Durr scores 24, No. 5 Louisville women beat Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Asia Durr scored 24 points as No. 5 Louisville used another third-quarter burst to pull away and beat Chattanooga 75-49 on Friday night.
After a closely played first half, Louisville (2-0) outscored Chattanooga 30-10 in the third quarter to take control. In their season-opening win over Western Kentucky, the Cardinals outscored WKU 31-8 in the third quarter.
Bionca Dunham scored 12 points for Louisville while Sam Fuehring had eight. Louisville assisted on 21 of its 28 made field goals.
Durr, who scored 33 points against Western Kentucky, shot 7 for 14 from the field — including 5 for 0 on 3-pointers — against Chattanooga. It was the senior guard’s 39th game with at least 20 points.
Lakelyn Bouldin finished with 11 points for Chattanooga (1-1), which shot 31.4 percent from the field (16 of 51)
Both teams struggled shooting from the start, combining to go 3 for 23 through the first four minutes. Bouldin gave Chattanooga an offensive spark by banking in a hook shot and making a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Mocs an 11-7 lead.
Fueled by turnovers and Durr’s scoring, Louisville went on a a run to end the half. The senior guard hit a 3-pointer and finished a layup on the break to give the Cardinals a 28-20 lead.
Louisville came out of the halftime break with renewed energy on defense and quickly built their lead. The Cardinals started the third quarter on an 8-0 run, and never looked back. Durr made back-to-back 3s to give Louisville a 51-27 lead, and capped the third quarter with a 40-foot shot at the buzzer.
BIG PICTURE
Louisville: The Cardinals need to find ways to score in the half-court when Durr isn’t. Louisville struggled to generate points in the first half while Durr was contained by Chattanooga’s defense or sitting on the bench. Louisville’s pressure defense helped alleviate the problem in the second half by getting points in transition.
Chattanooga: In their first big test under new coach Katie Burrows, the Mocs weren’t afraid and hung with Louisville through the first half. But Louisville’s pressure finally wore Chattanooga down. The experience will serve the Mocs well the remainder of the season against less-heralded opponents.