by LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Louisville started fast and never let up, no matter who was playing.
Sara Hammond scored a season-high 19 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 16 and No. 7 Louisville ran away quickly from No. 22 Iowa for an 86-52 rout Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Seeking a good tuneup before Sunday’s Bluegrass showdown with No. 13 Kentucky, the Cardinals (8-0) never trailed in racing to their first win over a ranked team this season. Hammond’s 9-of-13 shooting led Louisville’s 35-of-66 performance from the field, its fifth 50-percent shooting effort this season.
On the other end, the Cardinals held the Hawkeyes (6-2) to 30 percent, including 1 of 17 from 3-point range.
“It was just not letting them get their 3s off because that’s what they rely on (with) their offense,” Hammond said. “They kind of went away from that and it was like, `What do we do?’ We could read it all over their faces.”
Freshman forward Mariya Moore had 12 points and six assists, and senior guard Bria Smith added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinals, who dominated the Hawkeyes 58-32 in the paint and outrebounded them 50-38.
Bethany Doolittle scored 12 points for Iowa, which fell to 0-2 against Louisville, with both meetings coming this year. And like the Cardinals’ 83-53 drubbing of the Hawkeyes in the second round of last spring’s NCAA tournament, Louisville succeeded in taking Iowa’s scorers out of the game.
Louisville’s defensive effort was particularly impressive considering this Iowa squad featured a starting lineup of double-digit scorers, with Ally Disterhoft (16 points per game) leading the way. But the sophomore guard tallied just nine points and senior guard Samantha Logic eight in a game in which the Hawkeyes committed 20 turnovers leading to 21 Cardinals points.
Then again, Louisville’s goal was making opportunities and baskets difficult to come by for Iowa, and the Cardinals opened strong in holding the Hawkeyes scoreless over a 5-minute stretch that included 11 straight misses. The Hawkeyes went on to shoot 24 percent (9 of 38) in the half and improved just slightly in the second.
“I thought Jude played really hard. I thought Jude really did some great things and she goes zero for three from the field, has two assists, three turnovers. The one turnover is right after a steal and she’s trying to advance it up and she bounces the ball of her foot. I thought she played really well for us.” said head coach Jeff Walz.
UP NEXT
Iowa: Hosts Colorado on Sunday. Louisville: Hosts No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday.
