Third Quarter Woes Doom Louisville Against Wake Forest
Press Release from the University of Louisville:
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The University of Louisville women's basketball team dropped its second game in a row with a 68-57 loss to Wake Forest Thursday night at LJVM Coliseum. The Cardinals fell behind in the third quarter and cut the lead down to two twice in the fourth but were unable to overcome the deficit.
Morgan Jones led the Cards with 15 points to go with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Hailey Van Lith had a team-high five assists to go with eight points and two steals. Olivia Cochran scored in double figures with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
After giving up the first basket of the game, the Cardinals ripped off an 11-0 run to put some distance between them and the Demon Deacons. Louisville was active in the passing lanes and forced seven turnovers in the first quarter. Wake went 3-for-4 from three and closed the gap as the quarter came to an end. The Cards held an 18-14 lead after the first quarter and Jones led the Cards with nine points.
The Cardinals got hot from the floor in the second quarter as they shot 66.7 percent from the floor after making 8-of-12 shots. The lead grew to 11 points two separate times in the quarter as the Cards continued to force Demon Deacon turnovers. They forced six turnovers in the quarter and took a 34-25 lead into the half.
Jones led the Cardinals with 11 points at the half while seven different Cardinals scored in the first 20 minutes. Van Lith had a team-high four assists to go with four points and two steals in the first half. The Cardinals had nine assists on 14 made shots in the first half after having six assists for the whole game against NC State.
The Demon Deacons got back in the game with an 18-0 run in the third quarter and took their first lead since the opening minutes. The Cardinals ended the run on a layup made by Cochran and she was fouled on the play. Cochran made the free throw to complete the three-point play and pulled the Cards within three. At the end of the third, Louisville trailed 51-45.
The Cardinals hit three of their first six shots in the fourth quarter and trimmed the deficit to four at the final media timeout with 5:00 left in regulation. The deficit got down to two points twice in the final minutes but the Cardinals were unable to get over the hump.
The Cardinals head back to campus but will be right back on the road as they have a Sunday matinee matchup against Syracuse on deck. The Cardinals and Orange will square off from the JMA Wireless Dome at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday and the game will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network. This will be the second meeting between the two schools as Louisville won the first matchup 86-77 at the KFC Yum! Center on Dec. 29.
(Photo of Louisville Players: Michael Clevenger - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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