WBB Beats EKU 76-51 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Roberts Leads Four Cards in Double Figures

Louisville women's basketball looked headed for a major letdown game after their big win against UNC on Sunday when the Colonels of EKU took a 19-14 lead through one quarter. The halftime score still didn't look super favorable for the Cards (30-27), but flipping a five-point deficit to a three-point lead means you had a pretty strong second quarter. The final score indicates the continued domination that took place after the rocky first quarter. Louisville won the third 24-10 and the fourth 22-14 to ultimately cruise to a 24-point victory. 

Louisville got out to a slow start, shooting just 6-16 from the floor in the first quarter. They were 1-6 from beyond the arc, though that area never really improved last night. Worst of all, Louisville didn't do much with their trips to the free throw line, going just 1-4 from the stripe in the first quarter. It's a bit difficult to say what exactly went wrong for Louisville in the first, other than they just weren't effective. Five turnovers (out of 16 total) in that first quarter weren't helpful, but they weren't overly crushing either. Regardless, the Cards turned it around after that. 

Surprisingly, Louisville actually shot worse from the field overall in the second quarter, going 6-18 from the floor (0-4 from three), but they were 4-6 from the line to help buoy the offense. They also turned around their defensive effort, which was helped out tremendously by EKU going cold from three-point land. After shooting 4-7 from distance in the first as part of a 7-14 overall effort, the Colonels were just 3-14 from the floor in the second quarter and missed all six of their three-point attempts. EKU went 50% from the floor and 57.1% from three in the first quarter and they would go on to finish 35.1% from the floor and 26.1% from three. Both of those numbers were helped out by an improved fourth quarter during garbage time. 

As I mentioned, Louisville never quite got things going from beyond the arc. The Cards finished just 3-22 from distance, a dreadful 13.6%. They eventually realized that they could have great success inside, though, and they finished 40.3% from the floor overall, shooting 28-55 from two and scoring 44 points in the paint. Part of that came from a strong effort on the boards, as Louisville scored 18 second chance points. They managed 23 points off of turnovers, but only two of those came on fast breaks. 

Taj Roberts led all scorers with 12 points, and she was one of four Cardinals to finish with double-digit points. Laura Ziegler had 11 while Skylar Jones and Yevheniia Putra both scored 10. Elif Istanbulluoglu was also effective, as she tallied nine points to go along with seven rebounds. There were two larger stories on the night, though. 

One of those was Grace Mbugua getting her first game action of the season. While Mbugua struggled a bit offensively (she was just 1-9 from the floor and had two turnovers), it's easy to see that she could be a major force for this team in the future. Mbugua led the game with ten rebounds, and she also added two blocks and a steal. The college game speed will come to her, hopefully sooner rather than later. 

The other big story was Imari Berry, who stuffed the stat sheet. Berry would have loved to have seen a couple of more shots fall (she was just 2-8) so that she could have joined the club of double-digit scorers, but she was involved everywhere else. With the shot not falling, she did a good job distributing, finishing with seven assists (of Louisville's 18 total). She also grabbed eight rebounds and was a menace defensively with a block and four steals. She had just one foul and one turnover. Add in that she was the only player to maximize her points at the free throw line (albeit on just one trip), and it's more than ok that she scored only six points. 

Louisville's recovery after a hot first quarter by a visiting opponent was good to see. The Cards clamped down on the shooting and played well defensively overall. They also kept their heads down and corrected on offense, not resorting to jacking up threes when they weren't falling. After the 1-6 first quarter, Louisville took a total of just eight three point attempts in the second and third before the bench tried to get things going again from outside in the fourth. There is plenty to follow-up on in the film room, but the Cards can't be too disappointed in a 24-point win, even if they didn't cover the spread. 

The FRED Report

Ballplayer extraordinaire...Fred McGriff

F - Free Throws: This one was ugly. 11-19 from the stripe and Imari Berry was the only player to make all (two) of her attempts. 57.9% is worth no letter.

R - Rebounding: Louisville would be expected to win this battle pretty handily, and they did so. The Cards finished with 60 total rebounds and a +28 margin on the glass. They limited EKU to just four offensive rebounds, though those did turn into six second chance points. Louisville's 24 offensive rebounds nearly matched EKU's defensive total. Capital 'R'.

E - Effort/Execution: The Cards had 16 turnovers, which is an average of four per quarter, but they limited that number to just 11 after a rough first quarter. Taj Roberts and Reyna Scott combined for ten of those 16 turnovers, which isn't great, but only five of the turnovers were EKU steals. The Cards, as I mentioned, turned things around on offense and went >50% from the floor from two-point land. A stronger start in the first would have been nice, but they didn't get rattled and got it sorted out for a big win in the end. I'll give a lowercase 'e'. 

D - Defense: Again, this was a tale of the first quarter vs the rest of the game. Louisville forced EKU into 21 turnovers and they had ten steals and five blocks. Once EKU cooled off, they ended up shooting just 330.2% from the floor in the final three quarters and 12.5% from beyond the arc. The Cards sent them to the line for just nine shots. It's tempting to dock them for that first quarter, but sometimes underdogs just come into a game loose and find their range. Louisville weathered that storm and played much better after the first ten minutes. Capital 'D'.

That's a final tally of _-R-e-D, which is fitting for the season as we approach the holiday. This isn't the first clunker at the free throw line for the Cards, so I suspect Coach Walz will have them taking a few more shots at the end of practices. 

Louisville has a short turnaround before they face a good Tennessee team Saturday morning. The Cards will hit the road to New York to take on the Volunteers in the Women's Champions Classic in the Barclays Center for their final game of 2025. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case