By Pk Bartley
A tale of two halves was the name of this game. In the first half of U of L’s game against Eastern Illinois, the Cards played like a team who was trying not to lose instead of playing to win.
The Lady Cards shot 50 percent in the first half, and 33 percent behind the three point line. However, Eastern Illinois was able to hang around due mostly to their good shooting hitting 44 percent of their shots in the first half. It seemed as though every run Louisville made in the first half, the Panthers matched it. The Cards’ got out rebounded by two, 18-16 despite having a height advantage. U of L only led by six at half time 37-31.
Things changed drastically in the second half. The Cards went on a 27-6 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half to make the score 64-37.
The big difference was on defense. The Lady Cards limited the Panthers to just 23 percent shooting in the second half. Louisville was able to do this by eliminating the Panthers to just one shot nearly every time they had the ball.
Also, the Panthers were forced into committing 25 turnovers for the game compared to just 12 for U of L.
“You saw a team in the first half ready for the holidays you saw a team in the second half that knew we needed to finish on a positive note,” says U of L head coach Martin Clapp. “We didn’t want to win by ten or five in the second half. It was just like at totally different team in the second half. The concentration level was there. They shot better free throws, they rebounded well, and they got the ball inside where it needed to be.” The win improves Louisville’s record to and even 4-4.
On Friday, U of L will host Ball State, the team that knocked them out of the WNIT last year. The game will be at Freedom Hall at 7pm.
