Louisville Defeats Florida State, Awaits Likely No. 1 Ranking

The Cardinals continue their undefeated run to the season with a win against FSU, with the No. 1 overall ranking possibly in sight.

(Photo of Zaire Hicks, Olivia Cochran. Hailey Van Lith: Scott Utterback/Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kianna Smith scored 16 points to lead No. 2 Louisville to an 84-56 victory over Florida State on Sunday.

The win by the Cardinals (12-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) coupled by an overtime loss by top-ranked Stanford at Colorado may likely give Louisville its first No. 1 ranking in program history when the new poll comes out Monday.

Smith, a redshirt junior, came off the bench and scored 11 of her points in the first half. She was one of five Louisville players to reach double figures. Freshman guard Hailey Van Lith added 15.

Louisville was originally slated to play N.C. State on Sunday, but the Wolfpack are on pause right now because of the coronavirus. The ACC reworked the schedule to setup the game against the Seminoles (4-2, 3-2), who played for the first time since New Year’s Eve due to COVID-19 issues. They dressed and played just eight of their 13 players Sunday.

Bionca Jackson scored a career-high 21 to lead Florida State.

FSU hung with Louisville for most of the first half and led 20-19 after a Sayawni Lassiter 3-pointer with 8:00 left in the second quarter. However, an 11-2 run by the Cardinals over the next 2:54 put the hosts in control for good.

Louisville shot 65.4 percent in the first half, including 10-of-14 (71.4%) in the second quarter.

Freshman forward Olivia Cochran added 14 points for the Cardinals, while Dana Evans pitched in 12 points and eight assists. Liz Dixon scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: Playing in their first game in nearly three weeks, the shorthanded Seminoles kept pace early, but with a short bench, they weren’t able to keep up with a deeper Cardinals squad.

Louisville: The Cardinals continued their sharp shooting from beyond the 3-point arc as they went 11-for-23 Sunday. After starting the month making just 7-of-38 in their first two games of the season, the Cardinals have made 47-of-109 (43.1%) in the five games since.

UP NEXT

Florida State hosts No. 3 North Carolina State Thursday night.

Louisville hosts No. 24 Syracuse Thursday night.

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