By Elizabeth Scanland
Louisville defeated the No. 23 Florida State Seminoles on the road to pick up their third straight win.
Taking control
After losing the tip and immediately allowing a quick jump shot made by Ta’Niya Latson, Ja’Leah Williams quickly responded with one of her own sending the Cards on a rampage for several minutes.
Louisville went on a 9-0 scoring run with help from a Nyla Harris layup and a deep three-pointer from Jayda Curry.
While FSU was able to get some good shots to fall, Louisville controlled the pace and smothered the Seminoles high-octane offense.
The first quarter ended with a rare three from Elif Istanbulluoglu just as the shot clock was expiring.
Louisville led 25-12 to close the first.
The second quarter didn’t get off to as good of a start as the first, but was a high bar to clear.
The Cards struggled to hit shots early, but Tajianna Roberts was finally able to get something going with a jump shot reigniting the team’s confidence.
The teams went back and forth, but the Cards never lost the momentum. The closest the game ever got in the second was 11 points.
However, towards the end of the quarter, the Cards went on a scoring drought but was ended in the final two minutes with a steal from Imani Berry who was easily able to find Mackenly Randolph for a layup.
The second ended with another buzzer beater this time by a steal and score from Curry.
The Cards headed into the locker room up 44-28.
Lessons learned
The Cards kept trucking along, battling with FSU and pushing the lead as high as 17 points.
Bu tLouisville started to get sloppy on both ends of the ball, and struggled to defend without fouling which sent the Seminoles on an 8-0 scoring run.
Free throws became a notable stat, with FSU shooting 15 and the Cards shooting none, as the lead was cut down as low as eight points.
Louisville did come out of a timeout with a plan. Roberts put an end to the scoring drought with a jumpshot and a shot behind the arc.
Louisville led 63-52 to end the third.
The Cards jumped out in front to start the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run to give them an 18-point lead, the biggest of the game.
Florida State responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but it took much longer for the Seminoles run to materialize. By the time the Cards got back in the scoring column, they simply needed to hold serve to avoid a late-game collapse.
Louisville did just that and won it 83-69.
Reaching form
Over the past three games, this is a completely new Cardinals team.
Louisville has continued their improved turnover numbers and has added to it a stingy perimeter defense. The Cards held Florida State to just 15% from deep, the third game in a row holding opponents to below 22% from range.
The Cards also totally dominated the glass, hauling in 47 rebounds compared to FSU’s 34.
Roberts picked up a double-double Thursday with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Curry also had 17 points, six assists and two steals.
Olivia Cochran picked up her 1,000th career rebound, going Angel McCoughtry and Myisha Hines-Allen as the only players to reach that mark in Louisville history.
Despite a slow start to the season, the Cards have slowly started to come alive and find their groove.
After some rare uncertainty earlier this season, the Cards have all but punched their ticket to the tournament.
Louisville moves to 18-7 overall and 11-3 in ACC play.
Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics
