CRAWFORD | Sloppy start, strong finish: Louisville runs away from EKU 76-51 in Mbuga's debut

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Trap game? For a half, it was practically a spring-loaded snare.

Sandwiched between an overtime win at No. 12 North Carolina and a looming showdown with No. 17 Tennessee in New York, No. 16 Louisville looked a bit distracted at home Wednesday night before finding its stride and dispatching Eastern Kentucky, 76–51, at the KFC Yum! Center.

The first half was a slog. The Cardinals made just 1 of 10 threes, trailed for more than 11 minutes, and led by only three at the break. But once they started attacking the Colonels’ 2-3 zone and converting second chances, the game tilted hard in Louisville’s direction.

And for the first time this season, they did it with Grace.

Freshman Grace Mbugua — a 6-foot-4 forward from Danville Christian and a top-100 recruit — made her long-awaited debut after missing the first month of the season recovering from knee surgery. The numbers were modest — 3 points on 1-for-9 shooting — but her presence wasn’t.

In just 11 minutes, Mbugua pulled down 10 rebounds (four offensive), blocked two shots, and gave a glimpse of how she could impact this team’s interior rotation moving forward.

“I was excited for Grace to get the opportunity to get out there,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz told Nick Curran in his postgame radio interview. “I thought she rebounded the ball extremely well in 11 minutes -- 10 boards. And I wasn't expecting shots to go in today. You know, it's your first game. Your adrenaline's pumping. You're just you're going 100 miles an hour. But I thought she looked really good and did some good things.”

That presence helped Louisville dominate the glass, finishing with a 60–32 rebounding edge and an 18–6 advantage in second-chance points. EKU had only one offensive rebound in the first half and just four in the game.

Offensively, the Cards were unspectacular but steady. They shot 40% from the field, 13% from three, and 58% from the line. But they kept the ball moving (18 assists), got production from the bench (38 points), and slowly wore the Colonels down. Twelve Louisville players scored, led by Taj Roberts (12 points), Skylar Jones (10), and Yevheniia Putra (10).

Imari Berry, did a little of everything in her team-high 25 minutes, with six points and eight rebounds, along with seven assists to only one turnover. She also four steals and many more deflections.

“I thought she did a lot of good things,” Walz said. “I think we had a lot of people do good things. … We came out and executed well, hit a three, and then we just kind of lost our minds for a quarter and a half. Too much trying to play outside the offense. But when we execute and share the basketball, we’re a very good team.”

Louisville now improves to 11–2 and will play its fifth game against a ranked opponent this season at 11 a.m. Saturday against No. 17 Tennessee in Brooklyn.

Walz said his team will have to be fully focused on that one. The team will practice in the morning and leave tomorrow afternoon – and it will have another key contributor as Mbuga begins to work herself into the rotation.

“She did so many really good things, and she's only going to get better as she continues to get playing time and gets adjusted to the college game,” Walz said. “Her rebounding is going to be a huge asset for us as we continue to move forward, and I've seen her score the basketball. I know she can put the ball in the basket.”