Cards 19th win of the 2020-21 season with 25 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a 8-8 free throw performance on her night.
This one was emotionally charged from pre-tip to post-game. The Cards honored Evans with a pre-game ceremony and roses, Jeff Walz's daughter Lucy sang the National Anthem as a tribute to Dana and the 2900+ in attendance saw a fitting video tribute to the senior from Gary, IN.
After a first quarter that Tech won 20-19 -- a quarter where GT guard Loyal McQueen nailed three three-pointers -- Evans outscored Georgia Tech 9-4 during a second-quarter stretch that put Louisville ahead for good at 30-24. The Cards took a 36-28 lead into the locker room at half time and Evans already had 13 points for the contest.
Kianna Smith provided her own tribute to Dana as well, with 21 points, which featured a 13-point Kianna run in the third quarter that stretched the Cardinal lead from 36-28 to 49-35 in the first five minutes of the second half. Four Cards finished in double figures, Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon added 13 points and Louisville put up an impressive 44-30 advantage with points-in the-paint against the Yellow Jackets. The Cards outscored the visitors 49-42 in the final 20 minutes and did so by primarily playing just seven players. Evans, Van Lith, K.Smith, Dixon and Robinson started for the Cards and Cochran and Balogun saw the minutes off the bench.
Evans spoke after the game on her time at Louisville:
"It was a lot of emotion, I was sad but I was excited at the same time. I was ready to play and once the first quarter settled in, It means a lot, I was so emotional because of all the hard work that paid off and how much of a struggle it was -- coming here as a freshman -- and as a sophomore and just figuring myself out."
Georgia Tech could not figure out how to stop Evans, or the Cardinals.
Louisville shot 32-65 (49.2%) from the floor and hit 15 of their 16 free throw attempts against the Yellow Jackets.
Jeff Walz on Dana:
"When you can send a senior out with a win, it's pretty special. Tonight, for Dana -- and her family that was able to be here -- the only sad thing is that, if it wasn't a COVIF year, we would have had 20,000 in here to see her play on her senior night."
The Cards battled Tech on the boards and won the rebounding stat 37-34, Cochran and Dixon combining for 15 of them. Kasa Robinson had seven grabs for the Cards -- and a bit of a disagreement with GT's Kierra Fletcher in the fourth quarter with 4:44 to play and the Cards up 70-59. A weird sequence that started with a foul by Evans, then technical and personal fouls being called on Robinson and Fletcher.
Evans kissed the Cardinal Bird at half court at the end of the game and it was a memorable night in the Cards final home game of the season. Louisville heads to Syracuse next, for a Sunday contest against the Orange.
--sonja--
This one was emotionally charged from pre-tip to post-game. The Cards honored Evans with a pre-game ceremony and roses, Jeff Walz's daughter Lucy sang the National Anthem as a tribute to Dana and the 2900+ in attendance saw a fitting video tribute to the senior from Gary, IN.
After a first quarter that Tech won 20-19 -- a quarter where GT guard Loyal McQueen nailed three three-pointers -- Evans outscored Georgia Tech 9-4 during a second-quarter stretch that put Louisville ahead for good at 30-24. The Cards took a 36-28 lead into the locker room at half time and Evans already had 13 points for the contest.
Kianna Smith provided her own tribute to Dana as well, with 21 points, which featured a 13-point Kianna run in the third quarter that stretched the Cardinal lead from 36-28 to 49-35 in the first five minutes of the second half. Four Cards finished in double figures, Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon added 13 points and Louisville put up an impressive 44-30 advantage with points-in the-paint against the Yellow Jackets. The Cards outscored the visitors 49-42 in the final 20 minutes and did so by primarily playing just seven players. Evans, Van Lith, K.Smith, Dixon and Robinson started for the Cards and Cochran and Balogun saw the minutes off the bench.
Evans spoke after the game on her time at Louisville:
"It was a lot of emotion, I was sad but I was excited at the same time. I was ready to play and once the first quarter settled in, It means a lot, I was so emotional because of all the hard work that paid off and how much of a struggle it was -- coming here as a freshman -- and as a sophomore and just figuring myself out."
Georgia Tech could not figure out how to stop Evans, or the Cardinals.
Louisville shot 32-65 (49.2%) from the floor and hit 15 of their 16 free throw attempts against the Yellow Jackets.
Jeff Walz on Dana:
"When you can send a senior out with a win, it's pretty special. Tonight, for Dana -- and her family that was able to be here -- the only sad thing is that, if it wasn't a COVIF year, we would have had 20,000 in here to see her play on her senior night."
The Cards battled Tech on the boards and won the rebounding stat 37-34, Cochran and Dixon combining for 15 of them. Kasa Robinson had seven grabs for the Cards -- and a bit of a disagreement with GT's Kierra Fletcher in the fourth quarter with 4:44 to play and the Cards up 70-59. A weird sequence that started with a foul by Evans, then technical and personal fouls being called on Robinson and Fletcher.
Evans kissed the Cardinal Bird at half court at the end of the game and it was a memorable night in the Cards final home game of the season. Louisville heads to Syracuse next, for a Sunday contest against the Orange.
--sonja--
