Too many turnovers resulted in too many easy points for Notre Dame

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Louisville coach Jeff Walz got a victory, and he hopes Middle Tennessee gave his fifth-ranked Cardinals a lesson in listening to the scouting report.Mariya Moore scored 27 points, and Louisville Cardinals never trailed beating Middle Tennessee 91-72 Wednesday night despite giving up a career-high 27 points and 11 assists to Blue Raiders guard Ty Petty.I hope our kids believe now that shes really good, Walz said. We tried to tell them that, but I think there were a few times we decided not to guard her just to see is she really good. After 27 points, Im hoping they realized that, and then Im hoping theyll believe us from now on when we tell them someone is good. She was phenomenal.This was Louisvilles first visit to Middle Tennessee since 2008, and the Cardinals had little trouble improving to 5-1 in this series despite letting Petty knock down 10 of her 17 shots.Ciera Johnson opened with a layup for the Cardinals (3-0), and Alex Johnson hit a short jumper to tie it up at 2. That was as close as Middle Tennessee (0-2) from Conference USA would get as Louisville shot 67 percent taking a 22-9 lead after the first quarter.Asia Durr also had 22 points, and Myisha Hines-Allen added 17 for Louisville.Alex Johnson had 13 for the Blue Raiders.We hope we grow up, Middle Tennessee coach Rick Insell said of his young team with Petty the only senior.Petty pulled the Blue Raiders within 26-21 capping a 12-2 run with a 3 with 4:39 left. That woke the Cardinals up, and they answered with 15 straight points and led 41-24 at halftime.The Cardinals pushed their lead to as much as 24 a couple times in the fourth quarter, the first on a 3 by Hines-Allen.BIG PICTURELouisville: The Cardinals continued their run through an easy opening portion of the schedule before playing fourth-ranked South Carolina on Nov. 27th. This was the Cardinals third straight game against a team from Tennessee but not against the states only ranked team, No. 13 Tennessee.Middle Tennessee: This was the highest-ranked team to visit since No. 4 Tennessee in 2013, helping the Blue Raiders bring in some star power for their home opener. They dropped to 5-1 all-time against Louisville, but its part of Insells toughening up his Blue Raiders during nonconference play for March. Arizona State and Georgia Tech also visit in December.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Cardinals did little to hurt themselves with an easy victory. This is their second road game and second against an NCAA Tournament team last March. It gives us more confidence to know were doing so well against great teams, so just lets us know where we are so far, Moore said. All teams get better throughout the season. Its good to know were starting off pretty well.HEIGHT ADVANTAGEWalz played five Cardinals who are 6-foot-2 or taller against a team with only Rebecca Reuter taller than 6 foot. The Cardinals outrebounded Middle Tennessee 44-30 and had a huge edge at the free throw line (21 of 27) compared to the Blue Raiders (3 of 6). The Cardinals even affected shots they werent around as the Blue Raiders missed some wide-open shots.We probably missed seven chip shots, Insell said. Well thats 14 points thats uncontested shots that we usually knock down that because of their size we were looking for them and we didnt follow through. We hit those seven chip shots, you look at the game its a little bit different.UP NEXTLouisville hosts Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon.Middle Tennessee visits Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Nike Air Max 97 For Sale . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Cheap Air Max 97 Yellow China . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-grey-china/ . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Cheap Air Max 97 All Gold China . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Air Max 97 Cheap Womens . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . IOWA CITY, Iowa -- No. 1 Notre Dame passed its first road test.When things got close, the Irish turned to their pesky defense and balanced scoring attack to thwart any thoughts of an upset.Brianna Turner scored 15 points, Arike Ogunbowale added 14 and Notre Dame held off Iowa 73-58 on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.Lindsay Allen had 11 points, eight assists and five steals for the Irish (7-0). They had 42 points in the paint and scored 21 points off 23 Hawkeyes turnovers.Notre Dame led by as many as 14 points in the first half and looked like it could turn the game into a blowout, but Iowa cut it to 50-48 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Irish responded with an 11-1 run to pull away.That lapse in the second half irked Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. She said the Irish lost focus and got too complacent.We werent containing the ball, we werent guarding, we werent boxing out, we werent making layups and we werent making good decisions, McGraw said. We just couldnt wait for the buzzer to go off. We just wanted the game to be over -- at least thats what it looked like.Ally Disterhoft led Iowa (5-3) with 18 points and Megan Gustafson had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawkeyes hosted the top-ranked team for the first time since 1999.Turner became the 36th in Notre Dame history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.Iowas 23 turnovers were a season-worse. Notre Dame forced 15 of those in the first half and then held the Hawkeyes to nine fourth-quarter points.Too many turnovers resulted in too many easy points for Notre Dame, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. We have to value the ball more.BIG PICTURE Notre Dame: The Irish responded well under some pressure in their first road gaame -- the latest theyve played their first true road game of a season since 1993.dddddddddddd Notre Dames offense sputtered at times, but the defense had 15 steals and held Iowa to 4-of-19 shooting on 3-pointers.Iowa: The young Hawkeyes have lost three out of their last four games, but 10 players logged at least 8 minutes in a fairly competitive game against the nations top-ranked team. That experience should help Iowa later in the season.TIP-INS Turner, Ogunbowale and Allen were named to the Naismith Trophy watch list on Wednesday. The Irish are 4-0 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Iowa shot only 6 of 15 (38 percent) from the foul line. The Hawkeyes entered the game shooting 72 percent on free throws.COURTSIDE: Iowa mens coach Fran McCaffery and his wife, Margaret, watched the game from a few rows behind the Hawkeyes bench.Margaret McCaffery, the former Margaret Nowlin, played basketball at Notre Dame from 1988-92 and was a team captain. She later served on McGraws staff as a graduate assistant.Fran McCaffery was an assistant at Notre Dame from 1988-99. His Hawkeyes lost to Notre Dame 93-78 in South Bend on Tuesday.POLL IMPLICATIONS The double-digit win should be enough for Notre Dame to hold onto the top ranking ahead of next weeks No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.UP NEXT Iowa: Starts a two-game home stretch against in-state rivals Sunday against Northern Iowa.Notre Dame: Gets a final tuneup Sunday with Valparaiso before next Wednesdays against No. 2 UConn. The Irish have lost five straight against the Huskies -- including the NCAA title game the last two seasons. ' ' '