Louisville Shows Fight, But Succumbs to No. 3 Notre Dame

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kicking off a three-game home stand with a massive showdown against No. 3 Notre Dame, the Louisville women's basketball program hung with their highly-ranked visitor at times, but were inevitably dealt an 89-71 loss on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (15-7, 8-3 ACC) suffer their first home loss since falling 72-42 to NC State back on Dec. 15, and just their third home loss of the season. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish (19-2, 10-0 ACC) maintain their undefeated status in league play.

Whether it was offensively or defensively, Louisville struggled to contain Notre Dame's size - especially down low. The Cardinals shot just 35.8 percent for the games, including 17-of-51 inside the arc, and were out-rebounded 44-to-29. Meanwhile, the Irish shot it at a 55.0 percent clip, including 27-of-40 on two point tries.

Tajianna Roberts led Louisville in scoring with 17 points, while Olivia Cochran and Jayda Curry were the lone other Cardinals to crack double figures scoring with 14 and 12, respectively.

ND All-American guard Hannah Hidalgo torched UofL, scoring a season-high 34 points, and coming one point shy of matching her career-high.

Notre Dame came out swinging right from the jump, using their overwhelming interior presence to try and set the early tone. In fact, Louisville didn't get their first rebound until the 3:12 mark of the first quarter - when the Fighting Irish already had 10.

Following a 20-6 start to the game, which included a 12-0 run by ND, the Cardinals started to show some life. In the last three-and-a-half minutes of the period, they forced four turnovers and held the Irish to 1-7 from the field after they start 8-of-13. This was used to end the first quarter on a 7-2 run, trimming their deficit to just 22-13.

In the second quarter, Louisville's offense began to catch up to their defense, thanks mainly to the long ball. After shooting just 5-of-13 in the first quarter, they hit six of their first 11 shots in the second - including a perfect 4-for-4 mark on threes to go on a 16-3 run and jump in front.

Louisville shooting did cool off some to close the first half, making just three of their final 11 shots before halftime. But with them holding Notre Dame to 5-of-12 in the period, along with forcing eight turnovers and out-rebounding them 13-to-7 (compared to 3-to-16 in the first quarter), they went into the break trailing only 39-38.

When the two teams returned to action, Louisville struggled to maintain this offensive rhythm, shooting it just 4-for-17 in the third quarter. While Notre Dame opened up the half shooting 2-of-7, they followed that up with an 8-of-10 mark for the rest of the period thanks mainly to Hidalgo, who scored 12 in the third quarter alone.

The Cardinals entered the four quarter trailing just 65-54, but instead of being able to mount a last minute comeback, the Fighting Irish turned it into a blowout. ND shot 9-for-12 in the final period, finishing the game draining 15 of their final 18 attempts. Combine that with UofL going just 6-of-15 in the fourth, they trailed by as much as 23 points.

Next up, Louisville plays their second game of the three-game home stand against another ranked opponent, hosting No. 19 Cal. Tip-off against the Golden Eagles is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Jayda Curry: David Yeazell - Imagn Images)

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