No. 5 Louisville flourishing behind the Asia Durr show

Louisville, KY — Asia Durr posted a career-high 34-points as she led the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals to an 83-58 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons.

The Cardinals came out hot against Bowling Green, outscoring the Falcons 12-5 in the first two minutes. Durr drove to the bucket for two to put Louisville on the board. Bowling Green’s Sydney Lambert countered as she connected on a jump shot. Ciera Johnson struck next for the Cardinals, followed by a Myisha Hines-Allen jumper, putting Louisville up, 6-2.

Carly Santoro connected on a shot from beyond the arc, but the Falcons could not contain Durr, who hit back-to-back treys.

The Falcons came back with a vengeance as Myers added two on a jump shot while Lambert and Caterrion Thompson added six on two three-pointers.

Despite a late surge from Bowling Green, the Cardinals entered the second period with a 22-16 lead.

The Cardinals and the Falcons came out cold in the second period. Bowling Green was the first on the board in the second as a technical foul on Louisville coach Jeff Walz sent Santoro to the line to hit 1-of-2.

Kylie Shook tried to light a fire under the Cardinals as she added two, but both teams continued to struggle offensively going another two minutes without a score. At the 4:50 Media Timeout, the teams posted a combined three points.

Out of the timeout, a foul by Rachel Myers sent Durr to the charity stripe to connect on two. A jump shot by Jane Uecker cut Louisville’s lead to seven.

The Cardinals managed to pull together in the closing minutes, heading into the half with a nine-point lead, 36-27.

Louisville shot a dismal 35.7% from the field in the first half, scoring on 15-of-42. While the Cardinals struggled to put up points, offensively, Louisville was able to hold on to the ball, turning it over only five times in the first half.

Bowling Green was plagued by turnovers, throwing away the ball 15-times, allowing Louisville to pick up 15-points.

It’s unknown what Louisville coach Jeff Walz told the women in the locker room, but the third period saw a Cardinal team that was firing on all cylinders.

Out of the gate, Durr connected on three treys forcing a Bowling Green timeout. Durr’s hot streak continued as she hit another three-pointer and added two layups. Durr was solely responsible for Louisville’s 13-0 run in less than two minutes.

The Cardinals’ run was snapped as a foul sent Myers to the line to hit 1-of-2. But, the ball found its way into Durr’s hand on the wing who notched another trey.

Louisville closed out a dominant third period behind a 24-point lead.

Despite adding 15-points in the final period, the Falcons were unable to come back from a 24-point deficit. The Cardinals notched their fourth win of the season, defeating Bowling Green, 83-58.

Talking Stats

The Cardinals finished the game shooting 45.5% from the field, 37.5% from beyond the arc. Louisville dished out 24 assists on 35 made shots. Louisville was locked in defensively forcing 32 turnovers.

The Falcons shot 35.2% from the field, but hit 9-treys. Bowling Green dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Cardinals, 40-39.

High Scorers

The Cardinals had two players notch double-figures: Asia Durr racked up a team-best and career-high 34-points on 12-18 shooting. Durr tallied eight treys in just 23-minutes played. Myisha Hines-Allen added 13-points, connecting on 60% of her shots from the field.

Despite going 1-9 tonight, Mariya Moore led the team in assists, dishing the ball out six times and tallying three steals.

For the Falcons, Clare Glowniak picked up 11-points as she connected on 2-of-5 from the field, 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Both Rachel Myers and Caterrion Thompson added 9-points apiece.

Next Up

The Cardinals face Lafayette (1-3) on Sunday as the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic rolls along.