Houston Cougars at Louisville Cardinals

No. 3 Louisville women cruise to win over Houston

The 10th-seeded Cougars fell to Louisville 88-43 on Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

Houston had a coaching change in late December when Todd Buchanan abruptly resigned for personal reasons. The Cougars were 4-7 at that point. Wade Scott took over and the team went 2-18 the rest of the way.

"The season was tough," Scott said. "We had to heal some psyches and had to get some people their confidence back. At the same time this group of girls, I couldn't have asked for a better group. It doesn't show up in the win-loss record. I wouldn't have done it with anyone else."

Jessieka Palmer scored 13 to lead the Cougars (6-25).

"It was a season filled with ups and downs," she said. "It didn't go the way we planned, but at same time through all the bad there was some good. All 14 of us in that locker room we became family. We all are sisters. We built lifetime bonds together this season."

Houston had advanced to the quarterfinals with a 73-67 upset of Memphis in the opening round on Friday night.

The Cougars couldn't muster the same success against the third-ranked Cardinals, who scored 26 of the first 30 points en route to the easy win.

"I love the energy we had early," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "We took the wind out of their sails some the way we started the game."

Louisville jumped all over the Cougars behind Shoni Schimmel and Sara Hammond. Schimmel got the Cardinals on the board hitting a 3-pointer, the 99th of the season for the senior which set a new school record. Schimmel broke Sara Nord's mark.

"It's pretty awesome to hit shots," Schimmel said.

Hammond had all 11 of her points in the first eight minutes for the Cardinals (29-3).

Schimmel's layup made it 30-6 midway through the first half. Houston (6-25) didn't string together consecutive baskets until nearly 14 minutes were gone in the game. Marche' Amerson's jumper made it 30-10 with 5:42 left.

Louisville led 46-19 at the half and never looked back.

"It was like an avalanche," Scott said. "They jumped on us very early and hit some shots. A team like Louisville you can't give them any ground or they'll take that plus a few more feet."

It only got worse for the Cougars. The Cardinals had a five-point play early in the second half. Slaughter hit a 3-pointer and on the play Destini Texada was called for a technical foul for throwing down a Louisville player. Schimmel hit the two free throws that made it 53-23.

Louisville extended its advantage to as many as 48 as every Cardinals player that got into the game scored. Walz was able to rest his starters for most of the second half.

"It was important to get them some rest and get the bench a lot of playing time," Walz said. "We'll need everyone on our team to produce. It was the first game all year that everyone that was able to play scored. I was pleased with that."

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How can I watch Cougars vs. Cardinals?

• TV Channel: Cougars vs Cardinals 2021 College Basketball, week 18, is broadcasted on ESPN3.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Mohegan Sun Arena

Location: Uncasville, CT
Capacity: