Asia-Taylor-2-23-14 Asia Taylor couldn’t have chosen a better day to have the best performance of her college basketball career, almost unstoppable in the University of Louisville women’s convincing 73-58 win over Rutgers.

A total of 14,327 fans, the largest turnout of the season, were on hand to witness the clash between two top 25 basketball teams, expecting a skirmish typical of the bruising battles between these teams in past. Few would be disappointed, however, that it turned out to a relatively easy win for Louisville, the Cardinals owning an eight-point lead at the half and extending it to 18 points at one point in the second half.

Julie Hermann, formerly of UofL, now athletic director at Rutgers, wasn't too happy .
Julie Hermann, formerly of UofL, now athletic director at Rutgers, obviously wasn’t pleased with the loss.

Taylor, a senior who has battled injuries during her five years, is finally healthy. She would score 25 points, pull down 15 rebounds, make three assists and three steals. She has always had the size and speed. Now finally back at full strength, she has the confidence and the accuracy  to go with her natural abilities.

Taylor provides UofL with still another serious scoring threat in addition to Shoni Schimmel and Sara Hammond with the regular season winding down and tournament action looming. Shoni and Hammond would add 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“It means nothing without the win. I’m happy that I got a career-high in both of those (scoring and rebounding),” she said after the game.  “That’s great. It just shows that I was out there working hard. But without the win, without Sara out there battling with me and Shoni getting me the ball and everybody playing together, that really means nothing. So I’m just happy about the win than anything.”

The win improved Louisville’s record to 27-2 for the season and ended a five-game winning streak for Rutgers.

Share this

By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.