Cold-Shooting Louisville Stomped by NC State in ACC Opener

The Cardinals posted their worst single-game shooting performance in nearly 15 years.

Louisville's Jayda Curry (30) fires a jumper against Oklahoma during their game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 4, 2024. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting NC State as part of the annual Jimmy V Classic, the Louisville women's basketball program could not overcome an ice-cold shooting performance, falling 72-42 on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (6-5, 0-1 ACC) have now dropped three of their last four games on the season after falling to the No. 22/25 Wolfpack (8-3, 1-0 ACC) in what was the conference opener for both teams. Louisville also falls to 0-5 so far on the season against Quadrant 1/2 opponents.

Louisville has certainly had their shooting struggles this season, entering their matchup against NC State ranked 91st in field goal percentage, but Sunday was one of their worst shooting games in Jeff Walz' 18 years as the head coach. The Cardinals connected on just 23.9 percent of their attempts, including a 2-of-23 mark from deep.

It was Louisville's worst single-game shooting performance since only connecting on 21.4 percent of their attempts in an 84-38 loss to UConn back on Feb. 7, 2010. It was the Cardinals' worst single-game shooting performance against a non-UConn team under Walz.

The Cardinals didn't have a single player crack double figures in scoring, with Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris each posting a team-best eight points. The Wolfpack had four players hit double figures, led by an 18-point outing by Zamareya Jones.

On the other end of the court, the Wolfpack were anything but cold, hitting 43.9 percent of their tries from the field and going 7-of-19 from beyond the arc. NC State also assisted on 14 of their 29 made shots despite committing 23 turnovers, while Louisville posted a 5/17 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Louisville had as cold of a shooting start as you could possibly have, missing their first seven shots, and connecting only two of their first 19 tries en route to putting up just six points in the opening quarter. They also missed their first seven tried from deep, and didn't crack double figures until the 7:30 mark of the second quarter.

The Cardinals' shooting only marginally improved after their poor start, hitting six of their final 16 attempts of the first half. While they did end the second quarter on an 8-1 run, they still allowed NC State to shoot 16-of-31 overall and 5-of-11 from deep for the first half, and headed into halftime trailing 41-21.

The shooting discrepancy between the two teams didn't get much better in the second half. Louisville shot just 8-for-32 after halftime, while NC State was 13-for-35, leaving absolutely no room for a potential miraculous comeback.

(Photo of Jayda Curry: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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