Women’s Basketball dominate Notre Dame in regular season finale Monday, Feb 28 2022 

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By Daniel Rankin —

On Feb. 27, the No. 4 Louisville Women’s Basketball team won big against the No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 86-64.

The contest made national headlines, with the Cardinals jumping out to a 41-3 lead in the second quarter. Louisville’s largest lead was 48-6 before Notre Dame finally strung together consecutive baskets.

The win allowed the Cardinals to finish the season 25-3 and 16-2 in the ACC.

Sophomore Guard Hailey Van Lith and senior Kianna Smith finished with an impressive 20 points. Seniors Emily Engstler and Chelsie Hall had 17 points and 13 points, respectively.

The Cardinals finished the game with 16 forced turnovers and an overwhelming 40-22 rebound advantage.

In the first quarter, Louisville was perfect, shooting lights out 7-7 from beyond the arc. It took the Cards almost five minutes before they missed their first game shot. The opening quarter ended with an astonishing 31-3 Louisville lead.

Despite multiple timeouts and substitutions from Notre Dame, nothing was stopping the Cards.

The second quarter saw the Louisville offense slow down to a ‘normal’ shooting performance, but the defense still had Notre Dame’s number.

By the time Notre Dame figured out how to score, the game was out of reach, with Louisville up 54-15 at halftime.

The Fighting Irish lived up to their name in the second half, including a 30-15 fourth quarter. But, the gap was too far for Notre Dame to mount a serious comeback.

Overall, it was an outstanding performance, especially considering Notre Dame is ranked No. 14 in the nation.

The defense has been elite all season for the Cardinals, arguably the best in the country. But the offense from time to time can go through some droughts.

While the second half wasn’t perfect, Sunday’s nationally televised game will make teams wish to avoid the Cards in their brackets come tournament time.

But with the regular season over, that time has now arrived.

A 23-win season is nothing to be resentful about, but the expectations for Coach Jeff Walz and his team are always high. After finishing second in the title race to NC State, the Cardinals will be eager to win the ACC Tournament Championship in Greensboro, N.C.

Louisville’s first game will be in the ACC Quarterfinals on Fri. Mar. 4 at 6 pm.

With tournament season upon us, stay tuned for more Women’s Basketball Coverage!

Photo by Daniel Rankin // The Louisville Cardinal

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Cardinals blowout Pittsburgh for twelfth straight win Monday, Jan 27 2020 

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By Matthew Keck —

It was a scoring frenzy at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 27 as the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals blew out the Pittsburgh Panthers 83-49. This marked the Cardinals’ twelfth straight win of the season.

The Cards (20-1, 9-0) got off to a slow start early on but led 21-13 after the first quarter. They weren’t looking back either, going on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to head into the half with a 17-point lead.

Six players contributed to the win, scoring in double digits against the Panthers (3-16, 0-8). They also posted an impressive 23 assists among eight players and 15 steals from seven Cards.

Sophomore Elizabeth Balogun, senior Bionca Dunham, junior Dana Evans and senior Kylee Shook led the team in scoring with 12 points each. Senior Jazmine Jones added 11 and sophomore Elizabeth Dixon 10 points toward the win.

Dunham was on fire from the field, shooting 5-7 and perfect at the free throw line. She also managed to pull in the second most rebounds with three offensive and defensive, for six total.

The Cards dominated the glass on defense with 29 rebounds on that side of the ball. Balogun and sophomore Mykasa Robinson topped the team with the most rebounds grabbing eight all together.

In addition to her 12 points, Shook had five rebounds and one block and steal. Evans finished shooting 4-9 and with three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop helped the Cards with eight points, two rebounds and assists and one steal. Robinson made her stamp with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while scoring four points.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 47 percent from the field, going 7-24 from three-point range. The bench was also a big factor, scoring 24 points in their victory over the Panthers.

This win marks U of L’s tenth-straight 20-win season, and their twelve game winning streak is their best since the 2018-2019 season when they won 14 in a row.

Louisville’s coach Jeff Walz said after the game how happy he was with the Cardinals consistent scoring across the team. He praised his players for their ability to share the ball.

“We needed a game like this at home,” said Walz. “We haven’t played extremely well here [this season], like we have in the past.”

The Cards are headed on the road to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame Jan. 30. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

File Photo Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal 

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