University of Louisville
UT MARTIN
No. 14 Cardinals Overpower UT Martin, 70-57
December 28, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2011
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
| AP Photo Gallery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Shoni Schimmel scored 16 points to lead No. 14 Louisville past UT Martin 70-57 on Wednesday.
Cierra Warren added 14 points for Louisville (12-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) with 10 coming in the second half. Heather Butler led UT Martin (6-6) with 13 points, while Jaclissa Haislip and Perica Glenn each had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Louisville forced 17 first-half turnovers but took only a 35-30 lead into the break. The Cardinals slowly extended their lead in the second half to 53-40 after two layups by Shawnta' Dyer and four baskets in the post by Cierra Warren.
A steal and layup by Bria Smith gave Louisville a 57-44 lead with 8:21 remaining, but the Skyhawks cut it to single digits on Butler's 3-pointer and Perica Glenn's putback.
UT Martin again cut the lead to eight at 63-55 after Jasmine Newsome's drive and at 65-57 with 1:03 remaining, but failed to score in the final minute. Louisville coach Jeff Walz said his team would need to use the next week of practice to improve before beginning the bulk of BIG EAST play against Marquette on Jan. 3.
"We've got to get better. At times I thought we did some good things but then we go brain dead," Walz said.
Schimmel said the team was rusty and complacent following a nine-day layoff since a 75-71 win at Washington State that capped a two-game West Coast swing.
"We just kind of went out there and thought it was going to be an easy win for us and that kind of got to us in the end," Schimmel said. "We didn't play our full game plan like we should have."
Walz was especially concerned with the team's lack of urgency and failure to convert its 13 offensive rebounds into points.
"We get two second-chance points the entire ballgame. I mean we couldn't find a way to get an offensive board and stick it back in."
It was the first game for the Cardinals since it was announced that senior center Monique Reid would miss the remainder of the season with an osteochondral injury to her left knee.
The team's leading scorer and rebounder the past two seasons, Reid suffered the injury against Cincinnati on Dec. 14 and will have surgery January 4 to repair the damage.
Schimmel said boosting the confidence of frontcourt contributors Warren and Sara Hammond would be key with the absence of Reid.
"We need to get them going a little bit more and know that they can do what Mo did, just in a different form."
Reid is the Cardinals' second major contributor to be lost for the year. Junior guard Tia Gibbs is out with a shoulder injury.
"We're missing some leadership when things start to get a little tough," Walz said of his squad that now has just one senior and two juniors active. "It's a game-by-game season for us right now. We can't look past anybody."
The Cardinals trailed 10-5 with 14:43 remaining in the first half following consecutive threes from UT Martin's Taylor Hall but rattled off nine straight as Schimmel finished the run with back-to-back threes of her own to give Louisville a 14-10 lead at the 11:55 mark. Louisville never trailed again.
