University of Louisville
21-1,10-0ACC
Notre Dame
7-14,2-7ACC
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No. 5 Louisville Routs Notre Dame, 86-54
January 30, 2020 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals move to 10-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with the win.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Dana Evans returned to her home state and scored 17 points as No. 5 Louisville won its 13th straight game, routing overmatched Notre Dame 86-54 on Thursday night.
Jazmine Jones scored 14 points, Kylee Shook 12 and Elizabeth Balogun 11 for the Cardinals (21-1, 10-0 ACC). Louisville shot 34 of 63 (54% percent).
Louisville next plays the USA Women's National Team on Sunday in an exhibition.
Katlyn Gilbert scored 18 points and Sam Brunelle had 17 for the Irish (7-14, 2-7), which has lost eight home games this season. Notre Dame, which began Division I play in the 1980-81 season, had lost seven at home twice before, the last time in 1991-92 in head coach Muffet McGraw's fifth season in South Bend.
Louisville jumped to a 9-0 lead before the Irish scored with 7:10 left in the opening quarter. Head coach Jeff Walz called a timeout with 4:36 remaining after Notre Dame closed to 14-8 on Gilbert's drive down the lane.
''We had four turnovers in our first 10 possessions of the game,'' Walz said. ''You just can't do that. I told them to stay focused, take care of the basketball and give each other shots.''
The Cardinals then responded with 3-pointers from Evans, who played basketball at Gary West High School, and Balogun and finished on a 13-3 run to lead 27-11 after the first quarter.
Brunelle scored seven points to help the Irish close to 33-23 with 5:52 left before the half. But, Louisville responded with a 13-2 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes and eventually doubled the score, 50-25.
''Louisville is a really good team,'' McGraw said. ''They have depth, they have size and they've got athletic ability.''
The win marks UofL's first in South Bend since Feb. 11, 2009.
BIG PICTURE
Louisville: The Cardinals made shots from everywhere against Notre Dame's soft 2-3 zone, and Walz's team was just as good defensively, limiting Notre Dame to 30% shooting (18 of 61). Plus, they dominated the boards with a 45-32 edge and had six blocks from the 6-foot-4 Shook.
Notre Dame: Against the Cardinals, it was quite apparent how far the Fighting Irish have fallen in talent since their national runner-up finish last April. McGraw called three first-half timeouts to try to arouse her team, but Louisville just had too much for the Irish, who used seven players for most of the game before turning to its walk-ons.
UP NEXT
Louisville: Following Sunday exhibition against the USA Women's National Team, the Cardinals host No. 14 Florida State on Feb. 6.
Notre Dame: Sunday at Georgia Tech.
