Women’s basketball clinch ACC regular season title with win over Boston College Friday, Feb 28 2020 

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By Cole Emery —

No. 5 Louisville Cardinals defeated the Boston College Golden Eagles 68-48 Feb. 27 at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cards jumped out to an early 18-6 lead thanks to five forced turnovers that turned into seven points for Louisville.

Boston College fought back and went on a 11-2 run to finish the quarter down three points to the Cards. Sophomore Makayla Dickens scored nine points in the final two and a half minutes of the first quarter from beyond the arc.

The run left the Cardinals unaffected, and they went on a 13-2 run of their own to start the second quarter. During the run, senior Bionca Dunham scored six points, and junior Jazmine Jones capped off the run with a three-pointer to give them a 33-19 lead.

For the rest of the game, Boston College remained in a double digit deficit.

With five seconds remaining in the half, senior Kylee Shook swiped a steal and drained a buzzer-beating jumper. The Cards took a 46-24 lead into halftime.

Boston College outscored Louisville in the second half, but a dominant first half gave the Cards enough cushion to cruise to victory without their starting guards for the second game in a row. “Those are two significant players on our team,” Shook said. “So, we knew, us being upperclassmen, we had to lead the way and just go out hard.”

Shook racked up her fourth double-double in five games with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also blocked two shots and secured two steals for the game. Jones scored 17 points, assisted three baskets and blocked three shots.

In their second straight start, redshirt senior Yacine Diop and sophomore Mykasa Robinson both played an important role in the victory. Diop scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and passed for two assists. Robinson scored seven points, secured five rebounds, assisted 5 shots, stole the ball three times and blocked one shot.

Amidst injury problems, “These kids have been unbelievable,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “It just shows the character and the fight that they have.”

The Cardinals will play Virginia Tech Mar. 1 in their final game of the season at the KFC Yum! Center at noon.

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Women’s basketball blows out Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb 26 2020 

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By Cole Emery–

No. 5 Louisville defeated Pittsburgh 79-47 Feb. 23 at the Petersen Events Center.

The Cards played the game without their starting guards junior Dana Evans and sophomore Elizabeth Balogun due to injuries.

A slow start led to Louisville taking a one point lead into the second quarter.

To start the second quarter, junior Jazmine Jones made both of her free-throws after being fouled. She then stole the ball during the next possession and made the transition layup. This sparked a 15-0 run for the Cards and opened up their lead to double digits.

During the second and third quarters, the Cardinals outscored Pittsburgh 50-17 thanks to their defensive ability. Louisville forced Pittsburgh to cause 10 turnovers during that span and 22 for the entire game.

Senior Kylee Shook helped defensively with three blocks in a three minute span during the third quarter.

In the starting line up due to injuries, redshirt senior Yacine Diop made her mark and finished the game with 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Replacing the other injured guard, sophomore Mykasa Robinson scored two points, grabbed eight rebounds and eight assists.

Shook led the charge offensively with a team-high 17 points for the game.

“That was kind of my focus this year coming in as a senior” Shook said. “I felt like I had to be more aggressive on the offensive end.”

She also secured 10 rebounds and five blocks during the game. This marked Shook’s sixth double-double for the year and her third in the last four games.

Jones and senior Bionca Dunham both scored double-digit points as the Cardinals spread the ball around well with four players scoring double digits.

Louisville will face off against Boston College at the KFC Yum! Center Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. ET on the ACC network.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Louisville Women’s Basketball downed NC State Thursday, Feb 20 2020 

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No. 9 Louisville women’s basketball defeated the No. 4 North Carolina State Wolfpack 66-59 Feb. 12 at the Reynolds Coliseum.

This victory for the Cardinals (22-3, 11-2) came a game after they were upset inside the Carrier Dome Feb. 9 by the unranked Syracuse Orange. With this win, the Cardinals sit atop the ACC standings along with NC State (22-2, 11-2).

