Cards Earn Ranked Road Win Over #11 Duke, 70-62

Thursday, February 20

Durham, NC

7 PM

University of Louisville

#11 Duke

February 20, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Walz Postgame Presser

It was Duke’s first home loss of the season

By: Matt Paras

DURHAM, N.C. — The Louisville women's basketball team (19-7, 12-4 ACC) picked up its second-straight ranked road win after the 70-62 victory over No. 11 Duke (20-7, 11-4 ACC) Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cardinals gave Duke their first home loss of the season as they had won 13-straight at Cameron Indoor and 18-straight at home against unranked opponents.

Jayda Curry led the way for the Cardinals with a season-high 24 points and tied a season high with five steals. Curry was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line on the night and she came into the game ranked eighth in the nation with a 92.5 free throw percentage on the season. Ja'Leah Williams tied a season high with 13 points and tied for the team lead in assists with three. Tajianna Roberts tallied her 21st double-digit scoring game of the season with 11 points against the Blue Devils. The 21 double-figure scoring games leads all ACC freshmen this season.

It was a slow start for the Cardinals as they hit only 2 of their first 11 shots from the floor to begin the game. The Cards got their act together over the final minute as Elif Istanbulluoglu banked in a three and Williams hit a jumper from the free throw line to beat the buzzer. At the end of the first, Louisville trailed by one at 14-13.

Louisville continued to shoot better in the second quarter as it hit four of the first eight shots. The Cardinals ripped off a 7-0 run in a little over 40 seconds and forced the Blue Devils to call a timeout. The run continued after the timeout as Roberts picked up a steal and got it up to Curry for a layup and the foul. The Cardinals shot 8-for-16 for the quarter, including 4-for-6 from three and took a 35-29 lead into the half. In the second quarter alone, Louisville turned Duke over 10 times.

Louisville struggled in the third quarter as they turned the ball over eight times. Heading into the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 45-45.

The score remained tied at the media timeout in the fourth. The Cardinals hit four early free throws in the quarter and Curry knocked down her third three of the night as both teams were tied at 52-52 with 4:59 left. Duke regained the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter out of the media timeout but it did not last long.

Olivia Cochran converted a lay-up and was fouled to bring the score level again. Cochran missed the free throw but after an offensive rebound by Merissah Russell, Curry hit a floater to put the Cards back up. Both teams traded scores on the next six possessions as it remained a two point Louisville lead with 2:38 remaining.

After the Cards regained possession on a jump ball, they had 3.6 on the shot clock to run an in-bounds play. Russell drove to the lane and her floater went off the glass and in to beat the shot clock. After that basket, the Cardinals converted all six of their free throws to clinch the road win. Free throws were crucial down in the fourth as the Cards hit 16-for-17 in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals return home for their final two home games of the regular season. The final homestand begins on Sunday as they welcome a team from the Triangle to the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville is set to host No. 9/10 North Carolina on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.