LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Asia Durr scored 14 of her 24 points in the second quarter, Dana Evans added 20 points and No. 3 Louisville held No. 2 UConn to 38 percent shooting in a 78-69 victory Thursday night.
After starting 0 for 4 from the field in the first quarter, Durr made three consecutive 3s to open the second and put the Cardinals (20-1) up 32-24. Evans scored 12 points in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining for a 70-59 lead, to help Louisville end a 17-game losing streak in the series.
Jazmine Jones and Sam Fuehring followed with two free throws each for a 13-point lead and the Cardinals added four more from the line in the final 1:30 to seal their first series victory against UConn (18-2) since the inaugural meeting in the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Jones finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Fuehring added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Napheesa Collier had 20 points, and Crystal Dangerfield added 19 for the Huskies. They had won their previous seven since losing at Baylor.
UConn was 7 of 22 from the field in the fourth quarter and was outrebounded 46-40 overall.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Louisville and UConn will likely swap positions in the poll.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: The Huskies started off well but couldn’t get that big lead they’re used to. It soon became a game of catch-up once Durr started hitting, a quest that was hurt by several droughts of at least two minutes. The Huskies also missed a lot of layups and a few free throws that could’ve helped.
Louisville: The Cardinals didn’t blink while trailing early and got contributions from others until Durr responded. Once she did, they remained poised and finally conquered their biggest nemesis. Making 11 of 29 from long range was critical.
UP NEXT
UConn returns to American Athletic Conference play Saturday at Cincinnati.
Louisville resumes Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at Clemson.
___
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
