Jeff Walz joked that he delivered on his promised to run his Louisville women’s basketball team for an hour before the 21st-ranked Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 ACC) faced Clemson (3-2, 0-1) on Sunday afternoon.
“We actually dropped them off (at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport), and then they all jogged in before the game, so it was perfect,” Walz said of the nearly 50-mile distance between the airport and Clemson‘s Littlejohn Coliseum.
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But Walz’s Cardinals, even without a 50-mile warmup run, got off to their fastest start of the season en route to a 65-54 road win over the Tigers to open ACC play. In doing so, they didn’t match the fourth-quarter success they’ve had in previous games.
Sunday’s game, which was initially scheduled for Dec. 28, marked U of L’s earliest start to conference play since joining the ACC in 2014.
“If you’re going to play on Sunday, December 28th, that means you’re bringing your kids back on Christmas Day because you’ve got to have two days of practice after the break,” Walz said. “Neither of us wanted to have to do that. We found this weekend worked good for both of us.”
The good part about starting conference play, Walz noted, is that the Cardinals are at the top of the ACC standings and will now be able to spend Christmas with their families.
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U of L’s next ACC game is Dec. 14 at North Carolina.
Laura Ziegler had 10 rebounds — all defensive boards — in addition to 17 points for her second double-double of the season. Taj Roberts finished with 12 points, four assists and two steals.
Louisville led by only three points against Northern Kentucky and Colorado at halftime of its previous two games. With seven assists on 12 made field goals and 11 points off 10 Clemson turnovers, U of L led by 10, 30-20, at the break on Sunday.
The Cardinals debuted a new starter in Skylar Jones, who replaced Reyna Scott in the lineup. Imari Berry started the first two games before Scott got the start over her against Northern Kentucky. Jones was subbed out at the 7:15 mark of the opening quarter.
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“Relax,” Walz appeared to tell her when she came out.
U of L shot the ball well and went on an 18-0 run between the first and second quarters to go up, 26-11, three minutes into the second quarter. Clemson narrowed the lead with a 7-0 run early in the second frame but only had one field goal in the final three minutes before halftime.
Louisville cooled off enough for Clemson to pull within five to start the third quarter, but Berry rattled off a 5-0 run to restore the double-digit lead. The sophomore scored nine of the team’s 17 third-quarter points and finished with six rebounds.
The Cards weren’t as strong defensively in the fourth quarter but were able to fend off Clemson’s comeback attempt. Ziegler iced the game by going 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute.
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“I told them before the fourth quarter started, we’ve got to win the quarter by a point. We didn’t win it, but it was tied,” Walz said of each team’s 18-point fourth quarter. “I thought we did a really nice job when they made a little bit of a run there, keeping our composure. We executed a couple of times, scored some big baskets. Clemson’s a very good basketball team, very well coached. I was really, really proud of the performance that we had today.”
Louisville returns home to play Morehead State at 8 p.m. Wednesday before hosting No. 20 Kentucky for the annual rivalry game at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball tops Clemson in ACC WBB opener
