Louisville holds off late rally from Kentucky to win Bluegrass battle

Danielle Lerner
Courier Journal
Louisville's Asia Durr is a little frustrated with a no-call from an official. 
Dec. 9, 2018

Asia Durr dribbled through a minefield of Kentucky defenders in the paint, backtracked two steps and hoisted a reverse layup up behind her head. 

The shot fell, as did the faces of the Wildcats upon realizing the basket had put Louisville up seven points with 2:17 remaining. 

No. 4 Louisville (10-0) held off a late rally from No. 19 Kentucky (9-1) to earn an 80-75 win in the Battle of the Bluegrass on Sunday at the KFC Yum Center. 

While 56-percent shooting and clutch free throws led Louisville to a third consecutive victory in the annual rivalry series, defense featured just as heavily in a clash between the two offensive juggernauts. 

Inside the scope of the larger battle were intense one-on-one duels: Durr vs. Maci Morris, Arica Carter vs. Taylor Murray, Jazmine Jones vs. Rhyne Howard. 

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA women's basketball scores, schedules, teams and more.

"We knew it was going to be a dog fight," Durr said. 

Durr poured in 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting for her second 30-point performance of the season, while Howard led Kentucky with 25 points and 10 rebounds.  

Earlier:Louisville women beat Nebraska behind Asia Durr's big night

Kentucky is one of the premier teams in the nation when it comes to causing turnovers (26.9 per game) but forced just seven Sunday, a season-low for the Cardinals. 

An up-tempo, offense-driven first half left Louisville up seven points after 20 minutes of basketball. That gave way to a second half slowed by foul calls and contested shots. Louisville led by as many as 18 points before Kentucky cut the lead to five points with two minutes to play. 

The Cardinals made 5 of 9 free throws down the stretch and the Wildcats missed 3 of their last 4 field goal attempts. 

"I really thought we had them in a spot where we could win the game," Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said. "I thought we attacked the basket, went really physical to the basket and just came up a little bit short and Louisville made enough plays there at the end."

Fire meets fire

The game was an all-out shootout from the get-go as both teams traded buckets with equal ferocity. Louisville ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run while holding Kentucky scoreless for 2:53. 

After shooting 50 percent in the first quarter, the Wildcats clamped down defensively in the second quarter but went 4 of 15 from the field as Howard made just one basket. The Cardinals held a 36-29 lead at the break behind Durr's 19 points. 

Kentucky stayed in the game behind key 3-point shooting, making 7 of 16 from beyond the arc as Louisville shot 3 of 13. 

"We're a good 3-point shooting team and it's a big part of our offense," Mitchell said. "We just were not able to turn Louisville over like we've been turning people over." 

The Cardinals opened the second half on an 11-4 run behind big 3-pointers from Jones and Durr and by midway through the third quarter had carved out a double-figure lead, but the Wildcats found some footing in the paint and roared back late in the fourth quarter behind nine points from Murray. 

Louisville coach Jeff Walz was unhappy with the Cards' fourth-quarter free-throw shooting (5 of 12), and forward Sam Fuehring also said the misses were uncharacteristic of the 77-percent free-throw shooting team. 

"I don't know what was up with the free-throw line today," Fuehring said. "It was just everybody missing the first shot and I feel like because we saw our teammates miss the first shot it was like so much pressure for us to make it." 

Durr makes the difference

It was apparent early on that Kentucky had no answer for Durr, Louisville's senior sharpshooter and a national player of the year candidate. Durr hit her first three shots to score the Cardinals' first seven points and rolled to 19 points by halftime.  

Wildcats senior guard Maci Morris started out defending Durr but couldn't keep up, and Mitchell switched Taylor Murray onto her midway through the second half. 

Durr said she did not adjust when Kentucky made the switch.

Earlier:Durr leads Louisville women's basketball to rout Hartford

"You never adjust. You play your game," she said. "They put Taylor on me; she's a scrappy one but she's a good player. We go way back to high school, so I have much love for her." 

“She came out like a ball of fire and we just tried to redouble our efforts and play harder," Mitchell said. "She's a hard person to guard and she had a fantastic game today."

Besides her shooting, Durr dished three assists and helped run Louisville's transition game. On one third-quarter fast break, she streaked the floor and then at the last second found Dunham on the other side of the paint for a layup. 

Cats win on the glass

Both teams shot such high percentages that there were rarely any rebounds to grab early on. Louisville missed consecutive shots just twice in the first quarter and the Cards and Cats combined to shoot 12 of 16 from the field. 

As the game went on, however, Kentucky followed its shots and earned a slight edge on the glass while scoring 20 second-chance points. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Cardinals 32-38, led by 10 from Howard and eight from Keke McKinney. 

"Second-chance points just killed us," Walz said. "I mean, 20-6. You don't win too many ballgames when you get beat that bad." 

Howard drives UK offense 

Howard, a freshman guard, displayed a variety of offensive skill, making a one-on-one layup, completing a 3-point play at the foul line and then hitting a transition 3-pointer for her first 8 points of the game. 

Walz was highly complimentary of Howard, who he coached over the summer on USA Basketball's U-18 team, and suggested she is a candidate for national freshman of the year. 

"She's got a skill set that's really hard to defend at her size," Walz said. "She handles the ball well, she can take it to the basket, she finishes with contact, she can shoot a step-back three. She is a complete player who is only going to get better."

Murray was also effective in crunch time and finished with 18 points. But Louisville cut off one crucial head of Kentucky's three-headed scoring threat, Morris. The senior finished with 11 points but scored just two points in the final quarter after she picked up her fourth foul and spent time on the bench. 

Danielle Lerner: 502-582-4042; dlerner@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Danielle_Lerner. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/daniellel.