Louisville Bedevils Duke 73-49

In the first half Louisville shot 100% from the 3-point line and Duke shot 0%. Duke had made 24 threes in their previous two games, and it was clear that stopping them beyond the arc was a major point of emphasis. They finished the game 1 for 16.

Duke kept the game close enough that Coach Walz didn’t dig as deep into his bench throughout the first three quarters. They were still in striking distance going into the last quarter and then Dana Evans decided she’d had enough making them think they stood a chance and she put it into another gear. The lead quickly grew to 20 points and that was all she wrote.

Dana finished the game with 24 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Olivia Cochran had another double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Kianna Smith added 15 silky smooth points.

After the game Coach Walz said, “I thought we go out of the gates and played pretty well. We just gave up too many second chance points there in the first quarter that kind of kept them in the game.” However, “I was pleased with how we executed in the fourth quarter offensively. We should be scoring 80-plus points a night, but you do have to give credit to Duke for trying to slow things up.”

On Olivia’s double-double he said, “I’m really proud of her. She’s got great hands. She gets to that offensive glass and also had 2 assists and 1 turnover.... She’ll continue to play herself into better shape.”

Dana Evans spoke about her teammates, “They’re competitive. Hailey she’s not going to stop. She’s not going to be denied. I love that about her. The same for O. In the first half she had about 7 rebounds. That’s what we need from her. We need her to catch it down low and finish... then everything else will come easy for her.”

In the future Coach Walz wants his team to work on finding the open person after rebounds. “What we’ve got to do a better job of on offensive rebounds is when there’s two people between us and the basket then kick the thing out for an open three. Hailey drove in there and had a very nice shot. She missed it and gets the board— that’s got to be a kick right out.... But that’s learning.”

Next up the Cards take on North Carolina in the Yum Center. The game is Sunday the 13th at 4PM and will be televised on the ACC Network.