INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Mariya Moore scored 22 points in her collegiate debut and No. 12 Louisville beat IUPUI 89-69 on Friday night.
Bria Smith added 15 points and another true freshman, Myisha Hines-Allen, scored 11 for the Cardinals, who reached the Elite Eight last season before joining the ACC. Sara Hammond grabbed 10 rebounds.
Senior Jude Schimmel got the start at point guard for the Cardinals and added 9 points, 4 assists and 6 steals in 29 minutes of play.
Jude told ICTMN
““This year I feel our defense is so much stronger than it has been the past few years,” she said. “Our defense should lead to our offense. If we can get everybody to pitch in – five points here, 10 points there…Our team needs a little bit of everything from everyone.”
IUPUI, which won a school-record 23 games last season, was led Shaquira Scott with 16 points. Akilah Sims added 12, Mikale Rogers 11 and Martha Burse 10. The Jaguars were hurt by 26 turnovers.
Louisville built a 41-20 halftime lead behind Moore’s 16 points. The Cardinals made nine of their 16 steals and scored 21 points off turnovers in the first half.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 30 with 12:37 left. The Jaguars got as close as 15 with 6:02 remaining.
Louisville was outrebounded 36-32 but made up for it with 53.1 percent shooting. IUPUI shot 44.2 percent.
Louisville will now head back home for the home opener on Sunday, November 16th at the KFC Yum! center. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM EST against UT-Martin.