It was a slow start for the #4 ranked University of Louisville women's basketball team Sunday afternoon in Brookings, SD against South Dakota State but all's well that end well as the Cards pull out a four-point win over the JackRabbits.
Thank Asia Durr for the improvement to 8-0. She had 18 second half points and 20 for the afternoon in a game where Myisha Hines-Allen played just seven first half minutes due to early foul trouble.
Louisville hardly looked like the fourth best team in NCAA DI after ten minutes, trailing 24-12 to a fired-up SDSU squad backed by a loud and raucous fan base after 10 minutes. UofL did go on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter but still found themselves on the short end of a 31-23 score at the half. The Cards kept chipping away and a Durr three, followed by a Durr jumper with 4:20 left in the third gave the Cards their first lead at 37-36. The squads ended three quarters at 46 each, Bionca Dunham getting a putback as time expired.
The fourth quarter belonged to Walz's warriors but SDSU made it interesting. The home team never regained the lead but cut a five-point Louisville lead after a Dana Evens jumper with 3:30 to play to two at 64-62 after a Miller free throw at 1:45 to play. The JackRabbits would manage just one basket the rest of the way, though -- Louisville got a Evans jumper, Jazz Jones free throw and Arica Carter free throw with 1 second remaining to set the final tally.
WHAT WE LIKED
-- Asian influence. Durr finally found her shooting touch after the cold start (1-6 in the first half) and had three threes to help the Cards push past SD State. Her 20 pts. led all scorers...even though she didn't score in the final 4:35.
-- With a little help from my friends. Louisville's other three main guards provided the spark late to get the Cards the "W". Two clutch jumper-drives by freshman Dana Evans and free throws from Jazmine Jones and Arica Carter helped the Cards preserve the lead.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
-- Foul weather. The Cards had way too many fouls. Sam Fuehring fouled out in the fourth and Hines-Allen played most the fourth quarter with four, as did Evans. It's a different team without Hines-Allen on the court and losing Fuehring late had the Cards going with a four guard set and Hines-Allen, which affected rebounding.
-- Grab the misses! The Cards were out-rebounded 42-32 by South Dakota State and putbacks by the home team plagued Louisville the entire game. Having MHA on the bench definitely affected that but Fuehring was out of position way too often on the defensive sets and Shook was pulled because she wasn't playing defensive well enough or blocking out.
Still, you take the "W" and move on. Louisville comes home to face the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks Tuesday night.
-Sonja
Thank Asia Durr for the improvement to 8-0. She had 18 second half points and 20 for the afternoon in a game where Myisha Hines-Allen played just seven first half minutes due to early foul trouble.
Louisville hardly looked like the fourth best team in NCAA DI after ten minutes, trailing 24-12 to a fired-up SDSU squad backed by a loud and raucous fan base after 10 minutes. UofL did go on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter but still found themselves on the short end of a 31-23 score at the half. The Cards kept chipping away and a Durr three, followed by a Durr jumper with 4:20 left in the third gave the Cards their first lead at 37-36. The squads ended three quarters at 46 each, Bionca Dunham getting a putback as time expired.
The fourth quarter belonged to Walz's warriors but SDSU made it interesting. The home team never regained the lead but cut a five-point Louisville lead after a Dana Evens jumper with 3:30 to play to two at 64-62 after a Miller free throw at 1:45 to play. The JackRabbits would manage just one basket the rest of the way, though -- Louisville got a Evans jumper, Jazz Jones free throw and Arica Carter free throw with 1 second remaining to set the final tally.
WHAT WE LIKED
-- Asian influence. Durr finally found her shooting touch after the cold start (1-6 in the first half) and had three threes to help the Cards push past SD State. Her 20 pts. led all scorers...even though she didn't score in the final 4:35.
-- With a little help from my friends. Louisville's other three main guards provided the spark late to get the Cards the "W". Two clutch jumper-drives by freshman Dana Evans and free throws from Jazmine Jones and Arica Carter helped the Cards preserve the lead.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
-- Foul weather. The Cards had way too many fouls. Sam Fuehring fouled out in the fourth and Hines-Allen played most the fourth quarter with four, as did Evans. It's a different team without Hines-Allen on the court and losing Fuehring late had the Cards going with a four guard set and Hines-Allen, which affected rebounding.
-- Grab the misses! The Cards were out-rebounded 42-32 by South Dakota State and putbacks by the home team plagued Louisville the entire game. Having MHA on the bench definitely affected that but Fuehring was out of position way too often on the defensive sets and Shook was pulled because she wasn't playing defensive well enough or blocking out.
Still, you take the "W" and move on. Louisville comes home to face the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks Tuesday night.
-Sonja
