Louisville KOs Syracuse 76-51

Tonight the women wore their version of the special uniforms honoring Muhammad Ali and in that spirit they came out swinging. Southpaw Asia Durr rattled off the first 8 points of the game and it wasn’t long before Louisville had the Orange on the ropes. Louisville was up 30-17 at the end of the first quarter and Syracuse tried to counterpunch, but the Cards ended up going the distance.

Asia Durr led a balanced scoring attack with 15. Dana Evans went toe to toe with the Syracuse guards and finished 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists. Kylee Shook continued to show she’s an upstart to keep an eye on with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

After the game Coach Walz said, “I thought we really did a nice job. We followed the game plan. I was really proud of the kids, and that’s the focus we have to have. We’re a really good basketball team but we’re not good enough to just show up and expect we’re going to win.” He added, “When everybody contributes and we get the ball to the right people in position to score we’re a fun basketball team to watch play.”

Asia Durr said, “A lot of our players are staying in the gym and working on that three ball so it’s paying off. As we go throughout this conference play there are going to be a lot of teams playing us zone and trying to force us to shoot that three.”

When asked about the tribute uniforms Jeff Walz said, “Really sharp. I thought the uniforms were great.” But he admitted, “I kinda like to stick with the old things. I like to stick with what’s working for you but the kids really love it and Adidas has done a fantastic job.” Asia said, “I like them. I thought they were pretty cool. I like the black zip up shirt. That’s pretty cool—put your hood up like you’re a boxer.”

After Miami beat Notre Dame tonight the Cards currently find themselves as the sole number one in the ACC standings and looking good as contenders in the post season. Asia Durr said, “This whole conference is a great league where anybody can lose on any night.” She added, “It’s fun. It’s fun to play against great teams. Each game you can’t take them for granted.”

Their next bout is against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on February 12th at noon.