By Matthew Keck —

It was a scoring frenzy at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 27 as the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals blew out the Pittsburgh Panthers 83-49. This marked the Cardinals’ twelfth straight win of the season.

The Cards (20-1, 9-0) got off to a slow start but led 21-13 after the first quarter. They weren’t looking back either, going on a 9-0 run in the second quarter and heading into the half with a 17-point lead.

Six players contributed to the win, scoring in double digits against the Panthers (3-16, 0-8). They also posted an impressive 23 assists among eight players and 15 steals from seven Cards.

Sophomore Elizabeth Balogun, senior Bionca Dunham, junior Dana Evans and senior Kylee Shook led the team in scoring with 12 points each. Senior Jazmine Jones added 11 and sophomore Elizabeth Dixon 10 points toward the win.

Dunham was on fire from the field, shooting 5-7 and perfect at the free throw line. She also managed to pull in the second most rebounds with three offensive and defensive, for six total.

The Cards dominated the glass on defense with 29 rebounds on that side of the ball. Balogun and sophomore Mykasa Robinson topped the team with the most rebounds, grabbing eight all together.

In addition to her 12 points, Shook had five rebounds and one block and steal. Evans finished shooting 4-9 and with three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop helped the Cards with eight points, two rebounds and assists and one steal. Robinson made her stamp with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while scoring four points.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 47 percent from the field, going 7-24 from three-point range. The bench was also a big factor, scoring 24 points in their victory over the Panthers.

This win marks U of L’s tenth-straight 20-win season, and their twelve game winning streak is their best since the 2018-2019 season when they won 14 in a row.

Louisville’s coach Jeff Walz said after the game how happy he was with the Cardinals’ consistent scoring across the team. He praised his players for their ability to share the ball.

“We needed a game like this at home,” said Walz. “We haven’t played extremely well here [this season], like we have in the past.”

The Cards are headed on the road to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame Jan. 30. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

File Photo Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal