Louisville handled Lindenwood 71-35, but the night still found a way to build to a little drama of its own. The biggest question hanging over the game wasn’t the score.
It was whether Lindenwood coach Phil Sayers would finally send freshman Brynn Owens onto the floor. She had a loud, determined group of fans in the building from up the road in Indiana, and they were so into it that even Louisville supporters joined in chanting for her to play.
Sayers eventually gave in in the final minutes, and the crowd got the moment it wanted.
On the court, Tajianna Roberts paced both teams with 15 points. Amiya Joyner added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Carys Baker, the Virginia Tech transfer, shook off her recent shooting struggles and reached 1,000 career points. She finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Afterward, Baker said, “For me obviously the last couple of games were hard just going scoreless but I think with my teammates they have so much confidence in me for me to be able to knock those down. Staying in the gym and staying positive I always want to be a team player so I didn’t let it affect me. Everyone was telling me to go out there and have fun, and I think that’s what I did.”
Louisville also got Elif Istanbulluoglu back after an ankle injury, and she chipped in two points and five rebounds. Mackenly Randolph should be cleared for Thursday’s game.
Coach Walz liked what he saw early, especially on defense, but he wasn’t thrilled with how the second half unfolded. “I thought our effort, especially on the defensive end, in the first half was extremely good.
We played hard. We played focused.
The second half we got a little carried away trying to steal it every time instead of having good fundamentals and trying to keep someone in front of us. We’ve got to get a lot better real quick at guarding the ball.
We’re allowing way too many straight line drives and it’s going to be a problem.”
He added, “I’m hoping we can improve without having to get our butts kicked and all of a sudden it’s an eye opener like oh sh*t he actually knows what he’s talking about.”
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With Louisville basketball set to face Memphis on Sunday and the football team heading into Saturdays game against North Carolina, it is one of those weekends when the whole athletic department feels connected. Kelseys comments added to the buzz by underscoring how much momentum Louisville has built across both sidelines, with one marquee game waiting in each sport and plenty of eyes on how the Cardinals handle the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]