Chattanooga cannot handle MOORE

Louisville, KY — The Louisville Cardinals closed out three games in three days with a win over the Chattanooga Mocs.

“They’re a good team, I can’t take that away from them,” Mariya Moore told the media.

Louisville Coach Jeff Walz added, “They’re too well coached. They are a team that’s just not going to roll over and we knew that.”

The Cardinals won the tip and struck fast as Ciera Johnson laid it in for two. Chattanooga quickly responded as Queen Alford connected on two of her own. But Myisha Hines-Allen fired off a shot from beyond the arc to put Louisville on top, 5-2. Hines-Allen’s triple propelled the Cardinals on a 14-3 run which forced a Chattanooga timeout.

At the first timeout, Louisville was 80% from the field. C. Johnson led the Cardinals with six points, while Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore added five apiece. Louisville forced three Chattanooga turnovers, converting the turnovers into six points.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 19-5 lead, but the Mocs would not go away.

Chattanooga’s defense locked down in the second period limiting the Cardinals to only 10-points. Louisville connected on 5-of-14 from the field to shoot 35.7%. The Cardinals saw five different players post two points apiece as the Mocs took advantage of the Louisville offense.

However, Chattanooga was unable to capitalize on Louisville’s offensive struggles. The Cardinals sailed into the half with a 35-19 lead.

Out of the half, the Mocs forced a Louisville turnover, allowing Lakelyn Bouldin to fire off a jump shot. Keiana Gilbert followed suit hitting a jumper of her own to grab four quick points for the Mocs. However, two quick fouls from Bouldin and Gilbert put the Cardinals at the line twice to add four of their own.

Once again, Chattanooga held Louisville below 50% from the field while limited the Cardinals to 16-points.

Point-by-point, the Mocs tried to cut into the Cardinals’ lead, but at the end of three, Louisville led 51-32.

Chattanooga converted six Louisville turnovers into six points in the fourth period, while holding Louisville to only four made shots from the field.

The Cardinals, again, were unable to win a fourth quarter battle, allowing the Mocs to pick up 15-points to Louisville’s 12. The Mocs held a 15-12 advantage on rebounds and chipped away at the Louisville lead.

Luckily for the Cardinals, the damage had been done. Louisville walked away with a 63-47 victory against a physical and talented Chattanooga team.

Stat Stackers

It was another balanced effort for the Cardinals as Louisville saw 11 different players put up points.

Mariya Moore paced the Cardinals racking up nine points. Moore grabbed a major milestone as she notched her 1,000th career point just two days after her teammate and fellow junior, Myisha Hines-Allen. Moore dished out a team-best seven assists and pulled down four defensive boards.

Ciera Johnson, Briahanna Jackson and Jazmine Jones contributed eight points apiece. C. Johnson went 4-of-4 from the field, while tallying two blocks and three boards. Jackson dished out five assists, while Jones picked up a team-best four steals.

Hines-Allen racked up seven points, going an uncharacteristic 3-of-9 from the field. Hines-Allen made up for her lack of scoring by pulling down 10 boards, dishing out two assists and grabbing one block. Asia Durr also contributed seven points.

Kylee Shook rounded out the top scorers for the Cardinals with six points. Shook’s height allowed her to capitalize on the defensive end as she pulled down five boards.

The Mocs were led by Queen Alford, who led all scorers with 20-points, while Lakelyn Bouldin added 10-points. Despite only scoring two points, Jasmine Joyner controlled the boards, pulling down 15-rebounds, including 10-defensive. Joyner also picked up a team-best seven blocked shots and three steals.

Next Up

The Cardinals fly north to cap off the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge in Springfield, Massachusetts. Louisville will face their first obstacle of the 2016-2017 season as the Cardinals take on No. 3 South Carolina on Sunday, November 27th. The top five matchup will air on ESPN2 at 1 PM EST.