Louisville back to its winning ways with blowout win over Wake Forest at home
If there was any doubt about Louisville getting back to its winning ways after its loss on Thursday, the Cardinals shut those down quickly.
Second-ranked Louisville beat Wake Forest 72-60 at the KFC Yum Center on Sunday. Louisville went on a long 34-1 run lasting from the second quarter through the third, which allowed the Cardinals (16-2) to pull away. Louisville led by as many as 33 points in the third quarter.
Louisville was led by a trio of Liz Dixon, Emily Engstler and Hailey Van Lith. Dixon was a game-changer in the first half, tallying 10 of her 12 points in that half. Van Lith had 17 points and a season-high six assists, while Engstler had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Known for its elite defense, Louisville gave up just 15 points combined in the second and third quarters, and three made field goals.
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Cards get back on track
The Cardinals got back on track in a big way on Sunday. Louisville's blowout of Wake Forest was a complete performance for the Cardinals after giving up a fourth-quarter comeback on Thursday.
The Cardinals shot 51% from the field and 53% from deep. The Cardinals also held Wake Forest to 27% shooting. Louisville forced 17 turnovers and had 28 points in the paint.
Sunday was the performance you want to see from a team after a close loss on the road and Louisville got just that. Now it'll go into two straight home games against Florida State and Duke back on the winning side of things.
Dixon comes up huge off the bench
Louisville struggled defensively out of the gate, trailing Wake Forest 22-21 at the end of the first quarter.
Dixon completely changed things for the Cardinals in the first half. She played 13 minutes with Olivia Cochran on the bench and had 10 points, five rebounds and one block in 13 minutes.
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Louisville has received a lot of production from its post duo of Cochran and Dixon this season. Cochran had 19 points on Thursday and Dixon had 12 on Sunday.
Gone are the days where they both struggle to stay on the floor because of fouls. Instead Walz is now able to use them interchangeably giving the Cardinals a consistent force in the post, regardless of who has the hot hand.
Important home stretch coming
Louisville is now back to its winning wants and that's a good thing with a home stand coming. The Cardinals will host Florida State on Thursday at 8 p.m., before hosting No. 24 Duke next Sunday.
In recent years, Louisville has struggled with the Seminoles, losing five of the last seven games, including splitting the two matchups last season.
Duke will be the Cardinals seventh ranked opponent this season, Louisville is 4-2 in the previous six ranked games.
Cameron Teague Robinson CTeagueRob@gannett.com; Twitter: @cj_teague;
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Cards blowout Wake Forest at KFC Yum Center
