The Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team put up a fierce fight against the Duke Blue Devils on Sunday, but ultimately fell to a final score of 63-56. Despite their best efforts, the Cardinals (11-5, 2-1) were unable to overcome the early deficit set by the Blue Devils (13-1, 3-0) and suffered a heartbreaking loss. Hailey Van Lith led all scorers with a remarkable 23 points, shooting an impressive 11-for-21 from the field and pulling in four rebounds. This marked Van Lith’s ninth time scoring 20 or more points this season and her second consecutive 20-point game, making her a formidable force on the court.
The Cardinals got off to a strong start, taking an early 5-0 lead and holding the Blue Devils scoreless for a staggering 3:37 of the game. However, Duke quickly rebounded with a run of their own, ending the first quarter with a commanding 18-11 advantage. The Blue Devils continued to dominate into the second quarter, building a formidable 14-point lead halfway through the period.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable deficit, the Louisville Cardinals refused to give up. They fought back and ended the half with a valiant 7-2 run, narrowing the gap to 32-24. Van Lith played a crucial role in this comeback effort, scoring eight of the final 11 points for the Cardinals in the second quarter and assisting on Chrislyn Carr’s three-pointer with just 40 seconds left on the clock.
In the third quarter, Van Lith continued to shine, scoring four of the first seven points for Louisville as they cut the deficit to a mere six points at the media timeout. The Cardinals held Duke scoreless for an impressive four minutes in the third, and managed to bring the deficit down to just four points. However, a late Duke free throw with under two minutes left in the quarter kept the Blue Devils in the lead. Despite hitting five of their last six shots to end the third quarter, the Cardinals found themselves trailing 43-38 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Louisville Cardinals refused to go down without a fight. They managed to bring the deficit down to just two points in two separate instances, but an 8-0 run by the Blue Devils put them back in the lead by a ten-point margin with under two minutes remaining. The Cardinals launched a final 5-0 surge after two baskets from Van Lith, trimming the Duke lead to just 59-54 with 1:06 left on the clock. Van Lith hit another impressive shot, bringing the Cardinals within three points of the lead. However, the Blue Devils hit their free throws in the final stretch to secure the win.
The Louisville Cardinals head back to campus for a two-game homestand that begins next week, starting with a matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will be aired nationally on the ACC Network at 8 p.m. ET and is sure to be a thrilling showdown.