Louisville will look to enter back into the top five in the AP poll come Monday after an impressive victory.

Senior Bionca Dunham provided an early spark for the Cardinals in the first four minutes, putting up three points and a defensive rebound. Senior Jazmine Jones struck in the first quarter as well, swishing a three-pointer and banking in a pair of layups. Junior Dana Evans contributed four points and dimed an assist in the first quarter.

By the end of the second quarter, the Cardinals lead grew to ten. Jones and Evans bottomed three-point jumpers. Sophomore Mykasa Robinson made a jumper and a free-throw and dished an assist to Evans for a three-point bucket.

Louisville came out in the second half shooting efficiently from the field, shooting 57% from the field in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

A late third-quarter run by the Wolfpack brought their deficit to five points.

After a two-minute drought for the Cardinals, Senior Kylee Shook drove into the lane for a layup, increasing the lead to six as the third-quarter clock expired.

The Cardinals did not score till the 7:25 mark of the fourth quarter, allowing North Carolina State to creep within three points of the lead.

Senior Yacine Diop stroked a three-pointer to free the Cardinals from their fourth-quarter jitters and spread the lead back to six.

Minutes later, Jones hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to eight before crossing into the five-minute mark. Three points was as close as the Wolfpack got from tying the game.

Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz said, “We followed the scouting report and did exactly what we needed to do.” As time winded down the Cardinals played superb defense, shutting down North Carolina State. With 43 seconds remaining in the game, Junior Elizabeth Balogun drilled a dagger three-pointer to solidify the upset victory.

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Women’s basketball defeated by team USA Saturday, Feb 15 2020 

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By Cole Emery —

The USA national team defeated the women’s basketball team 97-54 in their exhibition game Feb. 2.

The game started off with a layup by USA’s Skylar Diggins-Smith under the basket moments after the game opening tip. 

Senior Jazmine Jones answered with a layup of her own. Senior Kylee Shook drained a wide open three-pointer moments later. 

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop came off the bench to make an immediate impact with a layup then an assist to give the Cards a 14-13 lead. She then recorded a block after coming out of a timeout.

Louisville took a 21-17 lead going into the second quarter.

Despite a slow start for Team USA, Breanna Stewart helped surge the National Team with two layups in transition from long passes.

The matchup between Louisville’s Jones and former Cardinal Angel McCoughtry was an intense battle in the second quarter. Jones sparked the Cardinals after an abysmal start by draining a three-pointer. McCoughtry answered back by maneuvering around Jones for an easy layup the following possession.

Team USA took a 45-30 into halftime.

The experience National Team dominated the second half, but the Cardinals capitalized on some plays.

Senior Bionca Dunham drained a contested midrange shot followed by a three pointer by sophomore Elizabeth Balogun to start the second half.

Sue Bird began to light up from the three point line during the second half for team USA which seemed to be the ignitor towards a high efficiency on the offensive side of the ball.

Throughout the entire game, junior Dana Evans slashed inside and made her way to the basket time after time.

Despite the loss, Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said after the game, “It was good, because our players hear their coaches teaching in practice and they heard the same things we teach them.”

Jones led the team with 12 points and Evans had 11.

The Cardinals will face off against Florida State at the KFC YUM! Center Feb. 6 at 8:00 pm. 

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Women’s basketball handled Notre Dame Wednesday, Feb 5 2020 

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By John McCarthy–

The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team defeated Notre Dame 86-54 at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind. Jan. 30. 

Louisville remains undefeated in ACC conference play and extends their current winning streak to 13 as they continue to blow by their fellow in-conference competitors. 

Junior Kylee Shook put the Cardinals in the score column first with a layup on the right side of the basket. Junior Dana Evans provided an early lift for the Cardinals with eleven points in the first quarter. Shook sent away a shot with a hefty block, grabbed a steal and drained a three-pointer. Senior Bionca Dunham scored six points in the first to add to the total. Louisville led the Fighting Irish 27-11 after the first quarter. 

