University of Louisville
Villanova
Women's Basketball Defeats Villanova 64-48 on Sunday Afternoon
February 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2011
Philadelphia, Pa. - The Louisville women's basketball team defeated Villanova 64-48 on Sunday afternoon at the Pavilion in Philadelphia, Pa. Junior forward Monique Reid led all scorers with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Shoni Schimmel finished with 10 points and four assists. Laura Sweeney led the Wildcats with 14 points and eight rebounds. The Cardinals improved to 15-9 on the season and 6-4 in the BIG EAST while Villanova drops to 8-14 on the year and 0-9 in the BIG EAST.
The Cardinals got off to a good start, taking an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Villanova's Megan Pearson hit a 3-pointer at the 14:25 mark. Neither team could find any offense for a three minute span. Reid scored a layup at the 10:30 mark to put the Cards up 13-5, ending the scoring drought. Antonita Slaugher hit 2-of-2 from the line on Louisville's next possession to take a 15-5 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Sweeney scored a layup for the Wildcats on the next possession to cut the Cardinal lead to eight. Schimmel hit 1-of-2 from the line to give the Cards a 16-7 lead before Villanova would go on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one (16-15). Louisville responded with a 12-0 run of its own to take its largest lead of the game at 28-15 with 5:28 remaining in the half. The Wildcats then went on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to nine (28-19) at the four minute mark.
The Cardinals' Charmaine Tay came up with a defensive rebound and moved the ball up the floor to Reid who scored the Cards' first fast break basket of the game to give them a 30-19 lead with 2:27 left in the half. Villanova missed another 3-pointer and Tay came away with the defensive rebound again and was fouled. Tay hit both foul shots to give the Cards a 32-19 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Villanova put up a 3-pointer that was no good on the next possession and Louisville came away with the rebound. Schimmel's fade away 3-pointer was short but Reid came up with the rebound and putback at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 34-19 lead at the half.
Louisville shot 42.3 percent from the field while holding Villanova to 30.4 percent shooting. The Cardinals shot 50 percent from behind the arc, while the Wildcats shot 21.4 percent. The Cardinals won the rebounding battle in the first half with a 22-11 advantage. Both teams had a sloppy first half with the ball, finishing with 13 turnovers.
The Cardinals started the second half on a 4-0 run to take a 38-19 lead. Sweeney's layup sparked a 4-0 Villanova run, cutting the lead to 38-23. Schimmel nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession. Villanova hit a trey of its own on the next possession. Both teams traded baskets until the Cards went on a 7-0 run after a 3-pointer from Sheronne Vails at the 10:32 mark. The run gave the Cards their biggest lead of the game at 57-34.
Villanova would not give up and cut the Cardinal lead to 14 (62-48) off two free throws from Sweeney with 2:15 remaining. Asia Taylor hit a jumper on the next Cardinal possession with 1:44 remaining. Neither team was able to score the final minute and a half, giving the Cardinals a 16-point road win.
Louisville finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from behind the arc. Villanova finished the game shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 26.7 from behind the arc. Louisville finished the game with a 36-24 rebounding advantage. The Cardinals turned 22 Villanova turnovers into 20 points.
Louisville will be back in action as they host No. 14/15 West Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 5:00 p.m. The game is a Red Out and all fans are encouraged to wear red. Tickets still remain for the game.
