RV/#24 Cardinals Tame Wildcats, 86-72

Sunday, December 11

Lexington, KY (Rupp Arena)

1 pm

University of Louisville

7-4,0-0ACC

Kentucky

7-2,0-0SEC

Louisville

Kentucky

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

December 11, 2022 | Women's Basketball

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The Cardinals win their sixth-straight game over Kentucky

By: Matt Paras

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The RV/#24 Louisville Cardinals kept the state red as they defeated Kentucky, 86-72, Sunday afternoon at Rupp Arena in the Battle for the Bluegrass. It was the sixth-straight win for the Cardinals (7-4) over the Wildcats (7-2), the longest winning streak Louisville has had in the rivalry's history.

Junior guard Hailey Van Lith scored a game-high 21 points in the win, the fourth time in her last five games she has scored 20 points or more. Liz Dixon had one of her best games of the season with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Morgan Jones had 12 points, a season-high eight rebounds and tied a career high with four blocks. Olivia Cochran had a team-high nine rebounds to go with nine points. The Cardinals made 33 of 39 free throws in the win, setting a program record for most free throws in a single game. It broke the previous record of 32, which was set in 2009 against Rutgers.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 14-6 lead to start the first quarter. Louisville attacked the paint early on and Dixon was the main recipient as she was 3-for-3 with six points in the opening quarter. The Cards finished with 14 points in the first quarter as they held a 21-14 lead after the first 10 minutes. Louisville also collected six offensive rebounds in the quarter.

Louisville continued the momentum into the second quarter as it scored the first six points and forced an early Kentucky timeout. The Wildcats cut into the lead during the middle portion of the quarter but the Cardinals finished strong. Louisville went on a 7-0 run and held the Wildcats scoreless over the final three minutes of the quarter and took its biggest lead of the half, 42-25, into the break. Dixon led the Cards with 10 points as eight different players scored in the first half.

Louisville's lead extended to a game-high 22 points in the third quarter before the Wildcats began to cut into the lead. Kentucky got the deficit down to 12 in the final minute before Chrislyn Carr beat the buzzer with a jumper at the end of the quarter. The Cards were outscored 22-19 in the frame but led 61-47 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams were hot from the floor as they both shot over 45 percent. The Cardinals lead ended up being too much for the Wildcats to come back from as Louisville held on to claim their sixth-straight win over their in-state rivals.

The Cardinals will return home for their next road game in a familiar venue. The Cardinals will return to Freedom Hall for the first time since the 2009-10 season to take on Bellarmine on Wednesday, December 14. The Cardinals and Knights will square off at 6:30 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.