Hines-Allen, Jones lead No. 5 Louisville to easy win in WNIT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- In what could be a busy week for No. 5 Louisville, the Cardinals took care of business early.

Jazmine Jones and Myisha Hines-Allen scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds each to lead Louisville to a 90-55 victory over Toledo in a preseason women's NIT quarterfinal game Tuesday night.

The Cardinals (3-0) overcame a slow start offensively, but used a strong second quarter to put the Rockets away. During one stretch, Louisville made 8-of-12 baskets to turn a six-point lead into a 41-19 advantage with 1:25 left in the first half.

Louisville, despite shooting just 31 percent in the opening quarter, finished shooting 48 percent overall as the lead grew to as many as 37 points late in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals shot better in each quarter as Hines-Allen said they just became more aggressive throughout the game.

"Looking inside then kicking the ball out, that really worked well for us," said Hines-Allen, a senior forward who notched her second straight and 31st career double-double.

Asia Durr, coming off a school-record 47-point performance Sunday against Ohio State, added 14 points for the Cardinals.

While coach Jeff Walz was pleased with some aspects of his team's play in the win. He also saw some issued that concerned him. In particular, the 17 turnovers the Cardinals committed. Of those miscues, 15 came from his guards.

"At times we looked really good," he said. "Then, we get sloppy."

Toledo shot just 30 percent and missed 20 of 25 3-point attempts. Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott led the Rockets (1-1) with 16 points.

BIG PICTURE

Toledo: After enjoying a 52-14 scoring edge in the paint against St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday, the Rockets met their match against the taller Cardinals on Tuesday. Louisville outrebounded its guests 57-27 and took advantage of a 44-20 scoring margin in the paint.

Louisville: Just two days after needing overtime to beat the No. 9 Buckeyes in Columbus, the Cardinals still were able to take command of the game by midway through the second quarter. That enabled Walz a chance to give his regulars a breather. The Cardinals five starters played a combined 195 minutes in Sunday's win. Against the Rockets, they played a total of 101 minutes. That should give them more than enough rest for Thursday's semifinal and, potentially, Sunday's championship game.

All 11 Cardinals who played scored and got at least 11 minutes on the court.

"Especially with as many games as we have this week, I was trying to get everybody out there as much as I could," said Walz.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Despite the big win, this game will do little for the Cardinals' standing in the AP Top 25, especially considering they have at least one and possibly two games against ranked opponents looming before the next poll comes out.

TURNING POINT

The key stretch for the Cardinals in their second quarter run came in a span of four seconds. Hines-Allen missed a layup, but got in position to get the rebound. She was fouled as the putback went in, but she missed the free throw.

Arica Carter, a 5-foot-8 point guard, battled inside for the rebound. She kicked it out to Durr for a 3-pointer, which gave Louisville a 28-14 lead with 6:10 left in the first half. That five-point spurt gave Louisville its first double-digit lead of the night, and Toledo never got back within 12 points from there.

UP NEXT

Toledo: The Rockets return home to play a WNIT consolation bracket game against a Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

Louisville: The Cardinals advance to the WNIT semifinals and will play host to No. 24 Michigan on Thursday night.