The Good:
Early in the first quarter, Washington’s defense made an immediate impact as Louisville missed 12 of their first 18 shots and were 0 of 3 from the 3-point line.
The Cardinal finished the first quarter shooting 31.6% overall (6-19 from the field); however, the Huskies only led by two points (15 -13) at the end of the first quarter.
After falling to a 16-point deficit in the third quarter, Washington made a fourth quarter surge.
The score was 54-38 to start the 4th quarter.
Washington’s 11 to 0 fourth quarter rally cut Louisville’s lead to 54-51 with 3:05 left.
The Cardinal didn’t score in the fourth until a Hailey Van Lith free throw with 2:42 left in the game.
The Bad:
Washington had nine (9) turnovers in the second quarter, as Louisville forced five of Washington’s 14 first-half turnovers over less than 3 minutes. The Huskies only scored eight (8) points in the second versus the Cardinal’s 20 points.
In the third quarter, Louisville almost gave the Huskies a death blow, as the Huskies’ turnovers and Louisville’s points off those turnovers were the story.
The Cardinal pushed their lead to 16 points late in the third quarter.
Overall, Louisville forced 20 more turnovers than the Huskies, which proved too much of a disparity to overcome — despite the Huskies’ fourth quarter surge that put the game up for grabs in the final minute.
Overall Impression:
Nancy Mulkey had her best game as a Husky — especially considering the opponent.
As we detailed in our game preview,
This will be Husky center Nancy Mulkey’s biggest test to date, maybe of her entire career.
Louisville’s 6’3″ Olivia Cochran and 6’5″ Liz Dixon led the team in rebounding last year ( Cochran averaged 6.9 boards, while Dixon had 5.4 per game).
Particularly on defense and on the boards, Mulkey held her own against Louisville’s bigs.
For the game, Mulkey had seven blocks(!), along with eight (8) rebounds, six (6) points, three (3) assists and two (2) steals.
