Louisville Defeats Syracuse for Seventh Straight Win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Two days removed from the Louisville men's basketball program earning a decisive victory over Syracuse, their women's basketball counterparts repeated that same feat, winning 72-62 on Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (13-5, 6-1 ACC) not only maintains sole possession of second place in the ACC standings, they extend their winning streak to seven, matching their longest since the second half of the 2021-22 season. Louisville started that year on a 15-game winning streak.

Despite from some pockets of clunkiness, Louisville's offense was mostly efficient against Syracuse. They shot 46.0 percent from the field, were 5-of-15 on three-point attempts, and assisted on 18 of their 29 made baskets to counter 15 turnovers.

While there were some struggles with the Orange's size, the Cardinals still out-rebounded them 40-to-29, and out-scored them 36-to-30 in the paint. This came in spite of a 42.4 percent shooting night by SU.

Five Cards finished in double figures scoring, led by Tajianna Roberts' 13 point outing. Ja'Leah Williams nearly secured a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Nyla Harris had a 10-point and 11-rebound double-double.

Louisville put their foot on the gas as soon as the ball was tipped off, scoring the first six points and opening up the game on a 13-3 run. However, five Cardinals turnovers in the latter five minutes of the first quarter allowed Syracuse to close the period strong, with the Orange trimming the home advantage to 21-15 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, both teams struggled to make their shots. Louisville went 5-of-19 in the period after shooting 10-of-18 in the first, while Syracuse connected on six of their 15 tries in the second after a 5-of-11 showing in the first. Still, it was enough for the Cards to take a 33-30 lead into halftime.

Cuse scored the first basket of the second half to get within one, but that's as close as they got. The Cards immediately followed that up with a 21-7 run, and countered the Orange's 9-of-17 shooting in the period with a blazing 11-of-15 mark, heading into the final quarter with a 59-51 lead.

Louisville did score the first four points of the fourth, but Syracuse wouldn't go away easily. The Cardinals missed eight of their final nine shots of the game, allowing the Orange to trail by as little as five with 2:33 left despite shooting 5-for-16 in the period. Thankfully, five free throws and a layup by Cochran spurned a last-ditch comeback attempt.

Next up, Louisville kicks off a three-game road trip with a matchup at Virginia Tech. Tip-off against the Hokies is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Jayda Curry: Lucas Boland - Imagn Images)

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