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Tampa, Fla. • As confident as BYU came into Saturday's NCAA Tournament opener, it looked like a No. 14 seed in the end, committing a season-high 30 turnovers in a disappointing 86-53 loss to third-seeded Louisville at the Sun Dome.

"They're a lot better in person, much better," said coach Jeff Judkins after his team took its most lopsided loss since a 2008 drubbing against Connecticut. "They're a very, very good team, and tonight they really locked into us very physically, pressured everything we did. We did not handle that very well."

Junior guard Lexi Eaton drew much of the Louisville pressure, committing a season-high 11 turnovers, frustration taking over as she was assessed a technical foul after her final turnover with 4:34 left.

"There were two and three people flying at me. The pressure was there from the start, and we didn't do a good job of matching the intensity," said Eaton, who had 14 points. "I'm sure part of it was to go at me, and I need to do a better job of handling it."

BYU (23-10) committed six turnovers in a span of seven possessions early in the game, allowing Louisville (26-6) to jump out to a 15-6 lead. By halftime it was 38-24, with the Wildcats getting a 20-2 edge in points off turnovers.

Senior forward Morgan Bailey had a double-double in her final game, getting 15 points and 10 rebounds, but full-court pressure did the Cougars in.

"After the first couple of turnovers, we were on our heels a little bit," Bailey said. "Fear is the No. 1 thing that can tear a team apart. It was a little bit contagious."

BYU had committed even 20 turnovers only once in a game all season before Saturday; point guard Kylie Maeda had six while failing to score a point.

"I've never seen a couple of my players as rattled as they were tonight, especially Kylie," Judkins said. "Kylie's been a real solid point guard for us, and she just got really rattled. The passes weren't there."

A year ago, BYU made the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed, and as the confidence from that spilled over to this season, Judkins expects the disappointment of Saturday's humbling loss to motivate his team in coming months.

"I know we're going to learn from this," Judkins said. "I have lot of returning players, and we'll get a good taste of how we felt today, and hopefully that will drive us in the summer, fall and next season." —

Storylines

R BYU commits 30 turnovers against Louisville, giving the Cardinals a 38-9 edge in points off turnovers.

• BYU senior forward Morgan Bailey scores 15 points with 10 rebounds in her final college game.

• Louisville outrebounds the Cougars 33-30 and earns a 11-2 edge in second-chance points.