University of Louisville
Southern Miss
Cardinals Smash Southern Miss In Conference USA Tournament
March 01, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2002
Chicago, Ill. -
Sophomore Sara Nord and Kara Kessans led Louisville to an 83-52 win over Southern Miss on Friday, March 1, in the first round of the C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Cardinals (17-11) now advance to the quarterfinals, taking on No. 3-seed Cincinnati on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Nord not only posted 16 points, but registered seven assists to break her own C-USA and school assist record. She currently has 224 assists on the year, eclipsing her old single-season mark of 222 set last season as freshman. Kessans led the Cardinal scoring contingent, scoring a game-high 17 points.
"My biggest concern was how we would come out," said Louisville head coach Martin Clapp. "We have been good in the second half, but poor in the first half. We came out with a lot of intensity in the first five minutes. We focused on defense and screening out this week and did a great job in the game."
From the opening tip-off, Louisville took the lead and remained in control for both stanzas. Shooting a blazing 58.6 percent from the field (17-of-29), the Cardinals went on an opening 12-2 run and held the Golden Eagles to a 36 shooting percentage in the first half.
The Cards extended its lead in the second half to finish the game, outscoring Southern Miss, 56.5 percent to 38.8 percent, while also dominating on the boards, 37-29.
"Louisville deserves a lot of credit, because they played extremely well," said Southern Miss head coach Rick Reeves. "We didn't change our game plan from when we played them in Hattiesburg, but we didn't execute it today. If Louisville plays like this the rest of the way, they have a great chance to make a run in this tournament."
Louisville will next take on No. 3 Cincinnati in Saturday's quarterfinal round beginning at 3 p.m., at the DePaul Athletic Center. The Cardinals and the Bearcat split their series this season, each winning at home.
