No. 15 Cardinals Never Trail in 73-66 Win Over No. 12/14 Notre Dame

Thursday, February 8

LOUISVILLE, KY

6 PM

University of Louisville

20-4,9-2ACC

#12/14 Notre Dame

17-5,7-4ACC

Notre Dame

Louisville

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

No. 15 Cardinals Never Trail in 73-66 Win Over No. 12/14 Notre Dame

February 08, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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Nyla Harris records career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds

By: Trey Curry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 15 Louisville women's basketball team (20-4, 9-2 ACC) never trailed in their 73-66 victory over No. 12/14 Notre Dame (17-5, 7-4 ACC) Thursday night inside the KFC Yum! Center, moving to 13-0 at home this season and notching the 14th-straight season that the Cards have won at least 20 games.

Louisville managed to hold the Irish to 66 points, just the third time Notre Dame has been held under the 70-point mark and the first time the Irish never led in a game this year.

Nyla Harris led the way with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, making nine of her 11 shots from the field and recording her team-leading fourth double-double this season. Sydney Taylor totaled 13 points, four assists, and two rebounds, and Kiki Jefferson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points on top of eight rebounds, four assists, and a 6-for-6 night from the charity stripe. Nina Rickards played a crucial role on the glass, pulling down nine rebounds while tallying six points.

After a slow start for both teams in the first period, the Cards were able to string together an 11-0 run in just 2:13, taking control at 13-2 with just over five minutes left in the frame. Notre Dame responded with their own run to close the quarter, scoring 10 to just three for Louisville, to cut their deficit to 15-12 going into the second period. The Cardinals forced seven turnovers by the Irish but committed five of their own for a total of 12 between the two teams.

Harris caught fire in the second frame, tallying eight points and five rebounds to help Louisville maintain a steady lead throughout the quarter. A Merissah Russell fastbreak layup put the Cards up 30-25 with roughly two minutes left in the half, but the Irish recorded the final four points to come within just one at 30-29 going into the break.

Notre Dame came within one once again in the third period at 36-35, but the Cards refused to give up the lead, reeling off an 11-2 run that was capped off by a Jayda Curry three-pointer and a Harris layup to extend the Louisville lead to 47-37 with four minutes left in the frame. Kiki Jefferson's seven points in the quarter led the way as the Cardinals took a 54-47 advantage into the final period.

A 9-2 run beginning at 8:43 in the fourth quarter and including three consecutive three-pointers gave Louisville a commanding 66-53 lead about midway through the frame. Later, Notre Dame had a 6-0 burst to put the pressure on the Cardinals, cutting their deficit to 68-61 with 1:33 to go, but Louisville hit enough free throws down the stretch to close out their sixth ranked win of the year at 73-66.

Following the brief stop at home, the Cardinals are heading back on the road for the next two games. The Cardinals will have a familiar opponent up next as they travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange this Sunday. It will be the second matchup between the two teams after the Cardinals defeated Syracuse on Feb. 1. The Cardinals and Orange will square off from the JMA Dome at 12 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast nationally on the CW.