Despite being short two starters for the contest, Louisville used a 19-5, first half closing run to assume control of the game against Boston College and won easily 97-68.
We found out shortly before tip-off that Elizabeth Balogun and Olivia Cochran would not play for Jeff Walz squad. Balogun was practicing with the Nigerian National Team in Atlanta and Cochran suffered a sprained knee in practice Wednesday. Depth has been a positive and beneficial aspect for the Cards this season, though, and Kasa Robinson and Liz Dixon filled the starting roles very adequately and efficiently on Thursday night.
Boston College, playing for the first time in almost a month, wasn't going to roll over and play dead from the opening tip, though.
In what was a three-point fest in the first quarter, the Cards held a 29-25 lead in the first ten-minute session that featured nine made threes from the combined squads. The Eagles Makayla Dickens was especially effective, banging down four long-range bombs in the opening ten-minutes. BC managed to tie the contest at 33-all with 5:48 until halftime after another Dickens three, but the Cards went on a half-closing 17-5 run, fueled by two Hailey Van Lith threes and two Liz Dixon paint connections in the stretch. When the dust had cleared, it was Louisville holding a 50-38 halftime lead.
The late second quarter Cardinal run was a blow that Boston College would not recover from.
Louisville controlled the action in the third quarter and a Norika Konno three with two minutes remaining in the third extended the Cards lead to 70-51. A couple of Evans free throws set the third quarter numbers at 72-54. The Eagles looked tired, the Cards were already deep into the bench and the only real remaining question was if UofL could top the century mark for the night and how many points would they win by.
A 9-0 fourth-quarter closing run gave the Cards the 29-point win 97=68. In the final quarter, Walz gave Parker, Russell, Ahlana Smith, Konno and Robinson plenty of court time and the Cards responded with 59% shooting in the final 10 minutes.
Five Cardinals went for double figures in the win, led by Evans 23 points in 32 minutes. It must have seemed like a holiday for the Gary, IN senior -- getting significant stretches on the bench watching her teammates perform. Van Lith went 6-12 from the floor and joined Evans in double-digits with 15 points. Kianna Smith was impressive with 14 points in just 23 minutes and Liz Dixon made the most of her start and 25 minutes with 11 points and six rebounds. A pleasant surprise to see Konno hit double figures with 10 points and knocking down two threes in the process on three attempts.
Louisville dominated the second chance points stat 26-10, impressively won the rebounding battle 43-27 and posted a 50-32 advantage with points-in-the paint.
I was impressed with the Konno, Parker and Russell minutes and what they did with them. 43 combined minutes for the trio and 23 points on 7-10 shooting.
Louisville shot an impressive 56.9% in the forty minutes and Ahlana Smith was 4 for 5 in her nine minutes. For those clamoring for more time for A.Smith, Parker, Russell and Konno...,you got an early Valentine's Day gift last night -- they logged 57 of the total 200 minutes available.
In his post-game remarks, Jeff Walz was impressed with the offense but is still wanting the defense to "toughen up" and eliminate straight-line drives by opponents.
With the "W" the Cards go to 17-1 and remain atop the ACC with a 10-1 conference mark. The Eagles remain in last place in the conference (of those teams still playing) with 5-8 and 1-8 numbers.
Sunday is the annual "Pink Out" game as a salute to the survivors of breast cancer, so if you're headed out to see the Irish and Cards battle before the Super Bowl, wear something pink for the cause, if you please. A 2 p.m. tip and the four-letter network has the coverage on screen. You can always follow the play-by-play like I did last night on Cards Radio 790 - AM WKRD with Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson.
--sonja--
We found out shortly before tip-off that Elizabeth Balogun and Olivia Cochran would not play for Jeff Walz squad. Balogun was practicing with the Nigerian National Team in Atlanta and Cochran suffered a sprained knee in practice Wednesday. Depth has been a positive and beneficial aspect for the Cards this season, though, and Kasa Robinson and Liz Dixon filled the starting roles very adequately and efficiently on Thursday night.
Boston College, playing for the first time in almost a month, wasn't going to roll over and play dead from the opening tip, though.
In what was a three-point fest in the first quarter, the Cards held a 29-25 lead in the first ten-minute session that featured nine made threes from the combined squads. The Eagles Makayla Dickens was especially effective, banging down four long-range bombs in the opening ten-minutes. BC managed to tie the contest at 33-all with 5:48 until halftime after another Dickens three, but the Cards went on a half-closing 17-5 run, fueled by two Hailey Van Lith threes and two Liz Dixon paint connections in the stretch. When the dust had cleared, it was Louisville holding a 50-38 halftime lead.
The late second quarter Cardinal run was a blow that Boston College would not recover from.
Louisville controlled the action in the third quarter and a Norika Konno three with two minutes remaining in the third extended the Cards lead to 70-51. A couple of Evans free throws set the third quarter numbers at 72-54. The Eagles looked tired, the Cards were already deep into the bench and the only real remaining question was if UofL could top the century mark for the night and how many points would they win by.
A 9-0 fourth-quarter closing run gave the Cards the 29-point win 97=68. In the final quarter, Walz gave Parker, Russell, Ahlana Smith, Konno and Robinson plenty of court time and the Cards responded with 59% shooting in the final 10 minutes.
Five Cardinals went for double figures in the win, led by Evans 23 points in 32 minutes. It must have seemed like a holiday for the Gary, IN senior -- getting significant stretches on the bench watching her teammates perform. Van Lith went 6-12 from the floor and joined Evans in double-digits with 15 points. Kianna Smith was impressive with 14 points in just 23 minutes and Liz Dixon made the most of her start and 25 minutes with 11 points and six rebounds. A pleasant surprise to see Konno hit double figures with 10 points and knocking down two threes in the process on three attempts.
Louisville dominated the second chance points stat 26-10, impressively won the rebounding battle 43-27 and posted a 50-32 advantage with points-in-the paint.
I was impressed with the Konno, Parker and Russell minutes and what they did with them. 43 combined minutes for the trio and 23 points on 7-10 shooting.
Louisville shot an impressive 56.9% in the forty minutes and Ahlana Smith was 4 for 5 in her nine minutes. For those clamoring for more time for A.Smith, Parker, Russell and Konno...,you got an early Valentine's Day gift last night -- they logged 57 of the total 200 minutes available.
In his post-game remarks, Jeff Walz was impressed with the offense but is still wanting the defense to "toughen up" and eliminate straight-line drives by opponents.
With the "W" the Cards go to 17-1 and remain atop the ACC with a 10-1 conference mark. The Eagles remain in last place in the conference (of those teams still playing) with 5-8 and 1-8 numbers.
Sunday is the annual "Pink Out" game as a salute to the survivors of breast cancer, so if you're headed out to see the Irish and Cards battle before the Super Bowl, wear something pink for the cause, if you please. A 2 p.m. tip and the four-letter network has the coverage on screen. You can always follow the play-by-play like I did last night on Cards Radio 790 - AM WKRD with Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson.
--sonja--
