By Derek DeBurger
No. 19 Louisville rolls past the Bucknell Bison in another important under-the-radar game.
Sunday’s game was a closer contest than Thursday’s game against Bellarmine as Bucknell came to the KFC Yum! Center ready to play. They jumped on the Cards right after the opening tip, getting in the face of whoever had the ball, forcing and converting off of lots of turnovers. The Cards were also struggling on defense to stop guard Isabella King as she started hot from deep, shooting three-for-three in the first quarter. Bucknell seemed as if they wanted this win more.
After a close first quarter, Louisville led 22-18.
In the second quarter, there was a shift. The Cards locked in and showed which team was a rightful power-six and who was mid-major. Bucknell only scored six points in the second quarter while the Cards consistently went inside and dominated in the paint and on the free throw line.
At halftime, there was a major discrepancy in free throw attempts; Louisville had shot 10 to Bucknell’s zero.
In the second half, Louisville flexed their muscles and put the game to rest. Once again guard Sydney Taylor was the Cards leading scorer with 17 points.
Head coach Jeff Walz has begun the process of shortening up his bench as only 10 players got minutes. There was also more of a focus on who would ultimately be the go-to options on offense as only four players reached double-digit points.
One nagging issue for the Cards is the turnovers on offense. The Cards had 15 turnovers, a new season high, with the first 10 turnovers coming in the first half. Louisville did a better job after the first quarter tightening up their handles and passes, but the fact that the Cards haven’t been able to put together a low-turnover performance is a bit concerning.
The Cards will improve, though. Walz has shown that his teams just get better and better. For now let’s focus on the positives, especially the 4-0 start this Cards team has jumped out to on the year.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Louisville Athletics
