LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Playing its first home game of the young 2024-25 season, the Louisville women’s basketball program managed to bounce back with authority, defeating Southern Indiana 75-51 Friday night at the KFC Yum ! Center.

The No. 17 Cardinals (1-1, 0-0 ACC) earn their first win of the season after losing to No. 5 UCLA, 66-59, in Paris, France, Monday to start the season. Louisville also improves to 16-2 all-time in home openers under head coach Jeff Walz, having not lost since the 2015-16 opener against Cal.

Louisville had a better day shooting the ball against the Screaming Eagles (0-1) than against the Bruins earlier in the week, shooting 45.3 percent from the field and shooting 8 of 25 from three. point attempts. Although they assisted on 17 of their 29 made shots, that came with 19 turnovers – although eight of them came in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game had long been decided.

Defensively, the Cardinals bounced back into form after a somewhat slow start, limiting USI to just 37.5 percent from the field for the game and 7 of 24 in the second and third quarters. Louisville also forced 20 turnovers for 19 points and generated 12 steals.

Olivia Cochran led the Cards with 15 points, while Tajianna Roberts also scored double figures with 11 points. Imari Berry pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Roberts and Ja’Leah Williams tied the team lead in assists with four.

Louisville started the game on a 7-2 run, but Southern Indiana had early success when it came to getting to the free throw line and hitting open threes. In fact, the Screaming Eagles led by as many as four after countering with a 19-10 run of their own. But while lax Cardinals defense allowed USI to shoot 5 of 8 to close the quarter, UofL made 6 of 8 down the stretch to take a 22-21 lead in the first quarter .

In the second quarter, Louisville was much more efficient on both ends of the floor, starting the period on a 17-0 run and outscoring Southern Indiana 21-4 overall. The Cardinals held the Screaming Eagles to just 2 of 11 in the second quarter, compared to 7 of 16 in the first, and shot 16 of 30 for the half overall to hold a 43-25 lead at halftime.

Louisville wasn’t very effective on the offensive end in the second half, but their defensive efforts against Southern Indiana made up for it and helped them reach the finish line. The Cards shot just 38.2 percent after halftime, but held the Screaming Eagles to 43.8 percent in the same span, leading by as much as 33 percent before nullifying the Dogs.

Next, Louisville hits the road to face UT Martin. The game against the Skyhawks is scheduled for Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo by Tajianna Roberts via University of Louisville Athletics)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook- @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X- @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram- @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Associate Editor Matthew McGavic on @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X