Louisville Beats EKU 76-51

If all you saw was the final score you might think this game was a cake-walk but if you actually watched the game you probably want to forget the first half. However as Coach Walz said, “This was probably the first game all year that I’ve seen us look as bad as we did in the first half. It was not good basketball at all. I’m hoping it’s a lesson that we’ve all learned.” The good news is that the Cards got focused and turned a 30-27 halftime lead into a 54-37 lead heading into the 4th quarter. The big adjustment according to Coach Walz: “We played harder.”

One bright spot in the first half was the first appearance of Grace Mbugua a 6’4” freshman from Danville, KY. She’d been out with a knee injury but came in tonight and got 10 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and one steal in 11 minutes of play. Coach Walz said, “I was really excited for her it’s been a process to get her back to where she is right now. Now we’ll see how she feels tomorrow. I thought she looked like she was having a ton of fun out there. I wasn’t expecting her to make a bunch of shots— the energy, the adrenaline, first time out there on the floor— but she rebounded the ball extremely well. She altered shots. She did a lot of really good things, and I just think she’s only going to get better and better.”

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Tajianna Roberts led the Cards in scoring with 13. She also had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Imari Berry once again provided a big spark off the bench scoring 6 points with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals.

Coach Walz said, “We tried to do a little too much one on one. That’s just not who we are as a team. We are much better when we share the basketball and I thought we did a great job of that in the second half.” He added, “I’ve got to continue to do a good job of making sure our players understand we’re only as good as the whole. That’s what we’ve got to continue to focus on is making each other better.”

Next up the Cards travel to New York for the 2025 SharkBeauty Women’s Champions Classic. They will face #17 Tennessee at 11AM. The game can be seen on FOX.