Louisville Blasts Notre Dame in Top 20 Matchup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kianna Smith scored 17 points, Hailey Van Lith added 16 and No. 3 Louisville outscored No. 18 Notre Dame 29-6 over parts of the middle two quarters for a 73-47 rout on Sunday.

Louisville (22-2, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) took control of an initially close contest late in the second quarter after two quick fouls sent 6-foot-3 Fighting Irish forward Maya Dodson to the bench with 3:54 left. The Cardinals followed with six points over 1:16 for a 27-19 lead before Hall added a 3-pointer and Kianna Smith two free throws to cap the 11-2 spurt for a 32-21 halftime lead.

Chelsea Hall’s six consecutive points keyed Louisville’s 11-0 spurt coming out of the break and eventual 18-4 run that broke the game open at 52-25. The Cardinals easily maintained a 20-point cushion to earn their seventh series win in eight meetings against Notre Dame (19-6, 10-4).

Sonia Citron had 13 points and Olivia Miles 11 for the Irish, who had won five of six including an upset of then-No. 3 North Carolina State on Feb. 1.

Hall finished with 13 points while Emily Engstler had nine with 12 rebounds for Louisville, which dominated the boards 50-32. The Cardinals which returned from unexpected break after Thursday night’s game against Virginia was canceled because of travel issues with the Cavaliers. 

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The Irish struggled in many phases areas after a solid start. They shot just 2 of 22 from long range and weren’t much better inside the arc (18 of 41). Dodson (eight points, nine rebounds) was absent for final four minutes of the first half, but that was long enough to change momentum on both ends of the floor.

Louisville: The Cardinals showed no rust from the extra time down time, though it took a half for them to shoot consistently. They made 50% after halftime, helped largely by a rebounding edge that provided extra chances.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame visits Georgia Tech on Thursday.

Louisville visits North Carolina on Thursday.

(Photo of Anaya Peoples, Hailey Van Lith: Cindy Rice Shelton: Louisville Report)

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