LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – In its second game in as many days after more than 3 weeks of COVID-19 shutdown, the University of Louisville women’s basketball team looked better, but still has some ground to reclaim after a 97-46 victory over Bellarmine.
It was the first meeting between the programs as NCAA Division I members, with Bellarmine making the step up under coach Chancellor Dugan this season.
Louisville coach Jeff Walz said it’s a series that he hopes will continue.
“I think it’s great,” Walz said. “I told Chancellor that we’re willing to do this year-in and year-out, and even talked to her about making it a home-and-home series if she’d like to do that. I think our fan base would go over there and we could pack the place, be great environments for both teams, and I think the attendance we can have here for the Bellarmine game can be special.”
Louisville didn’t shoot the ball much better from the perimeter than it did in Friday’s win over Northern Kentucky, but the Cardinals recognized their advantage in the post and rode that to a 64-24 edge on points in the paint.
Freshman Olivia Cochran had 15 points and went 7-for-7 from the field. Junior Liz Dixon added 14 point and went 5-6 from the field. Ramani Parker added 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field.
“We had the size advantage and I thought we did a really nice job of recognizing that and being patient and going inside,” Walz said. “And then you still have to make them, and I thought we did a good job of finishing. … We’re still going to have to make some threes. That’s definitely one area we’re going to have to get better at. We are a good shooting team, we just haven’t shown it the past few games.”
The Cards went 3-16 from 3-point range, one day after making just 4 of 22 against Northern Kentucky.
But they shot 60.5 percent for the game, and scored a variety of drives. Their passing was crisp, and defensively they communicated much better than on Friday, an area where Walz had demanded improvement.
“We did a much better job of communicating, of talking at the defensive end of the floor,” Walz said. “Defensive transition is our Achilles’ heel. We’ve got to fix that. … I say it all the time, it really takes no talent to talk.”
Kianna Smith and Norika Konno each had the largest “plus” areas on the plus-minus chart, with the Cards at plus-35 with each on the court. Smith finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, while Konno added 11 points and 3 assists. Dana Evans also finished with 11 points for the Cards.
Bellarmine, which fell to 0-5, was led by Lauren Deel, who finished with 8 points. After struggling badly on offense in the second and third quarters, the Knights were outscored just 20-14 in the fourth.
Next up for Louisville is a challenge from ACC opponent North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming off back-to-back league victories, including a win over a ranked Syracuse team, though they are coming off of their own COVID layoff, as well. Tipoff is at 2:30 on Tuesday in the KFC Yum! Center.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
