EVANS AND VAN LITH COMBINE FOR 39 POINTS IN WIN
The University of Louisville women's basketball squad may have a target on their back but it's a moving target no opponent can hit.
Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith combined for 39 points last night as Louisville used a 35-25 second-half scoring edge to sink Syracuse Thursday night in the KFC YUM! Center 67-54.
The contest was hyped to be a showdown between arguably the best two guard combos in NCAA DI womens' basketball. Evans and Van Lith vs, Lewis and Mangakahia. How did that go?
Dana and HVL = 39 points on 15-34 shooting, nine threes and 12 rebounds.
Kiara and Tiana = 16 points on 6-17 shooting, one three and seven rebounds.
Any questions on the best guard combo?
Syracuse got what they wanted, a low scoring affair...it just didn't equate into more points in the mission. They held Louisville to 67 points, multiple zones and pressure defense holding the Cards to their lowest point total of the 2020-21 season. Defense didn't do it last night, though, for Quentin Hillsman's squad in terms of capturing the "W" and offense for the Syracuse squad was pretty non-existent in the match -- the Cards held Syracuse to 21 points below their season average.
Emily Engstler had 16 points and Kamilla Cardoso 13 for Syracuse, which had won its previous three games. The Orange shot just 27% in the fourth quarter and finished 39% overall.
“We didn't transition well out of half-court traps," said Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman, whose team was 2 of 13 from long range.
A Dana Evans three with 10 second left in the first half put the Cards ahead to stay at 32-29. Evans never left the court Thursday night and overcame a slow shooting start to lead all scorers with 21 points.
It was also Van Lith who helped drive the Cardinal fans into a frenzy with six made threes ...acccounting for all of her 18 points.
An 8-0 run midway through the third quarter by Louisville was the turning point in the contest. A Van Lith three, followed by an Evans three and then a Evans layup off a fast-break turned a 39-38 Cardinal lead into a 47-38 advantage in just 90 seconds. Syracuse would get no closer that five points the rest of the way.
-- The Cards held their own on the boards with the taller visitors -- the teams tying with 35 rebounds each. Cardoso had 11 for the Orange, part of a double-double (13 points) for her, but she had just four points and five grabs in 18 second half on-court minutes.
Coach Walz's thoughts on their first win since ascending to the #1 spot:
''The first one is always the toughest. 'We played a really good Syracuse team that was playing exceptionally well. We held them to 54 (points) and I'm proud of the defensive effort our kids gave.''
Dana Evans was proud of the ball movement:
''We just needed to continue to move the ball around, finding each other and getting each other open shots,'' Evans said. ''But I think what took place in the second half that didn't take place in the first half would be just getting paint touches, getting into the paint.''
Louisville (13-0 - 6-0) heads to Wake Forest next for a Sunday contest against Jen Hoover's Demon Deacons.
--sonja--
--
The University of Louisville women's basketball squad may have a target on their back but it's a moving target no opponent can hit.
Dana Evans and Hailey Van Lith combined for 39 points last night as Louisville used a 35-25 second-half scoring edge to sink Syracuse Thursday night in the KFC YUM! Center 67-54.
The contest was hyped to be a showdown between arguably the best two guard combos in NCAA DI womens' basketball. Evans and Van Lith vs, Lewis and Mangakahia. How did that go?
Dana and HVL = 39 points on 15-34 shooting, nine threes and 12 rebounds.
Kiara and Tiana = 16 points on 6-17 shooting, one three and seven rebounds.
Any questions on the best guard combo?
Syracuse got what they wanted, a low scoring affair...it just didn't equate into more points in the mission. They held Louisville to 67 points, multiple zones and pressure defense holding the Cards to their lowest point total of the 2020-21 season. Defense didn't do it last night, though, for Quentin Hillsman's squad in terms of capturing the "W" and offense for the Syracuse squad was pretty non-existent in the match -- the Cards held Syracuse to 21 points below their season average.
Emily Engstler had 16 points and Kamilla Cardoso 13 for Syracuse, which had won its previous three games. The Orange shot just 27% in the fourth quarter and finished 39% overall.
“We didn't transition well out of half-court traps," said Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman, whose team was 2 of 13 from long range.
A Dana Evans three with 10 second left in the first half put the Cards ahead to stay at 32-29. Evans never left the court Thursday night and overcame a slow shooting start to lead all scorers with 21 points.
It was also Van Lith who helped drive the Cardinal fans into a frenzy with six made threes ...acccounting for all of her 18 points.
An 8-0 run midway through the third quarter by Louisville was the turning point in the contest. A Van Lith three, followed by an Evans three and then a Evans layup off a fast-break turned a 39-38 Cardinal lead into a 47-38 advantage in just 90 seconds. Syracuse would get no closer that five points the rest of the way.
-- The Cards held their own on the boards with the taller visitors -- the teams tying with 35 rebounds each. Cardoso had 11 for the Orange, part of a double-double (13 points) for her, but she had just four points and five grabs in 18 second half on-court minutes.
Coach Walz's thoughts on their first win since ascending to the #1 spot:
''The first one is always the toughest. 'We played a really good Syracuse team that was playing exceptionally well. We held them to 54 (points) and I'm proud of the defensive effort our kids gave.''
Dana Evans was proud of the ball movement:
''We just needed to continue to move the ball around, finding each other and getting each other open shots,'' Evans said. ''But I think what took place in the second half that didn't take place in the first half would be just getting paint touches, getting into the paint.''
Louisville (13-0 - 6-0) heads to Wake Forest next for a Sunday contest against Jen Hoover's Demon Deacons.
--sonja--
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