Louisville Thumps Clemson to Remain Unbeaten in ACC Play
Press Release from the University of Louisville:
CLEMSON, S.C. — The No. 13/12 Louisville women's basketball team (16-2, 5-0 ACC) put on an incredible shooting display in the first half and rode it to a 81-64 win over Clemson (8-10, 1-5 ACC) Thursday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Louisville shot a blistering 62.1 percent from the floor in the first half to give itself a 15 point lead and never looked back. The Cardinals improved to 5-0 in ACC play and 3-0 on the road in conference play. Louisville is the only team remaining in the conference to be undefeated on the road and overall in ACC play.
Kiki Jefferson had an all around game for the Cards against the Tigers as she scored 17 points, shot 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from three, tied a career high with eight assists and had four rebounds. Jayda Curry led the Cards in scoring for the second-straight game as she tied a season-high with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Sydney Taylor scored in double figures with 11 points and led the team with a season-high eight rebounds. Olivia Cochran tallied her 10th-straight double figure game with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.
The Cardinals as a team shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the floor, the third-straight game shooting 50 percent or better. The Cardinals have shot 50 percent or better in four of their five ACC games this season. Coming off a career-best 37 points against Syracuse, the Cardinals held Amari Robinson to 10 points, her fewest points scored in her last five games.
The Cardinals got out of the gate hot from the floor as they hit four of their first five shots in the first quarter. The hot shooting continued the full quarter as the Cardinals were 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) from the floor and 3-for-5 (60.0 percent) from behind the arc. Louisville forced Clemson into six turnovers in the quarter and held a 26-13 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
The Cardinals shooting cooled a bit in the second quarter but it did not affect the lead as the Cardinals continued to limit opportunities at the offensive end for the Tigers. The Cardinals continued to turn the Tigers over which helped hold the Louisville lead. Louisville finished the quarter well, hitting four of its final five shots, including a floater from Curry to beat the buzzer and give the Cardinals a 47-32 lead into the break.
Curry was white hot in the first half of play as she led the Cards with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Jefferson had 10 points in the first half with a team-best six assists and three rebounds. The Cardinals as a team shot 62.1 percent (18-for-29) in the first half and had 11 assists on their 18 made baskets.
Louisville continued to push the pace offensively to start the third quarter. The Cardinals ripped off a 7-0 run to extend the lead to the largest of the game at the time, 58-37, and forced Clemson to burn a timeout. Louisville controlled the quarter as it outscored the Tigers 19-9 and led 66-41 heading into the final quarter.
The Cardinals emptied the bench in the final quarter as they closed out their 16th win of the season and stayed undefeated in ACC play.
The Cardinals will close out the two-game road week with a Sunday matinee against No. 23/24 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Top-25 matchup between the Cardinals and Tar Heels will begin at 2 p.m. ET from Carmichael Arena and the game will be aired nationally on the ACC Network.
(Photo of Jeff Walz: Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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