University of Louisville
Kentucky
Battle of the Bluegrass Goes to the Cats
December 19, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2001
Lexington, Ky. - Sophomore point guard Sara Nord led the Cards with 15 points but it was not enough as the Cardinals fell 72-53 to the Wildcats in Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night. Louisville falls to 5-4 on the season and 1-15 in Memorial Coliseum. LaKisha Hoffman added 13 points and Amanda Wolke pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in the loss.
The Wildcats had three players in double-figures with freshman Sara Potts and LaTonya McDole leading the way with 15 points and sophomore SeSe Helm chipped in 14.
The Cardinals built an 11-point lead in the first eight minutes of the game, but UK went on a 14-2 to take their first lead of the game with seven minutes remaining in the half. In the next three minutes the lead changed hands four times before Kentucky went on an 8-0 run in the final four minutes of the half to go up 33-25 at the break.
The Wildcats outscored the Cardinals 11-3 over the first five minutes of the second half and never looked back. UK led by as many as 21 (63-42) with just over six minutes remaining in the contest.
"Our players came out with a lot of intensity and they were ready to play," UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. "Our underclassmen really stepped up and I am pleased with our defensive effort tonight. They keep getting better and they stepped up to the challenge."
UK shot 50.0 percent from the field while holding the Cards to a season-low 29.5 percent. The Cardinals also committed a season-high 26 turnovers, converting into 26 Wildcat points.
"They really came together and played like a team with something to prove," U of L Coach Martin Clapp said. "They played good defensively and Coach Mattox did a great job of adjusting defenses. We just had a meltdown on both the offensive and defensive end tonight."
The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Wofford in Freedom Hall at 2:00 p.m.
