Louisville women rout LSU 73-47

Another NCAA Tournament game, another blowout victory for the Louisville women's basketball team, which seems to be playing better than ever.

Shoni Schimmel had 19 points and six assists, Tia Gibbs had 15 points on five 3-pointers and third-seeded U of L overwhelmed shorthanded LSU 73-47 in the their Louisville Regional semifinal at the KFC Yum! Center.

Backed by a loud crowd of 11,097, the Cardinals (33-4) improved to 18-1 at home and advanced to a 7 p.m. Tuesday regional final against fourth-seeded Maryland, which beat No. 1 Tennessee 73-62 with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

It was seventh-seeded LSU's largest losing margin in 66 NCAA Tournament appearances.

U of L coach Jeff Walz improved to 18-5 in NCAA Tournament games and advanced to his third Elite Eight in seven years, including national runner-up finishes in 2009 and '13. The Cardinals have won their three tournament games by an average of 34 points, and Walz said his team knows the postseason is when he demands the most.

AND:Maryland women beat No. 1 Tennessee 73-62 in Sweet 16

"There's times and places when you can push your players to try to get the most out of them," Walz said. "… My kids know, 'OK, the conference tournament's over. Coach is going on his mission. Stay out of his way.' And they let me do it because they want to win. They know the prize is at the end."

The Cards' tournament path so far has been a route of routs, and the stats bear it out.

Their 26-point win over LSU tied for the third-largest margin of victory for a tournament game in school history, trailing only the 46- and 30-point demolitions leveled against Idaho and Iowa in the first two rounds.

U of L has allowed opponents point totals of only 42, 53 and 47 in those games, tying the fewest total points in a three-game stretch this season.

With a season-best 12-of-30 effort on Sunday, the Cards have now made 27 3-pointers and are shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc in the tournament. Meanwhile, their opponents have shot a combined 6 of 45 on threes (13 percent), including 1 of 9 by LSU.

"I think it's just that we don't actually play the score," said Gibbs, whose five threes tied a career high. "… So we can be up 30 with a minute left, and we're getting upset at our players for doing something wrong. I think it's just our focus, knowing that we still need to get better."

Asia Taylor added seven points and 10 rebounds for U of L, which had 21 assists on 25 baskets — the Cards' most assists ever in an NCAA Tournament game. Antonita Slaughter had 10 points.

Danielle Ballard had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead LSU (21-13), which had only eight players available after recent season-ending injuries to starters Jeanne Kenney (concussion) and Raigyne Moncrief (knee). Ballard scored 12 of LSU's first 14 points during the only stage of the game that the Tigers were really competitive.

Walz said Ballard, a sophomore, "is phenomenal."

The Tigers' leading scorer, 6-foot-5 Theresa Plaisance, had was held to seven points on 1-of-13 shooting. Shanece McKinney, at 6-4, scored one.

U of L's reserves outscored LSU's 28-0, continuing a trend. U of L has an 84-2 advantage in bench points through three tournament games. The Tigers outrebounded U of L 48-46, but made only 7 of 37 shots in the second half and shot 23.9 percent for the game (16 of 67). LSU had only two assists.

"In the back of your mind, you know that they are kind of short a team," Shoni Schimmel said. "They lost two important players that they needed. So for us, take advantage of that."

After Ballard scored her 10th point to give LSU a 12-9 lead, the Cards hit their stride. They made four threes, including three from Gibbs, in an 18-4 run.

A basket by Plaisance with 7:46 left in the first half was the first in nine minutes by an LSU player other than Ballard.

"This team, they did all they could, considering," LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said. "… I'm proud of them for that."

The home crowd didn't hurt the Cards' efforts as they surged to a 41-23 halftime lead.

"Our following just continues to grow," Gibbs said. "So I don't think we expected nothing less from the 11,000 we received. As you can figure, it kind of provides a spark."

Next up for U of L is the Terrapins.

Before being hired by Louisville, Walz was an assistant at Maryland under coach Brenda Frese, and he'll now face his old boss for the third time in an NCAA Tournament. The Cards beat the Terrapins in the Elite Eight in 2009, and Maryland beat U of L in the second round in 2012. Walz downplayed the coaching matchup.

"I haven't scored a point since about '92 (as a player at Northern Kentucky), and I'm not even sure I scored that year," he said with a laugh. "So it's not about me. I've got to do my job to get these kids prepared and motivated and confident."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed at @SteveJones_CJ.

UP NEXT

(3) Louisville vs. (4) Maryland

7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN