Cards Suffer Loss to Wolfpack 74-60 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Falter at Home to NC State

Dana Evans tying her career-high with 29 points was not enough to stop the return of Elissa Cunane as #4 NC State defeated #1 Louisville 74-60. The junior center for the Wolfpack saw 30 minutes of action while tying for a team-high 16 points. She added six rebounds and a pair of assists, and even found herself 1-1 from three-point range.

The Wolfpack had four players in double figures. They were highlighted by a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe. NC State struggled from three-point range, but dominated in the post with 36 points in the paint.

Louisville's only bright moment was Evans going off for 29 points on 10-22 shooting. She was perfect from the free throw line, sinking all four of her attempts, and went 5-8 from deep. The rest of the Louisville team struggled as the combined for 31 points and 10 turnovers. They also went 3-11 from three-point range.

The two foes were neck-and-neck in the first quarter. Louisville pulled ahead by four midway through the quarter following a three by Evans and a layup by Olivia Cochran. Raina Perez found an open look in the corner shortly before the buzzer to tie the score at 18.

NC State started the second quarter with five straight points, capping off an 8-0 run, which was the final lead change of the game. The quarter was highlighted by six turnovers by the Cards, killing every opportunity to tie the game or take the lead. The Wolfpack went into the half up 29-25.

Louisville cut the deficit to two right out of the gate after halftime. But every time Louisville tried to close in further,  NC State had an answer. The Cards saw their deficit increase to 10 at one point, but the raced back to go down three after a three-pointer by Evans. Jada Boyd knocked in a short jumper with 27 seconds remaining to push the Wolfpack lead up to five heading into the final quarter.

Things got ugly in the final quarter. NC State reached their largest lead of the game at 18 points with 4:19 remaining. The Cards would not give up hope as they cut that in half following a Kianna Smith three-pointer with 1:23 remaining. Unfortunately, time was not on Louisville's side and NC State refused to budge further. They scored the final five points of the game to push the win up to a 14-point victory.

Evans added two rebounds and two steals to go with her 29 points, but she was plagued with three turnovers and just one assist. Cochran and Smith each had eight points while Cochran also added nine rebounds. Liz Dixon hauled in seven rebounds to go along with four blocks.

F-R-E-D Report

We bring out the Fred Gwynne 
(Herman Munster) for the feeling
after this one...

I have that not so pleasurable task of doing a F-R-E-D Report following the first loss of the season. Oh joy...

FREE THROWS - Dana Evans saved the Cards on this going 4-4. Elizabeth Balogun was the only other Louisville player to attempt a free throw, making two of her four. A 6-8 mark puts the Cards at 75%, above our 70% mark. Even though NC State was 12-12, the Cards' mark is enough to earn a capital "F".

REBOUNDING - The Cards were outrebounded 44-29. The -15 margin is the worst on the year. Louisville had just six offensive rebounds. The Louisville bigs combined for 16 rebounds. NC State managed 13 offensive boards and converted it into 11 second chance points. No letter here.

EFFORT/EXECUTION - Shooting 38.3% from the field is pretty ugly for this Louisville offense. Their turnover-assist ratio was abysmal with 13 turnovers to six assists. Second chance points were rare and the Cards were doubled up on in points in the paint. The one semi-plus is that the bench contributed six steals (four by Mykasa Robinson and two by Balogun). Still, the struggle was real with efficiency. Once again, no letter.

DEFENSE - The Cards surrendered 74 points in the game and it seemed to get worse by quarter. The Wolfpack shot 43.8% from the field and the free throw defense was nonexistent. The Cards were bullied all night in the post. Had the defense held true Louisville may have had a fighting chance. For the third time in our report we see an absence of a letter.

FINAL FRED TALLY: 

F-_-_-_.

Ouch. But that's what happens when you lose.

The Cards drop to 16-1 on the year but still hold the top spot in the ACC at 9-1. NC State improves to 12-1. They hold the second spot in the conference with a 7-1 mark.

After winning their first four games in the #1 spot it's safe to assume they'll fall from that following the loss. Assuming nothing crazy happens, South Carolina will most likely take the top spot. UConn, who is still undefeated, should move up to #3. It's hard to see the AP voters keeping the Cards ahead of the Wolfpack after the loss so Louisville will most likely drop to #4 next week after losing to the #4 team who was recently ranked as high as #2.

The Cards hit the road for a Thursday game at Boston College at 8:00 p.m., and then will return home next weekend.

It was a pleasant surprise to see both Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen in attendance last night as the duo received a standing ovation by everyone in attendance.

Of other interest, UofL WBB has started a Dana Evans Website to promote her bid for National Player of the Year. Check it out at DanaEvans1.com

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared