Following 23 days off, the Louisville women’s basketball team picked up a victory over NKU.
The way the season has been shaping up I wasn’t sure when the Louisville women’s basketball program was going to see the floor again. But finally, Jeff Walz’s club got to take the court again after a 23-day layoff. Between teams canceling their season, COVID postponements, and rescheduled games the season seemed to truly be up in the air. On Friday UofL finally got back on the court.
Louisville women’s basketball struggles early
Louisville struggled to get the offense going, coming out flat, as NKU found a little groove led by former transfer Lindsey Duvall. Even with coming out cold the Cards used their size to gather up a lot of the rebounds in the first quarter.
The Cards had a 15-11 lead after the first quarter, being led in scoring by Hailey Van Lith and Elizabeth Dixon with 4 each. UofL also saw 4 other players get on the board in the first quarter. Elizabeth Balogun had 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the first quarter.
Louisville started the second quarter with Dana Evans finally getting in the box score with a three-pointer to bump the lead up to 18-11. The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the second quarter before NKU tied the game up at the 7-minute mark of the second quarter. The Cards battled to go to halftime with a 31-29 lead led in scoring by Elizabeth Dixon and Olivia Cochran with 8 points each.
Northern Kentucky keeps it close, until Dana Evans said so
As the cold night continued into the second half for the Cards, NKU kept pace with them and were tied 36-36 with 5:56 left in the quarter. Louisville women’s basketball fell down 5 points but went on a 17-7 run to end the third quarter to go up by 10 going to the fourth. The run was sparked by 7 points from Evans and 4 points by HVL and Dixon. The Cards were led in scoring in the third quarter by Evans, who finished with 10 points.
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NKU began the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run until Kianna Smith scored to stop their run. Louisville transfer Lindsey Duvall made 5 straight points to close the Cardinal’s lead to 3 points. But with the help of their starters, Louisville women’s basketball held on for a 74-64 win. UofL got 7 points from Evans and Smith to lead them through the fourth quarter.
The Cards were led in scoring by Dana Evans with 20 points. Evans made all 4 of the Cards’ three-point baskets as the rest of the team was 0-14 from behind the arc. They also had a double-digit scoring night from Cochran with 13, Van Lith with 10, Smith with 11 (to go along with 10 rebounds), and Liz Dixon with 12.
As the Cards shot a very mediocre 41% from the field and 18% from three-point range it was a long night for them offensively. Louisville only had a 4 rebound advantage to end the game and committed 6 more fouls than NKU. On a side note Louisville transfer Lindsey Duvall led NKU in scoring with 20 points on 50% shooting from the field and 60% from three.
Louisville will be back in action on Saturday, January 2nd taking on Bellarmine basketball on ACCNX at Noon.
