Lady Cards Defeat Cincinnati 65-56 In C-USA Opener
July 17, 2000 | Women's Basketball
January 2, 2000
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With All-American Candidate Jill Morton out with a quad pull, the Lady Cards got a glimpse of its future backcourt in the conference opener as the Lady Cards defeated Cincinnati 65-56.
Sophomore Kara Kessans led the team with 16 points and freshman Katie Smith contributed nine points as the Lady Cards improved to 8-4 on the year.
Louisville jumped out to a 16-2 lead with 13:22 remaining in the first half. Bearcat freshman Kristen Sharp connected on a three-pointer at the 8:47 mark in the first half to cut the lead to 18-11, but Kessans answered with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 21-11. The Lady Cards led 32-17 at the half while holding Cincinnati to just 24 percent from the field.
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 36-27. The Lady Cards answered back and scored the next seven points, marking its biggest lead with 13:35 remaining. Cincinnati never got closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
"This was one where everybody got a chance," said co-head coach Martin Clapp. "Hopefully, it will boost everyone's confidence. When Jill gets back out there, it's only going to make us better."
