Louisville dominates Houston, 88-43, in American Athletic Conference quarterfinal

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – It did not take long for Louisville to make a statement that they were going to be a tough team to play in the first American Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament. They opened the contest vs. Houston with a 30-6 run, and never looked back,racing to an 88-43 victory.

By halftime, the Cardinals had a 46-19 edge, as Houston shot 26 percent and committed 16 turnovers. The Cougars faired only slightly better in the second half’ finishing with 27 percent shooting and 22 turnovers.

Sara Hammond led Louisville early with 11 points in the first half despite being limited to only nine minutes by foul trouble. She fouled out after playing only 15 minutes with those 11 points.

Shoni Schimmel was the team’s high scorer with 15 in 22 minutes, while Antonita Slaughter had 14 in 26 minutes. All eleven Cardinals that played, scored.

“As important as it was to get the starters some rest, it was just as important to get everybody else a lot of playing time,” said coach Jeff Walz. “We’re going to need everyone on our team to produce. It was great to get everyone in the scoring column, I think this could be the first game all year that everyone who was able to play scored.”

Jessieka Palmer  led tenth-seeded Houston with 11 points.

Louisville will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Temple and South Florida tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET.