WBB drops sixth straight, 80-775, to Louisville

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Robertson Scores 32 As Mustangs Fall To Louisville

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball program's fourth-quarter rally fell short as the team fell 80-75 to Louisville on Thursday inside Moody Coliseum.

After trailing by 14 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Mustangs responded with a 17-3 run fueled by Nya Robertson, who scored all 17 points and tied the game with five minutes left to play.

The Mustangs missed a chance to take the lead with 25 seconds left as the shot was controlled by the Cardinals. Louisville went to the line and extended the lead to three. Zanai Jones's game-tying three bounced off the front of the rim and out of bounds with 1.7 seconds left in the game. Louisville pushed the lead to five to seal the win for the Cardinals.

Robertson scored a career-high 32 points, 19 of which came in the fourth quarter, shooting 8-of-16 from the floor and was a perfect 13-of-13 from the line. It was her third 30-point game of her career and was the most points in a home game by a Mustang since Kayla White scored 34 points against East Carolina in 2022.

Both teams continued to trade buckets. With two minutes left, the game was tied at 74. After a TK Pitts steal, she drew a foul and put SMU up one. UofL answered with a bucket of its own and regained the lead.

The Mustangs are now 10-12 (2-8 ACC) overall, while Louisville improved to 15-6 (8-2 ACC).

As a team, SMU shot 46.9% from the field (23-49), their second-best percentage in a game this season. The Mustangs made a season-high from the line, going 22-of-25. The Cardinals ended the game shooting 52.6% from the floor (30-57) and made eight threes. Louisville for 21 turnovers in the game.

Jessica Peterson had a bounce-back game offensively as she scored 15 points and collected nine rebounds. Jones led the team in assists with five and added 11 points.

After Louisville jumped out to a 12-2 lead early in the first, SMU responded with an 11-2 run of its own. Peterson scored six of her eight first-quarter points during the run.

SMU opened the second period on an 8-0 run as Robertson scored five in the stretch and led by two with seven left in the quarter. Robertson scored 10 points in the quarter but Louisville ended the half on an 7-0 and led by nine at the break.

Both teams shot efficiently in the first: the Mustangs shot 46% from the floor, while the Cardinals shot 50%. Robertson led all scorers with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and Peterson ended the half with nine and five rebounds.

// NEXT GAME
vs Va Tech | Sunday, Feb. 2 | Cassell Coliseum | 1 p.m. CT | TV: ACCNX

// NOTES
Starters: #1 Zanai Jones (G, Gs.), #3 Nya Robertson (G, Jr.) #2 TK Pitts (G, Jr.), #4 Kaysia Woods (F, Sr.), #35 Jessica Peterson (C, Sr.)- 5th game this season with this lineup.
8th time this season the team ended the game shooting over 40%
Season-high 22 made free throws
SMU is now 7-5 at home this season
SMU is now 2-2 vs Louisville all-time