University of Louisville
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Louisville Downs New Hampshire, 82-40
December 30, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Angel McCoughtry's slump didn't last long.
The Louisville forward had 14 points and six rebounds as the 10th-ranked Cardinals rolled past New Hampshire 82-40 in the final game of the Cardinal Classic on Tuesday.
McCoughtry, who was held to four points and went 0-for-9 from the floor in a win over Central Michigan on Monday, was 5-of-9 from the field as the Cardinals (13-1) completed an easy three-game sweep in the Classic, winning each game by at least 23 points.
"I know when I have bad games, the team is going to pick me up," McCoughtry said. "I just tried to stay focused. I never worry about yesterday."
Tomorrow will be hard enough.
Louisville begins Big East play on Saturday against DePaul still struggling with turnovers. The Cardinals gave it away 18 times against the Wildcats (2-10) and are averaging 20 turnovers a game.
Still, Louisville played with enough precision in the first half to have no trouble winning its eighth straight. McCoughtry broke her field goal drought with a layup that gave the Cardinals a quick 10-2 then followed with another easy bucket as Louisville needed just seven minutes to build a double-digit edge.
"I thought she did an outstanding job," said coach Jeff Walz. "She didn't force anything. People might say 'Oh she only scored 14.' She will score 30 here soon when we need it. But if we can keep getting productivity from the rest of the team we'll be alright."
Keshia Hines had 12 points and nine rebounds, Gwen Rucker added 12 points and Candyce Bingham scored 10 for Louisville. The Cardinals had 19 assists on 29 field goals, good news for a team that has had trouble sharing the ball at times.
"That's what gets me excited," Walz said. "We looked for each other."
The Cardinals shot 55 percent during a blazing first half in which they built a 44-18 lead.
"We've come out slow in some games, but these last three games I think we've come out hard and fast," said Louisville guard Deseree Byrd.
Candace Williams led New Hampshire with 17 points but the Wildcats shot just 29 percent from the floor and turned it over 23 times.
The victory completed a near-perfect nonconference schedule for Louisville, who is still adjusting to life without center Chauntise Wright, who went down with a knee injury during the first day of practice in October.
Hines and Rucker, who also plays volleyball at Louisville, are showing signs of improvement though Walz said the Cardinals will have to get by on speed and savvy not size and strength.
"We're going to starting to see 6-3, 6-4 post players," Walz said. "It will be more of a challenge for Keshia and Gwen. So we are going to have to press and run in order to win Big East games. There aren't going to have any 20-30 point wins anymore."
