Balanced Louisville attack buries Morehead State 96-49 ahead of Kentucky clash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — One more tune-up, and now it’s time for the rivalry.

Louisville women’s basketball made quick work of Morehead State on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center, cruising to a 96-49 win that let the Cardinals rest key players, spread minutes across the bench and finally see the kind of shot-making Jeff Walz has been waiting for.

All 11 players who saw the floor scored. Seven reached double figures, led by 13-point nights from Reagan Bender, Laura Ziegler, Imari Berry and Tajianna Roberts. Freshman Anaya Hardy posted her first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds

“We finally shot the ball in a game like we have been in practice,” Walz said. “We just have not carried it over from practice to a game until today. You have to make open shots. That's the name of it. And tonight, we finally did. We’d have a quarter here, a quarter there, but never really done it for an entire game. And I thought today we did a really nice job of making the extra pass, being focused. Our feet were set in an athletic stance when we caught the ball, and we shot it well. So, I was really pleased with that. And we're going to have to continue to work on rebounding the ball, because that's going to be important, not just on Saturday, but throughout the rest of the season.”

Louisville shot 54 percent from the field and 38 percent from three, piling up 22 assists on 33 made baskets.

With Isla Juffermans sidelined by illness and a knee injury, Louisville leaned on Hardy and others in the frontcourt ahead of Saturday’s 2 p.m. rivalry clash with Kentucky — a team Walz praised for its size, experience and veteran edge. Post player Yevheniia Putra, who has been with the Ukranian National Team, should be available on Saturday.

The Cards’ defense forced 18 turnovers and turned them into 31 points. And Walz rotated three different players through the point guard spot late, experimenting while locking down the most lopsided win of the season.

“We're not sitting there trying to run the score up on anybody,” Walz said. “We're not about that, but I do want whoever's in the game to play hard. I'm not going to ask anybody to not play hard. And I was really, really pleased with that. … I’m really thrilled with how we scored the basketball, how well we shot it. And we expect a great game on Saturday.”