Shorthanded Louisville Suffocates Longwood for Bounce Back Win
LOUISVILLE. Ky. (AP) — Chrislyn Carr scored 17 points to lead No. 10 Louisville to a 100-37 rout of Longwood on Friday.
The Cardinals (5-2) were without Hailey Van Lith, who did not play because of an unspecified injury. The star junior guard, whose 21.2 scoring average was tied for 24th nationally entering Friday, was not needed against the Lancers (1-4) as her teammates jumped out to an 18-2 lead in the first 4:04.
Nine Louisville players scored in the first quarter, when the Cardinals shot 63.2% and led 35-10. The 35-point period was the Cardinals’ most productive since notching that many in the fourth quarter of a 100-64 victory at Syracuse on Feb. 6. That’s also the last time Louisville broke triple digits in a game.
Carr, a graduate transfer from Syracuse, scored nine points in the opening period. She hit on 5 of 8 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, and finished with a season-best seven rebounds and five assists.
Louisville shot a season-best 55.9% and had six players score in double figures. Payton Verhulst had a career-high 16 on 7 of 9 shooting, while Morgan Jones added 15 points in just 18 minutes.
Merissah Russell scored a career-high 11 points, and Olivia Cochran posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Norika Konno also scored a season-high 10 and had a career-high seven assists.
Adriana Shipp-Davis scored 14 points to lead the Lancers, who shot just 23% and were outrebounded 57-23.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Louisville has been a Top 10 mainstay since the 2017 preseason poll, a stretch of 97 straight polls. Monday’s 65-55 loss to South Dakota State in the Battle 4 Atlantis fifth-place game likely will end that streak.
BIG PICTURE
Longwood: The Lancers lost nearly half of the players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. First-year coach Erika Lang-Montgomery has tried to install an up-tempo playing style this season, but her squad could not keep up with the Cardinals.
Louisville: Coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Cardinals are looking for more consistency scoring-wise from players other than Van Lith. Friday’s performance looked promising, but tougher tests loom.
UP NEXT
Longwood travels to No. 11 Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Louisville returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Ohio State, currently the fourth-ranked team in the nation.
(Photo of Morgan Jones: Cindy Rice Shelton - Louisville Report)
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