Louisville Defeats Boston College for Tenth Straight Win
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Emily Engstler scored 14 points and No. 3 Louisville beat Boston College 79-49 on Thursday night.
Hailey Van Lith and Payton Verhulst each scored 12 points, and Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon each added 10 for Louisville (11-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Taylor Soule scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half for Boston College (8-4, 0-2).
Both teams entered coming off long breaks and the rust showed early.
Playing for the first time in 11 days, Louisville missed 12 of 15 shots in the first quarter, including eight straight during a five-minute stretch. The Cardinals led 12-11 after a quarter as the Eagles, coming off a nine-day break, committing eight turnovers in the period.
Louisville made up for it in the second period. At one point, the Cardinals made 6 of 7 shots midway through the quarter to turn a 14-13 lead to a 30-20 advantage after Van Lith hit a 3-pointer with 3:02 left in the half.
The Cardinals were never challenged from that point and pulled away in the second half. None of the starters played in the fourth quarter.
Despite the early woes, Louisville finished shooting 46.9% as 10 players scored.
Boston College entered the game as the third-best shooting team in the country at 48.7%. But the Eagles shot a season-low 35.4%. The Cardinals’ defense came in allowing opponents to make just 33.9%, 19th-best in the country.
BIG PICTURE
Boston College: Turnovers continue to be an issue for the Eagles. After committing 29 in a 76-73 loss to North Carolina on Dec. 19 and 30 in a 69-65 Dec. 5 loss at Virginia Commonwealth, BC committed 21 against Louisville. On Thursday, the Eagles could not shoot to keep themselves in the contest.
Louisville: The Cardinals cruised in the ACC opener, and perhaps more importantly, dominated playing mostly reserves in the second half.
UP NEXT
Boston College: Host Syracuse next Thursday. The team’s Sunday game against Pittsburgh has been postponed because the Panthers are adhering to COVID-19 protocols.
Louisville: At Georgia Tech on Sunday.
(Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Cindy Rice Shelton - Louisville Report)
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