LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Elif Istanbulluoglu came off the bench for her first double-double and No. 19 Louisville put eight players in double figures to overwhelm Bellarmine 111-33 on Thursday night.

What You Need To Know

  • No. 19 Louisville put eight players in double figures to overwhelm Bellarmine 111-33

  •  Elif Istanbulluoglu came off the bench for her first double-double

  • Bellarmine shot 14% (4 of 29). Hayley Harrison led the Knights, who finished at 21%

It was Louisville’s largest margin of victory in coach Jeff Walz’s 17 years.

Istanbulluoglu, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Turkey, had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Reserves Alexia Mobley and Merissah Russell had 12 and 10 points, respectively. All five starters were in double figures, led by Sydney Taylor with 15 and Nyla Harris with 14.

The Cardinals (3-0) closed the first half on a 20-0 run and outscored the Knights 24-3 to lead 48-9 at the half. Louisville put 10 players in the scoring column, none with double figures. Bellarmine shot 14% (4 of 29).

The Knights (0-3) more that doubled their score in the third quarter, scoring 12 but the Cardinals had 30 to up the lead to 78-21. Louisville never cooled off, making 10 of 14 shots in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Louisville ended up at 61% (41 of 66) from the field and 23 of 26 from the foul line and was plus-27 rebounding. The Cardinals had 62 points in the paint and scored 42 points off 29 turnovers.

Hayley Harrison led the Knights, who shot 21% and went 5 for 5 from the foul line, with 10 points.

There was a small homecoming at the KFC Yum! Center before the game. Bellarmine assistant coach Monique Reid is a UofL Hall of Famer and played for Walz. She joined the Bellarmine staff before the start of the 2023-24 season.

The Cardinals are home against Bucknell on Sunday.

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