Louisville Thumps Notre Dame 82-49

For one quarter it seemed like a struggling Notre Dame team might’ve found their mojo again. Both teams traded leads and the Cards had 4 turnovers. However, soon enough the Irish found themselves facing their season-long woes again as Louisville turned up the heat and wore them down. The Cards had a 40-26 lead at the half and going into the 3rd quarter TV timeout Louisville allowed the Irish to score only 2 more points. Louisville was totally dominant in the second half.

Dana Evans led all scorers with 18 points to which she added 7 assists. Yacine Diop had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Mykasa Robinson had 6 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds.

After the game Coach Walz talked about his team getting back to their winning ways. He said, “I was unconcerned.....We never lost any confidence. We had a two game skid where we were without our other shooter.” He added, “Overall I’m just really, really pleased with where their mindset is. Not one player played over 30 minutes today which was a goal of mine before we started.”

Elizabeth Balogun talked about her experience playing for the Nigerian national team. “I’m still overwhelmed that I went for the tryouts and we won and we’re going [to the Olympics].” She added, “I just thank my coach for letting me go.”

On Mykasa Robinson Coach Walz said, “I thought Mykasa did a great job tonight and then if she’s able to sit there and knock down those 8 to 10 footers that is really going to put some pressure on some people.” Dana Evans said, “Mykasa is a really good point guard. She’s good at getting in the lanes and kicking and finding the open people so it takes a little pressure off of me.”

Coach Walz talked about Play for Kay Day. “They were really kind, the Kay Yow Foundation, to give me a plaque before the game but that plaque wasn’t for me it was for our fans for winning the free throw challenge the past two years....I just love the fact that how our fanbase is so competitive. It’s not just our games.” He joked, “I heard of couple of them booing Dana when she missed her two [free throws]. I mean that cost us money and she should probably contribute for that.” According to the graphic on the Jumbotron at the Yum today, Louisville was in 2nd place so donate, donate, donate!

Next up the Cards face Georgia Tech down in Atlanta. Elizabeth Balogun and Liz Dixon will be returning to their old school for the first time since transferring. Elizabeth said this game “is something special. I can’t wait to play them. I want to play right now.” Coach Walz said that we “have to play a Georgia Tech team that is playing extremely hard right now....Really impressed with what Nell [Coach Fortner] has done this entire season and we’ll have our hands full no question.” The game is at 6PM and can be seen on RSN.