Duke remains blue, upset by Louisville

Louisville, KY -- No. 18/16 Duke's offense was no match for the tough Louisville defense. The Cardinals downed Duke, 65-48.

Asia Durr spoke highly of the Cardinals' team effort, "We're just playing hard. We've really been putting in the work. We hate to lose."

Cortnee Walton added, "We've been taking it one game at a time. We've really been focusing trying to understand what it means to play for Louisville and trying to take more pride in it."

The Duke Blue Devils won the tip and took a 2-0 lead on a layup by Oderah Chidom, but it was Louisville that controlled the first period. The Cardinals went on an 8-2 with layups from Myisha Hines-Allen, Mariya Moore and Cortnee Walton.

Duke's Azurá Stephens ended the Blue Devils' scoring drought with a layup for two. Hines-Allen responded with a steal and a layup of her own to put the Cardinals up by four with three minutes remaining in the first period.

Duke was able to come within two on a layup by Stephens, but a jumper by Arica Carter and a three-point basket by Mariya Moore put the Cardinals back up, 15-8 to end the first period.

Louisville forced seven Duke turnovers and held the Blue Devils to 36.4% from the field in the first. The Cardinals connected on 7-of-15 from the field shooting 46.7%.

Louisville maintained their dominance in the second period, outscoring the Blue Devils, 16-9. Duke's offense was smothered by the Louisville defense. The Cardinals forced another seven turnovers in the second.

Louisville cruised past Duke in the first half. The Cardinals converted 14 Duke turnovers into 20 points while holding the Blue Devils to 38.1% from the field. Both Myisha Hines-Allen and Asia Durr had 10 points apiece heading into the half.

Louisville came out ready to rock after the half. The Cardinals struck first in the third period on a Myisha Hines-Allen free throw. However, Hines-Allen picked up three quick fouls sending her to the bench with more than five minutes to go in the period. One of the fouls sent Kentucky native, Rebecca Greenwell to the charity stripe to shoot two.

Freshman Erin DeGrate entered for Hines-Allen. DeGrate attacked the glass pulling down three rebounds (two defensive) and putting up four points.

Coach Jeff Walz praised Erin DeGrate, "She did great. She's been working hard."

Duke's Angela Salvadores hit two free throws and Crystal Primm drove in a layup to cut the Louisville lead to ten halfway through the third, but a layup by DeGrate, followed by a free throw and layup by Mariya Moore put the Cardinals back in control.

The Cardinals' defense continued to puzzle Duke as the Blue Devils connected on a shattering 5-of-17 (29.4%) from the field.

Louisville entered the final period with a comfortable 51-34 lead.

Duke woke up in the final period, but it was too late. Mariya Moore began the period firing off a three to extend Louisville's lead to 20. A Cortnee Walton foul sent Oderah Chidom to the free throw line hitting one of two.

Lyneé Belton grabbed the offensive board, but a turnover by Angela Salvadores put the ball back in Asia Durr's hands. Taja Cole connected on a layup. Louisville's defense held Duke scoreless for nearly three minutes while the Cardinals extended the lead to 25 with four minutes remaining in the game.

Lyneé Belton drove the ball for back to back layups, while Greenwell connected on two layups and a three to close the contest. Despite Duke's offensive effort late, the Cardinals came up with the win, defeating the Blue Devils, 65-48.

Duke's Head Coach Joanne McCallie rang Louisville's praises, "What's ironic is they're better than last year's team. I remember last year's team came to Durham eight, I think, and we were something lower than that." She emphasized, "They are better than last year's team."

Kentucky native Rebecca Greenwell paced the Blue Devils posting a team-best 14 points while Azurá Stephens finished with a double-double racking up 12 points and 10 rebounds. Louisville held Stephens well below her 18.1 points per game.

Louisville had three players score double-figures: Mariya Moore and Asia Durr lead the team putting up 15 points apiece. Moore connected on 4-of-12 from the field, 2-of-8 from beyond the arc and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. The sophomore dished out four assists and pulled down five boards.

Durr tallied up 15 points while grabbing two steals in 28 minutes played. Hines-Allen rounds out the trio with 14 points going 6-of-10 from the field while grabbing five boards and finishing with a team-best five assists.

Louisville extends the streak to nine-consecutive wins, four consecutive in the ACC.