The second quarter was a showcasing moment for senior Jazmine Jones. She bottomed eight points, all of which coming via jumpshot. 

Senior Yacine Diop dished out three assists and hit a jumper. Louisville grabbed six rebounds in the second quarter, two of them being offensive rebounds that turned into four points for the Cardinals. Louisville led Notre Dame by 21 points going into the halftime break.

Jones swished two free-throws to get the Cardinals going coming out of halftime. Seconds later, Jones banked in a lofty-layup off of an Evans assist. 

The Cardinals went cold from the field for two minutes in the third quarter, but that would be their longest drought of the game. At the 5:46 mark, sophomore Elizabeth Balogun put the Cardinals back on track with a silky jumper. A minute later Shook drained a three-pointer off of a Balogun assist. 

Evans kept the formula going by assisting Diop on her three-pointer. Louisville jumped out to an insurmountable margin going into the final quarter, leading the Fighting Irish 74-43. 

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals toned it down on the offensive end, but turned up the heat on the defensive end. Louisville held Notre Dame to eleven points in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals racked up three steals and a block.

Evans finished with 17 points and six assists. Shook totaled 12 points and six rebounds. Jones shot for 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists. Balogun snatched five rebounds and shot for 11 points. 

Louisville will play No. 14 Florida State Feb. 6. The Seminoles currently stand at third place in the ACC conference rankings and will look to challenge the Cardinals. The game will be at the KFC Yum! Center at 8 p.m.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // 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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Women’s basketball defeats Murray State 76-40 Saturday, Nov 9 2019 

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By Mariam Prieto and Gabriel Wiest–

Louisville won  76-40 against Murray State in their second game of the season at the KFC Yum! Center on Nov. 8.

Coming off of a win against Western Kentucky, No. 9 Louisville secured another win against an in-state team. These state wins early in the season could foreshadow in-state dominance for the Cardinals. Louisville’s deep roster contributed to the big win, Murray could not match the strength of Louisville’s players.

The first half saw an aggressive start. During the first two minutes of the game, Louisville made it to the scoreboard first. Murray did not make it on the scoreboard until the last three minutes in the first quarter. Louisville ended the first quarter leading 16-4.

The second quarter saw the biggest play of the game, with back-to-back scores by junior Dana Evans. Evans forced a turnover after scoring a three, following up with a lay up. The first half ended with the Cards almost tripling Murray’s score 38-13.

The second half saw the Racers play with a more aggressive offense. They tripled their score, but were not fast enough for the Cardinals. The Cards made two layups made in less than 25 seconds. The first was a second chance layup made by senior Kylee Shook, and the second made by freshman Norika Konno.

Senior Jazmine Jones led the offense with 14 points and two assist, alongside Shook with 13 points and one assist. Shook led the defense with sophomore Seygan Robins and freshman Bionca Dunham, each finishing the game with seven stops. Louisville finished with 21 turnovers, while Murray finished with 24.

Against major teams, having over 20 turnovers would do significant damage against Louisville. Murray State was not able to make points off of turnovers, however, top 25 teams would have taken advantage of this. The Cardinals will look to bring turnovers down before competition rises further down the schedule.

Without a heavy scorer like Asia Durr, who graduated last year, the Cardinals came together collectively to secure the win. Four players including Evans, Shook, Jones and sophomore Elizabeth Balogun entered double digits during the game. This possibly shows that scoring will be more of a group effort during the new season as opposed to in the past.

Head coach Jeff Walz commented on the team’s performance, “We aren’t playing as good as I know we can, which is a good thing.” He added, “We got to get [turnovers] down to around 11 or 12, and we had 11 turnovers in the first quarter.”

Louisville will be back in action against Central Michigan University on Nov. 14 at the KFC Yum! Center at 6 p.m.

Photo by Gabriel Wiest // The Louisville Cardinal

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