No. 2 Louisville women beat Duke 73-49 in Lawson’s ACC debut

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Dana Evans scored 24 points and second-ranked Louisville pulled away in the second half to beat Duke 73-49 on Wednesday night.

Kianna Smith added 15 points for the Cardinals (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They led by just six midway through the third quarter before going on an 18-5 run to blow the game open.

Louisville shot 44% and made 7 of 16 3-pointers, with Smith hitting three and Evans and freshman Hailey Van Lith each making two.

Jade Williams scored 13 points for the Blue Devils (3-1, 0-1), who were playing their first league game under new coach Kara Lawson. Duke shot just 36% and made 1 of 16 3-pointers after making 24 3s over the previous two games.

BIG PICTURE

Louisville: The Cardinals moved up three spots in this week’s AP Top 25 poll to match their highest ranking in program history. Louisville entered this game averaging a league-best 94 points per game to rank ninth nationally, including 116 points in Friday’s win against No. 24 DePaul. The Cardinals followed up by having four players in double figures, including Van Lith (14) and Olivia Cochran (11 points and 12 rebounds).

Duke: The Blue Devils had won their first three games under Lawson by comfortable margins, though this was a significant step up in competition. The Blue Devils had five players averaging in double figures in multiple games of work to start the year, led by Miela Goodchild (18.0), while shooting nearly 51% from the floor and 41% from behind the arc. But Duke missed its first 12 3s and had just two players in double figures, while Goodchild scored just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

UP NEXT

Louisville: Host North Carolina on Sunday.

Duke: At Miami on Sunday.

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