By Ben Goldberger–
The women’s basketball lived up to expectations in the first game of the season, beating the unranked Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers 75-56 Tuesday, November 8th at home. Junior Guard Dana Evans led the team with 19 points and played for all but eight minutes of the game.
Sophomore Forward Elizabeth Dixon also had a great showing, recording a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The No. 9 Cards collectively recorded 22 assists, more than three times as many the Hilltoppers recorded seven. This effort was mostly led by Jazmine Jones who recorded 10 assists along with eight points and rebounds. While coming off of the bench, freshman Norika Konno tallied nine points in 26 minutes of play.
First Half
Louisville jumped to a quick lead against WKU in the first quarter, shooting just under 70 percent from the field, including knocking down three of four 3-point shots. This was the best shooting percentage the Cards had the whole game, shooting a measly 33 percent in the second quarter.
Jones was responsible for seven out of the nine baskets made by the Cards in the first quarter, recording six assists and two points. All of the nine first quarter baskets came off of assists.
Sophomore guard Elizabeth Balogun was on fire in the first quarter, hitting all three 3-point shots attempted. She went on to go 4-4 in the first half and 5-6 for the whole game.
Louisville finished the first half with a comfortable nine point lead over WKU at 34-25.
Second Half
The Cards then scored 21 points, yet the Hilltoppers scored 18 points, more than any other quarter. This was mostly related to sloppy defense, forfeiting 10 free throw shot attempts in the third quarter alone. The Hilltoppers capitalized on this by scoring six points off of free throws.
On the contrary, Louisville only got one free throw shot, with Evans knocking down the sole attempt of the quarter.
Evans recorded eight points in the third quarter and 15 in the second half. She made four three-pointers in the second half, elevating the Cards to a comfortable lead.
Konno made her presence felt in the fourth quarter, recording five points and, including an and-1, an assist and a rebound. She had a very productive showing coming off of the bench, outscoring Jazmine Jones by one point.
The Cards host the Central Michigan Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center.
Photo by Matthew Keck // The Louisville Cardinal
