Louisville, Kentucky: Louisville Women Set Scoring Record in 119-47 Win Over Bellarmine

Seventh-ranked Louisville opened the season with a night its record book will keep. The Cardinals beat Bellarmine 119 to 47 on Monday night at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky, scoring more points in a single game than any team in program history.

Four records in one night

Four program records fell in one game. Louisville scored 44 points in the first quarter, 72 points in the first half and made 10 three-pointers in the half. The 119 points broke the old game record of 116, set in a 116 to 75 win over DePaul in 2020. The 44-point quarter broke the old mark of 40, also set against DePaul in that 2020 game. The 72-point half broke the old mark of 63, set in a 111 to 33 win over Bellarmine on November 16, 2023.

Settled in the first quarter

The game was settled early. Louisville scored the first 23 points, and nine players scored in the first quarter alone. The Cardinals led 44 to 9 after one quarter and 72 to 21 at halftime. Bellarmine, the crosstown opponent, never cut the margin back to a working distance, and the lead reached 72 points.

Tajianna Roberts led Louisville with 15 points. Imari Berry scored 14 points, Carys Baker scored 14 and Amiya Joyner scored 13. Seven Cardinals finished in double figures. Zam Jones, a transfer from NC State, made her Louisville debut with 11 points, nine assists, six steals and five rebounds. Jones scored the first five points of the game in the first minute and had a hand in nine of the first 11 points. Berry said afterward: "Four records broke, that's insane."

Care with the ball

Louisville shot 54.1 percent from the field, making 46 of 85 shots, and finished with 27 assists and 66 points in the paint. The Cardinals also took care of the ball, committing only six turnovers in a fast game, a number coach Jeff Walz pointed to after it ended. He was less happy with the free throw shooting, 15 makes in 26 tries, and with a cold stretch from three-point range after a hot start, two makes in the final 17 attempts after 10 makes in the first 15.

The win came with two injuries. Louisville lost Elif Istanbulluoglu to an ankle injury and Mackenly Randolph after a blow to the head, and Walz said both could miss Wednesday's game. Louisville, now 1 and 0, hosts Stetson on Wednesday at the KFC Yum Center, with tipoff at 8 p.m. Eastern. Bellarmine hosts Simmons, a Louisville-based NCCAA team, on Thursday.