Louisville Comeback Effort at Duke Falls Short

The Cardinals fall to 11-5 on the season despite 23 points from Hailey Van Lith.

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

DURHAM, N.C. — The RV/RV Louisville women's basketball team battled all afternoon but could not overcome its early deficit and fell, 63-56, to Duke Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cardinals (11-5, 2-1) got within two twice in the final quarter but a late Blue Devils (13-1, 3-0) run was the difference.

Hailey Van Lith led all scorers with 23 points, shot 11-for-21 from the field and had four rebounds in the loss. It was her second-straight 20-point game and the ninth time she has scored 20 or more this season. Chrislyn Carr had eight points with two threes as Olivia Cochran added eight points and five boards.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-0 early lead as they held the Blue Devils scoreless for the first 3:37 of the game. Cochran was the catalyst for the Cards in the opening quarter with five points and three rebounds over the first 10 minutes. Duke responded with a run of its own and the Blue Devils held an 18-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Blue Devils continued the run into the second quarter as the lead got to a game-high 14 points halfway through the quarter. The Cardinals fought back as they hit their final four shots in the quarter and went on a 7-2 run over the final 2:28 of the half. At the break, the Cards faced a 32-24 deficit. Van Lith came alive in the second quarter as she scored eight points in the quarter. She scored eight of the final 11 points for the Cards in the quarter and assisted on Carr's three with 40 seconds left.

Van Lith continued the scoring into the third as she scored four of the first seven points for the Cards as they cut the deficit to six at the media timeout. The Cards held Duke scoreless for over four minutes in the third and got the deficit down to four before the Blue Devils hit a free throw with under two minutes left. Louisville hit five of its last six shots to end the third yet the Cards trailed 43-38 going into the final quarter.

The Cards got the deficit down to two in two different spots in the fourth quarter but an 8-0 run by the Blue Devils put them back ahead by 10 with under two minutes remaining. The Cards went on a 5-0 spurt after two baskets from Van Lith to trim the Duke lead to 59-54 with 1:06 left. Van Lith hit another shot to get the Cards within three but that was the closest they got as the Blue Devils hit their free throws to close out the game.

The Cardinals head back to campus for a two-game homestand that starts next week. First up for the Cards will be Georgia Tech on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards and Yellow Jackets will play at 8 p.m. ET and the game will be aired nationally on the ACC Network.

(Photo of Mykasa Robinson, Hailey Van Lith: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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