Ziegler leads No. 9 Louisville in 88-65 romp over Florida State

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Laura Ziegler scored 14 points for ninth-ranked Louisville in an 88-65 rout of Florida State on Sunday night.

The matchup between the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top scoring offense (Louisville, 81.9 ppg) and its next-to-last defense (Florida State, 76 ppg) played out that way as the Cardinals (24-4, 14-1 ACC) took control early and never trailed en route to their third straight win.

Ziegler scored the game’s first five points and Louisville used a 9-0 run later in the opening quarter to build a 16-5 lead with 2:45 remaining. Meanwhile, the Seminoles (9-17, 4-10) shot just 25.8% (8 of 31) in the first half as Louisville led 34-20 at halftime.

The senior forward opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, and the Cardinals added to their lead throughout the second half, leading by as much as 80-51 midway through the fourth quarter. She also flirted with a triple-double, finishing with eight rebounds and seven assists before exiting the game with 6:37 remaining and the Cardinals up 71-49.

The transfer from Saint Joseph’s was one of five Cardinals to finish in double figures. Imari Berry, Skylar Jones and Reyna Scott all scored 11, while Grace Mbugua pitched in 10. Aside from Ziegler, Louisville’s other top scorers came off the bench.

Louisville topped 80 for the 17th time this season and shot 49.3% (35 of 71) from the field. The Cardinals also got 26 points off 16 Florida State turnovers and dished out 25 assists, one off their season high.

Sole Williams led the Seminoles with 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, and Allie Kubek came off the bench to score 18 on 7 of 10 shooting for the Seminoles, who made just 36.9% (24 of 65) of their shots.

Florida State hosts California on Thursday.

Louisville is off until next Sunday, when Virginia visits.

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