University of Louisville
SETON HALL
Louisville Stops Seton Hall, 76-47
January 06, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2009
Louisville, Ky. (AP) - Louisville overcame what coach Jeff Walz called the most embarrassing half of basketball he's seen since taking over the team last season.
Angel McCoughtry had 28 points and 13 rebound to lead No. 10 Louisville (15-1, 2-0 Big East Conference) to its 10th consecutive win with a 76-47 victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday night.
McCoughtry also had five blocks and five steals to go with her seventh double-double of the season.
Louisville won the game despite being outrebounded, 41-37. The Pirates' Noteisha Womack, who leads the nation in rebounding, pulled down 12 and had 14 points. Ebonie Williams had 10 rebounds and Jadis Rhodin scored 11.
The Cardinals led by as much as 10 in the first half but went into the break leading by two after a steal and layup by Rhodin made the score 35-33.
"You aren't going to win every game and I understand that, but that was an absolute embarrassment," Walz said. "Tiera and Angel were the only two that showed up in the first half. I really believe that and that's as honest as I can be."
The Cardinals had 12 turnovers before the break and the Pirates (11-3, 0-2) had 10 offensive rebounds.
"Not one time did we get on the floor for a loose ball in the first half," Walz said.
The coach and McCoughtry were vague about what he said in the locker room after the first half.
"A lot of things," she said. "It's too much to elaborate on."
It lit a fire, whatever the coach told them. The Cardinals scored the first 13 points of the second half and led, 48-33, with 14:12 to play.
The closest the Pirates would get from that point was 48-35 on the next possession after a layup by Nicole Emery.
From there, Louisville continued to extend its lead, but Walz continued to yell.
"We want to get better," McCoughtry said. "He loves perfection."
The Cardinals will try to extend their perfect conference record when they meet No. 17 Rutgers (8-4, 0-1) on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights lost to Syracuse, 68-54, Tuesday night.
The last time Louisville and Rutgers met was in last season's Big East Tournament, when the Cardinals won 57-56.
"I've said it over and over, and I'll continue to say it: our margin for error is not big," Walz said. "We can't just step on the floor and win games. That's just not how it's gonna work."
