Louisville Holds Notre Dame to Three First-Quarter Points in Blowout Win

On a weekend highlighted by an unprecedented amount of top-10 upsets, Louisville made sure to leave zero room for doubt in a dominant showing on Sunday.

The Cardinals outscored Notre Dame 45-6 through the first 15 minutes of play en route to a lopsided 86-64 road victory against the Fighting Irish.

The season-ending victory marked Notre Dame’s first home loss of the season, and Louisville’s 11th win in its last 12 games.

Led by sophomore guard Hailey Van Lith along with seniors Emily Engstler and Kianna Smith, the Cardinals set the tone early and never looked back, jumping out to an absurd 31-3 lead in the first quarter. The 86-64 final score marked the most points Louisville has scored this season as well as its fewest allowed.

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Smith and Van Lith each finished with 20 points and combined for six threes on 11 attempts. Engstler tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.

Louisville’s 28-point first-quarter lead paved the way for an eventual 54-15 halftime lead, the most points scored by Louisville in a half this season. 

The Cardinals finished the half shooting 23-34 from the field, and 8-12 from downtown. Notre Dame managed only six made field goals on 27 attempts.

With the regular season now in the books, the Cardinals (25-3, 16-2 ACC) are a projected No. 1 seed. They could win a share of the ACC regular-season championship if Virginia Tech beats NC State on Sunday night.

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