- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,170,403
- Reaction score
- 59
No. 11 Louisville women’s basketball didn’t have Elif Istanbulluoglu when it faced Pitt on Sunday. Istanbulluoglu was fresh off a career-best 23-point performance against Miami when she was ruled unavailable three days later.
But the Cardinals didn’t need her to handle the Panthers (8-10, 1-4 ACC), putting the visitors away, 86-46, at the KFC Yum! Center. They will, however, need her this week when the Cardinals have arguably their toughest week of conference play. UofL (16-3, 5-0 ACC) will put its nine-game winning streak on the line when it plays at Notre Dame at 6 p.m. Thursday before going to N.C. State for a 1 p.m. contest next Sunday. Louisville is one of three ACC teams with an unbeaten conference record along with Duke and Virginia, both of which were on seven-game winning streaks heading into Sunday.
Reyna Scott started in Istanbulluoglu’s place and finished with a team-best five assists with four points and three rebounds. It didn’t take Louisville long to put away Pitt, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Panthers to two field goals for a 25-6 lead after the first quarter. All five starters scored in the first four minutes, led by Anaya Hardy’s four points for the early 14-5 advantage. She and Laura Ziegler held down the frontcourt in Istanbulluoglu’s absence, with Ziegler contributing 13 points and seven rebounds and Hardy totaling a career-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds and three steals.
The Cards’ 19-point lead after the first quarter allowed them to get deeper in their bench early. Although the group is averaging the second-most points per game in the country (35.9), its biggest contribution against the Panthers in the second quarter was rebounds. Yevheniia Putra and Grace Mbugua each had three boards in six minutes to give UofL a 30-16 rebounding edge after two quarters. UofL entered the game averaging 43.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 26th most among Division I teams, and had 60 against Pitt.
Though Mackenly Randolph and Hardy eventually came back at different points, none of the starters were in the game when the fourth quarter initially started, giving the Cardinals’ bench the opportunity to preserve the 69-32 rout. Mbugua had a double-double with a career-high 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Cardinals cruised to another ACC victory.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville WBB overcomes Elif Istanbulluoglu's absence in rout of Pitt
Continue reading...
But the Cardinals didn’t need her to handle the Panthers (8-10, 1-4 ACC), putting the visitors away, 86-46, at the KFC Yum! Center. They will, however, need her this week when the Cardinals have arguably their toughest week of conference play. UofL (16-3, 5-0 ACC) will put its nine-game winning streak on the line when it plays at Notre Dame at 6 p.m. Thursday before going to N.C. State for a 1 p.m. contest next Sunday. Louisville is one of three ACC teams with an unbeaten conference record along with Duke and Virginia, both of which were on seven-game winning streaks heading into Sunday.
Reyna Scott started in Istanbulluoglu’s place and finished with a team-best five assists with four points and three rebounds. It didn’t take Louisville long to put away Pitt, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Panthers to two field goals for a 25-6 lead after the first quarter. All five starters scored in the first four minutes, led by Anaya Hardy’s four points for the early 14-5 advantage. She and Laura Ziegler held down the frontcourt in Istanbulluoglu’s absence, with Ziegler contributing 13 points and seven rebounds and Hardy totaling a career-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds and three steals.
The Cards’ 19-point lead after the first quarter allowed them to get deeper in their bench early. Although the group is averaging the second-most points per game in the country (35.9), its biggest contribution against the Panthers in the second quarter was rebounds. Yevheniia Putra and Grace Mbugua each had three boards in six minutes to give UofL a 30-16 rebounding edge after two quarters. UofL entered the game averaging 43.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 26th most among Division I teams, and had 60 against Pitt.
Though Mackenly Randolph and Hardy eventually came back at different points, none of the starters were in the game when the fourth quarter initially started, giving the Cardinals’ bench the opportunity to preserve the 69-32 rout. Mbugua had a double-double with a career-high 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Cardinals cruised to another ACC victory.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville WBB overcomes Elif Istanbulluoglu's absence in rout of Pitt
Continue reading...
