Jeff Walz Louisville vs. Ole Miss Sweet 16, 3-24-2023 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

Cardinals Run Past Puerto Rico, 78-55

Mark BlankenbakerJuly 12, 2023

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team started their journey at the 2023 GLOBL JAM with a 78-55 victory over Team Puerto Rico in the first game of group play. The Cardinals used a strong second quarter to create separation between the two teams and never let Puerto Rico get back into the game.

Graduate student guard Sydney Taylor led all scorers with 22 points on the afternoon. She was 7-for-12 from the field and 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Fellow graduate guard Kiki Jefferson was close to a triple double with 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Nyla Harris and Olivia Cochran both tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. The Cardinals as a team had 27 assists on 30 made baskets.

Louisville jumped out to an early 11-8 lead in the first three minutes of the first quarter as the team adjusted to the shorter shot clock for FIBA games. At the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals held a 22-16 lead over Puerto Rico.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals increased their lead to its largest of the game at that point at 26-16. It started with a steal from Cochran on the defensive end, her outlet pass got to Jayda Curry and she found Nina Rickards for a fast-break lay-up to put the Cards up by 10. Later in the quarter, the Cardinals forced Puerto Rico to call a timeout after an impressive sequence from Jefferson. She grabbed the offensive rebound in traffic, hit the follow up shot and was fouled on the play. She converted from the line to complete the three-point play and Puerto Rico called timeout. The Cardinals went into halftime with a 45-26 lead.

Taylor led the Cards with 14 first-half points and was 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Jefferson added 10 points of her own and had three rebounds and three assists. The Cards had 10 steals in the first half and nine players recorded at least one steal.

The Cardinals continued to pull away in the third quarter as they started on a 6-1 run over the first two minutes. Harris was active in the passing lines as she grabbed a steal and hit Cochran for a lay-up and it forced Puerto Rico to call another timeout. The lead grew as large as 30 in the third after Harris made a shot from the free throw line with 5:42 left in the frame. Puerto Rico went on a run to close out the third quarter but the Cardinals still led 62-43 with 10 minutes left in regulation.

In the final quarter, the Cardinals continued to push the pace offensively and had no problem closing out the win.

Louisville will be back in action on Thursday, July 13, when they take on the hosts Team Canada. The matchup is set for a 5:30 p.m. ET tip-off and it will be broadcast in the States on CBS Sports Network. Check your local listings for the CBS Sports Network channel in your area.