Louisville Trounces Albany in NCAA Tournament Opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On the same day that head coach Jeff Walz received another contract extension, the Louisville's women's basketball program left little doubt in their 2022 NCAA Tournament opener, trouncing Albany 81-53 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Walz, who will remain with the program through the 2028-29 season, moves to a perfect 13-0 in the first round of the Big Dance. His top-seeded Cardinals (26-4) now move onto the Round of 32 for a matchup with ninth-seeded Gonzaga (27-6), with tip-off coming Sunday, Mar. 20 in their final game at home this season.

Louisville suffocated sixteenth-seeded Albany all night long on the defensive end, forcing 26 total turnovers and scoring 37 points off them. The Cardinals held the Great Danes to 29.2 percent from the field in the first half, and 40.8 percent for the game.

The Cards shot 52.4 percent from the field, 37.5 percent on three-point attempts, and featured four double digit scorers. Hailey Van Lith paced the offense with a game-high 20 points, with Emily Engstler pouring 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds and seven steals. Kianna Smith and Olivia Cochran had 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Engstler, a graduate transfer from Syracuse, also cracked the 1,000-point plateau for her career in the game.

Louisville's stifling defense was on full display in the opening quarter, as Albany connected on just three of their first 14 field goals. This was also coupled by a slow offensive start for the Cardinals, going just 8-21 to open the game, but a strong opening quarter from Smith still gave them a 19-7 lead after the first period.

The Great Danes made things somewhat interesting early in the second quarter, using a 9-0 run to pull within five points with 6:46 left in the half.

But after that, it was all Louisville. Between sinking 11 of their final 14 shots of the half, while simultaneously holding Albany to 1-7 and forcing eight turnovers, the Cardinals went on a 27-6 run - with 15 of those points coming from Van Lith - to head into halftime up 48-20.

Albany did show some signs of life in the second half, outscoring Louisville 18-17 in the third quarter and only dropping the fourth by a score of 18-13, while also shooting 52.0 percent for the period. But by then, it was far too little, far too late for the Great Danes.

(Photo of Chelsie Hall: Cindy Rice Shelton - Louisville Report)

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