After moving up to No. 2 in the latest Associated Press poll, Louisville women’s basketball opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at Duke on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will broadcast on Fox Sports South.
UofL’s no. 2 ranking matches its highest ever in the AP poll. Five other times Louisville has been ranked second, once last season, three times in 2018-19 and once in 2017-18.
Despite not playing in the fourth quarter, Dana Evans finished with a season-high 26 points, just two shy of her career-high, in the win over UT Martin. She was 9-18 from the floor, 4-9 from 3-point range and 4-5 from the stripe.
The All-American has scored at least 15 points in every game this season and has reached the 20-point plateau in three straight games. She ranks third in the ACC with 20.3 points per game and 5.2 assists per game. She has 21 assists to just seven turnovers.
Louisville is averaging 94.0 points per game, which leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the country. They scored a record-breaking 116 points in the 116-75 win over No. 20 DePaul on Friday and have scored at least 74 points in every game.
Through four wins, the Cardinals have a scoring margin of +30.8, which ranks third in the ACC and 13th in the NCAA. Louisville won by 43 points (W, 101-58) against EKU and 41 points (116-75) against No. 20 DePaul. Their smallest margin of victory is 18 points against UT Martin (W, 85-67).
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke is 3-0 to start the season in head coach Kara Lawson’s first year at the helm. They are coming off a 72-47 win over East Carolina on Saturday. The Blue Devils have a +27.3 scoring margin in their three wins and have six players averaging double-figures. Junior Miela Goodchild leads the way with 18.0 points per game, while shooting 10-23 from beyond the arc. Senior Jade Williams was named to the Lisa Leslie Award watch list for the third straight season after averaging 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals as a junior. The Blue Devils went 18-12 overall and 12-6 in ACC play last season.
Series History – Louisville is 5-3 all-time against Duke and 1-3 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cardinals have won four of the last five meetings, including the last meeting in Durham, a 73-51 victory on Jan. 6, 2019. Louisville is 4-2 against Duke since joining the ACC.
The Last Meeting (Jan. 5, 2020) – Jazmine Jones scored a career-high 26 points and Dana Evans hit two key late 3-pointers to lift No. 7 Louisville to a 60-55 win over Duke at the KFC Yum! Center. After Duke tied the game at 55-55 with 1:06 left, Evans drained a deep 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to put UofL ahead 58-55 with 36 seconds to go. Louisville then got a stop on the other end and Bionca Dunham sank two clutch free throws to seal the 60-55 victory.
GAME FACTS
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 9
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Durham, N.C. | Cameron Indoor Stadium
TV: RSN/Fox Sports South (Tom Werme, play-by-play; Kelley Deyo, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 60-55 (Jan. 5, 2020 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 5-3 (3-0 Home, 1-3 Away, 0-1 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 2nd Associated Press
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. North Carolina
For the latest on Louisville women’s basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team’s Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
| Nick Evans Asst. Sports Information DirectorWomen’s Basketball, Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Soccer University of Louisville Athletics |