Laura Ziegler’s double-double helps No. 22 Louisville women beat Clemson 65-54 in ACC opener

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Laura Ziegler finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 22 Louisville to a 65-54 victory over Clemson on Sunday in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

Ziegler made 5 of 11 shots and 7 of 8 free throws to help Louisville (3-1) improve to 15-0 against Clemson (3-2) since joining the ACC prior to the 2014-15 season.

Tajianna Roberts scored 12 on 4-for-16 shooting with two 3-pointers for the Cardinals. Reserve Reyna Scott pitched in with 10 points and five rebounds.

Rusne Augustinaite led the Tigers with 17 points, sinking 6 of 8 shots including all three of her 3-pointers. Reserve Raven Thompson scored 12 and Mia Moore totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out.

Augustinaite hit a 3-pointer and scored seven to help Clemson jump out to an 11-8 lead. Ziegler hit a jumper to spark a 7-0 run over the final 3:41 and Louisville led 15-11 after one quarter.

Elif Istanbulluoglu scored on both sides of a Roberts’ 3-pointer and the Cardinals scored the first 11 points of the second period to take a 26-11 lead. Hadley Periman’s layup with 45 seconds remaining left the Tigers trailing 30-20 at halftime.

Imari Berry came off the bench to hit all four of her shots and her only free throw, scoring nine of 17 third-quarter points for the Cardinals in upping their advantage to 47-36.

The Tigers closed within six on three occasions — the final one when Roberts hit a jumper to cut it to 55-49 with 2:54 remaining. Ziegler and Mackenly Randolph hit back-to-back shots to push the lead to 10 and end the threat.

It was the earliest conference opener in Louisville’s history.

Up next

Louisville: The Cardinals return to nonconference play when they host Morehead State on Wednesday.

Clemson: The Tigers travel to play Furman on Sunday in a nonconference matchup.

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