Cards Defeat SMU 91-58

There was no New Year’s Day hangover for Louisville today. After a long holiday break they started 2026 the same way they finished 2025 with a big victory. That said, it did take a quarter for the team to assert dominance. Coach Walz said, “First game back after the break so I anticipated a little bit of a slow start. I thought once we got a little flow going we did some really good things. We looked good offensively. Defensively I thought we played well at times.”

The stat sheet was very balanced. Tajianna Roberts led the team in scoring with 15. Skylar Jones provided a big boost off the bench in the second quarter to spark the Cards’s takeover. She had 10 points and 5 steals. Imari Berry also had a big game off the bench with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Two of her points came off the buzzer. Imari said, “I didn’t even see it go in I just heard the crowd go crazy. I saw I had one second left so I just threw it up there.”

Coach Walz praised Skylars defensive effort. “She’s really good. She’s active. She’s quick. She’s got a great eye for the ball. She anticipates…. It’s not that she’s just a great on-ball defender she’s got such quick hands.” He added, “She’s playing with joy which I think is really important for her. Her effort and mindset has really changed from the start of the year.”

Skylar said, “Defense helps initiate offense when you can’t get your offense going. Defense also takes talent but it’s more of an effort thing…. It gets the crowd and the team into it as well.” Imari said that defense and rebounding were what she worked hardest at during the off-season. She also said she improved her conditioning. “We ran every single day and we lifted. I just pushed my hardest to deal with the tiredness and it paid off.”

Next up the Cards take on Virginia Tech at home. The game is Sunday at 4PM and can be seen on the ACC Network.