LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Jeff Walz wasn’t surprised to see his team’s big lead whacked down to a couple of possessions. Nor was he shocked by Hailey Van Lith’s response that helped the No. 5 Cardinals maintain their edge.
Van Lith scored eight of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, Kianna Smith added five in the period and Louisville held off No. 21 Duke 77-65 on Sunday for its third consecutive victory.
The Cardinals (18-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared in control with a 20-point lead just after halftime. Shayeann Day-Wilson scored five consecutive points to get Duke within 62-57 early in the fourth before Smith and Van Lith answered with a layup and 3-pointer respectively and Emily Engstler added a jumper for a 69-57 cushion.
Van Lith’s next 3 spurred a 6-0 spurt to make it 75-62 including three free throws from Smith and Mykasa Robinson. Van Lith’s layup with 27 seconds remaining closed the scoring as Louisville improved to 12-0 at home and closed the month 7-1.
Van Lith’s 5-of-8 shooting from long range and 6 of 12 overall made the difference after going scoreless in the middle two quarters. Louisville was 11 of 32 from behind the arc.
“They guarded, they came out and forced her to put the ball on the ground on some close-outs,” Walz said of Duke’s defense on Van Lith. “And then we ran a couple of things to try to get her some open looks, and she knocked them down.”
Day-Wilson scored 25 points before fouling out late, and Lexi Gordon had 11 for the shorthanded Blue Devils (13-6, 4-5). Duke was without head coach Kara Lawson after she entered health and safety protocols last week. Celeste Taylor missed a sixth consecutive game with injury, while ex-Cardinal Nyah Green was also out for a violation of team rules.
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