No. 10 Louisville women’s basketball expected No. 22 Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo to get her shots. She’s averaged 26.6 points against Louisville and had 24 on Thursday night.
But UofL coach Jeff Walz wanted to see how his guards responded. Throughout the season, the team’s strength has been its post play and depth in the frontcourt.
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The Cardinals’ backcourt stepped up when needed in the 79-66 win over Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana. Louisville (17-3, 7-0 ACC) has now won 10 straight games, recording its first win over the Irish (12-5, 4-3) since taking a 73-66 home victory on Feb. 8, 2024. The ACC rivalry contest was also ND’s first loss at home this season.
“I think we just stayed steady,” Reyna Scott said on the ACC Network’s postgame interview. “Our heads didn’t get big, which was huge.”
Scott ignited the team’s scoring in crucial moments, scoring a career-high 20 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Taj Roberts found her rhythm in 3-point shooting, going 4 for 5 from 3-point range after only making one in each of the last two games. Both elements were crucial down the stretch.
Roberts contributed eight of her 19 points during the third quarter but Scott knocked down the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the team into the final quarter with a six-point lead, 62-56. Never letting off the gas, the two then accounted for 14 points, giving Louisville its largest lead, 76-63.
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Scott took over early in the second quarter and kept it going throughout the game. The Cards were down, 24-18, two minutes into the frame. Scott’s layup at the 6:51 mark gave way to Louisville’s 13-2 run over the next two minutes. The Oklahoma transfer had seven points during the stretch, including a steal-turned-three-point play for Louisville’s 25-24 lead. Louisville then built on its 37-33 halftime lead and scored five points in the first minute of the third quarter.
Despite Notre Dame’s zone defense taking away some looks in the paint, the Cardinals still had a strong post presence from Mackenly Randolph, who contributed 10 points and seven rebounds to the win, after Elif Istanbulluoglu, who had 11 points, played through foul trouble.
When asked what she’d grade her team after the game, Scott gave the Cardinals an “A.”
“I think we can get an A+ next game,” she said, noting the team’s 38 rebounds as an area of improvement. The Cardinals are averaging 44 rebounds per outing.
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Louisville stays on the road to play N.C. State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
This story will be updated.
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 WBB snaps Notre Dame skid, earns 10th consecutive victory
