University of Louisville press release:
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Liz Dixon scored 15 points and No. 10 Louisville rolled on his first visit to California in seven years with a 72-32 win by Cal Poly on Tuesday night.
The reason for Louisville’s first game in California since 2014 was Kianna Smith, whose father John Smith is the men’s basketball coach at Cal Poly.
Smith, a native of Moreno Valley, Calif., Made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for the Cardinals (4-1). Her father sat on the sidelines while the men’s team had the night off before playing a tournament game tomorrow in San Juan Capistrano, California.
“It was great that Kianna came home and played in front of her friends and family, and so did Hailey (Van Lith) in Washington last Saturday,” said Jeff Walz, Louisville head coach. “All of our players are really looking forward to each other and that’s what I like about our team.”
Louisville moved 4-1 that season, while Cal Poly fell to 0-2 with the loss.
After trailing four in the first two minutes, the Cardinals responded with a 12-0 run topped off by a Smith 3-pointer who put Louisville in the lead 12-4 at 4:22 in the first quarter.
Louisville’s defense forced the Mustangs to make nine sales in the first quarter, taking nine points less than those sales to take the 14-9 lead by the end of the first frame.
The Cardinals offense heated up in the second quarter as they shot 47 percent, beating Cal Poly 20-7 to break into a 34-16 lead.
Hailey Van Lith converted a 3-point game and Dixon scored consecutive possession of the ball to force a quick Mustang timeout to start the third quarter and the Cardinals drove the rest of the way to a 72-32 win.
The Cardinals forced 23 ball losses, for the third time in their last four games they forced their opponent to at least 20 ball losses. They scored 27 points from the 23 sales.
They stepped into the game holding opponents with 42.2 points, taking first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and third in the nation.
Dixon was 7-of-9 off the floor and finished with five rebounds. Van Lith added nine points, four rebounds and three assists to the Cardinals.
“Liz played a really nice ball game. She’s not trying to make too many moves and if she’s standing 2 to 3 meters that’s her shot. I’m really proud of her,” added Walz.
Sarah Dumitrescu led the Mustangs with 12 points.
Louisville ends its road trip with three games on Sunday when they play in Colorado State at 2 p.m. ET.
(Photo by Jeff Walz, Louisville Player: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
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