Louisville Bulldozes Bellarmine for Largest Victory Under Jeff Walz

Eight Cardinals finished in double figures against the Knights.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Elif Istanbulluoglu came off the bench for her first double-double and No. 19 Louisville put eight players in double figures to overwhelm Bellarmine 111-33 on Thursday night.

It was Louisville’s largest margin of victory in coach Jeff Walz’s 17 years.

Istanbulluoglu, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Turkey, had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Reserves Alexia Mobley and Merissah Russell had 12 and 10 points, respectively. All five starters were in double figures, led by Sydney Taylor with 15 and Nyla Harris with 14.

The Cardinals (3-0) closed the first half on a 20-0 run and outscored the Knights 24-3 to lead 48-9 at the half. Louisville put 10 players in the scoring column, none with double figures. Bellarmine shot 14% (4 of 29).

The Knights (0-3) more that doubled their score in the third quarter, scoring 12 but the Cardinals had 30 to up the lead to 78-21. Louisville never cooled off, making 10 of 14 shots in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Louisville ended up at 61% (41 of 66) from the field and 23 of 26 from the foul line and was plus-27 rebounding. The Cardinals had 62 points in the paint and scored 42 points off 29 turnovers.

Hayley Harrison led the Knights, who shot 21% and went 5 for 5 from the foul line, with 10 points.

The Cardinals are home against Bucknell on Sunday.

(Photo via Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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