LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hailey Van Lith scored a team-high 16 points and No. 5 Louisville held off a late rally to defeat Belmont 80-66 on Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville improves to 7-1 following its seventh straight victory, while Belmont drops to 4-4 with loss.
After a slow start offensively for both teams, Louisville led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. They forced five Belmont turnovers and outrebounded the Bruins 14-6 in the first stanza.
Belmont opened the second quarter with a quick 6-0 run to pull within two before Louisville responded with a 17-4 run of their own to take a 39-24 halftime lead.
The Cardinals picked up where they left off in the third quarter and extended the lead to 21 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Van Lith and Emily Engstler.
Louisville shot 69 percent and outscored the Bruins 35-20 in the third to take a 20-point lead.
Belmont connected on five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and trimmed Louisville’s lead to 11 with 4:47 remaining. Kianna Smith’s floater at the 3:49 mark and timely free throw shooting helped Louisville hold on for the 80-66 win.
Louisville outrebounded Belmont 40-24 and outscored them 46-28 in the paint. The Cardinals shot 54 percent from the floor and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
Van Lith scored 16 points on 7-15 shooting, while adding five rebounds.
“I thought Hailey took some good shots and it was nice to see the ball go in for her,” head coach Jeff Walz said. “I was never concerned about her shooting, she’s too good of a player and she works too hard.”
Kianna Smith scored 14 points and dished out five assists for the Cardinals. She surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her collegiate career with a jumper early in the first quarter.
Chelsie Hall finished with 11 points and Olivia Cochran added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Destinee Wells led the Bruins with 19 points after being held scoreless in the first half.
Louisville returns to the KFC Yum! Center next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET when they host in-state rival Kentucky.
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