Louisville basketball's Skylar Jones steals spotlight on offense, defense vs Colorado
admin_news
Each of the three Louisville women’s basketball portal players have taken their turn in the spotlight.
Saint Joseph’s transfer Laura Ziegler's season-opening performance was spoiled by a loss to top-ranked UConn. Oklahoma transfer Reyna Scott’s home-opening performance in a dominant win over Northern Kentucky earned her a starting spot against Colorado on Wednesday night.
And finally, Skylar Jones stepped up.
The Arizona transfer was a bright spot for the 21st-ranked Cardinals with five steals and a game-high 21 points in the team’s 74-68 win over Colorado at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals’ final game before their ACC opener against Clemson featured another slow start. They were down, 16-7, when Jones came into the game. She scored six points in the final five minutes of the quarter despite Louisville still facing a 23-18 deficit.
Her second-quarter efforts led to the Cardinals’ 24-23 lead when she picked off Colorado’s inbounds pass for an easy layup. But for all of Jones’ efforts, Louisville couldn't hold on to a lead. The squad struggled to score, shooting 34.3% from the field in the first half and trailed Colorado, 37-34.
The second half wasn’t much better: U of L had multiple scoring droughts over the next two quarters.
But for as much as Louisville struggled on field goals, free throws kept it in the game. The squad was 4 for 4 at the free-throw line in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter for a 62-62 tie. Jones got Louisville the ball back by getting tied up with Colorado for a jump ball. But the Cardinals came up empty on the possession.
After a nearly four-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals settled in and went on a 6-1 run, getting the crowd back into the game. Louisville used the energy to finish the game strong and fend off the Buffaloes.
Ziegler and Scott still contributed as well. Ziegler neared double-double territory with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks while Scott totaled seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Louisville (2-1) hits the road to play Clemson at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball gets solid performance from Skylar Jones in win
