GALLERY: Louisville Routs Clemson

Mark BlankenbakerJanuary 29, 2016Basketball0 views

Briahanna Jackson led four players in double figures, scoring a game-high 13 points, and No. 14 Louisville cruised past Clemson 75-33 on Thursday night in the KFC Yum! Center.

For the second-consecutive contest, the Cardinals (16-5, 8-0 ACC) jumped out to a sizeable first-quarter lead and never looked back to extend their winning streak to 13 games. Louisville shot 46 percent from the field, while outrebounding Clemson 50-27. Asia Durr had 12 points and tied a season high with five assists off the bench, and Mariya Moore added 10 points and six rebounds.

Freshman Sam Fuehring totaled 12 points and five rebounds, earning her third career start in place of Louisville’s leading scorer and rebounder Myisha Hines-Allen. The sophomore, who is expected to return for Sunday’s game against Wake Forest, missed the contest to attend her grandfather’s funeral in New Jersey.

Despite scoring within the first four seconds of the game, Louisville’s starters committed back-to-back turnovers and head coach Jeff Walz opted to sub in a new five. The group sparked the Cardinals to an 11-0 run and pushed the lead to 15-2 on a 3-pointer by Durr. From that point forward, Louisville’s lead never dropped below 10, pushing to a 23-8 lead over the Tigers (4-16, 0-7) 23-8 through the first period.

Louisville outscored Clemson 16-4 in the second quarter, marking the fewest points in a period by an opponent and the second time this year – first against Duke – that the Cardinals’ defense has held a foe to single-digit points in back-to-back periods.

Louisville used a collective scoring effort over the first 20 minutes, with six players registering points in that span that included eight from Fuehring, Moore, and Durr, to jump to a 39-12 lead. It’s the fewest points by an opponent in any half since Tennessee State was held to 10 in the opening half on Dec. 31, 2012.

Cortnee Walton and Erin DeGrate each collected 10 rebounds in the contest, combining for nine of the Cardinals’ 19 on the offensive end.

Gadson Lefft had a team-high 13 points off the bench for Clemson (4-16, 0-7), which shot just 30.2 percent from the field and dropped its eighth-consecutive decision.

TIP-INS

Louisville: The Cardinals dished out 20 assists, the ninth time this season it has reached that plateau. Mariya Moore had three, giving her 102 on the year. … The Cardinals converted 21 Clemson turnovers into 22 points, the fifth-consecutive game with at least 20 points on the exchange. … Louisville’s 42-point win is tied for the highest margin of victory this season, last achieved against Dartmouth on Dec. 15.

UP NEXT

Louisville: Hosts Wake Forest on Sunday at 1 p.m. on RSN/FOX.

Clemson: Hosts Pittsburgh on Sunday at 2 p.m.