LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Dana Evans scored 25 points in her home finale, Kianna Smith scored 13 of her 21 points in the third quarter and No. 3 Louisville beat Georgia Tech. 85-70 on Thursday night.
The Cardinals (19-1, 12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their third consecutive game and improved to 8-0 against the Yellow Jackets, with the senior All-American guard setting the initial tone. Evans had 13 points at halftime for her school-record 36th consecutive double-figure scoring effort that broke Angel McCoughtry’s previous mark set over the 2007-08 and ’08-09 seasons.
Evans outscored Tech 9-4 during a second-quarter stretch that put Louisville ahead for good at 30-24. Smith took charge in the third, mixing three 3-pointers with a couple of baskets to give the Cardinals a 44-30 advantage. She finished 9 of 13 from the field to match her career high of 21 points against DePaul on Dec. 4.
Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran each added 13 points and combined for 16 rebounds for Louisville.
Kierra Fletcher had 19 points, Loyal McQueen 14 and Nerea Hermosa 13 for the Yellow Jackets (11-5, 9-4), who dropped their second in a row after a seven-game winning streak.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets came up just short 37-34 in a matchup of the ACC’s 2-3 rebounding teams, but their biggest struggle was slowing Louisville’s offense. They played the second half without forward Lorela Cubaj, who left the game just before halftime with a leg injury and did not return. She had four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.
Louisville: The Cardinals shot consistently throughout and finished 49% from the field. Controlling the paint 44-30 certainly helped, and they committed just nine turnovers while scoring 13 off 14 Tech giveaways.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech hosts Miami (Florida) on Tuesday.
Louisville visits Syracuse on Sunday to begin a season-ending four-game road stretch.
