Content by – Alyx White for
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When the Duke Blue Devils head to the KFC Yum! Center, fans are in for an exciting night of hoops. The stakes felt higher than ever going into this matchup. Not only was it between two teams ranked in the top 20 nationally, but it also featured the only two teams with perfect records in conference play. The 6th-ranked Cardinals and the 17th-ranked Blue Devils were both 11-0 and sitting at the top of the ACC standings. The winner of this game would move into that top spot, and with only six games left in the regular season, it was prime time to claim it.
Duke wasted no time getting its offense going, while Louisville struggled to find its rhythm early. The Cardinals didn’t see the ball go through the net until the six-minute mark of the opening quarter, when Mackenly Randolph connected on her second free throw attempt. Louisville’s first field goal didn’t come until two minutes later, sparking a small run that helped trim down Duke’s double-digit lead. Still, the Cardinals continued to have trouble converting. By the end of the first quarter, Louisville had cut Duke’s lead from 15 down to 12, but had made just three of its 16 field goal attempts (18.8%). Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were nearly unstoppable offensively, shooting an impressive 71.4% from the field (10-for-14).
Louisville’s offensive struggles carried into the second quarter, as the Cardinals didn’t make their first basket until more than two minutes into the period. Fortunately for Louisville, Duke also went cold, enduring a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought of its own. Around the midpoint of the quarter, Skylar Jones completed a 3-point play to bring Louisville within seven points. However, Riley Nelson knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Duke a 10-point advantage heading into halftime. Toby Fournier and Taina Mair led the Blue Devils with a combined 24 of their 37 first-half points, while Reyna Scott and Skylar Jones paced Louisville with seven points each.
Louisville set the tone early in the second half, with Laura Ziegler immediately putting two points on the board. From there, Louisville steadily chipped away at Duke’s lead, cutting the deficit to just three points, which was the closest it had been since the opening minutes of the game. The Cardinals’ defensive intensity and effort played a major role, with several key stops helping shift momentum. After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, Louisville had trimmed the deficit to just 46-43 by the end of the third quarter. With the crowd fully engaged and momentum on their side, the Cardinals entered the final quarter poised to complete the comeback.
The energy inside the KFC Yum! Center was electric to open the quarter when Reyna Scott converted a 3-point play to tie the game. Moments later, Laura Ziegler came up with a steal and knocked down a 3-pointer to give Louisville its first lead of the night, and the crowd’s energy soared to a new level. While the effort and energy were still on full display, the Cards hit a scoring drought, going without a field goal for over six minutes and allowing Duke to reclaim the lead.
Imari Berry finally ended the drought with a clutch 3-pointer with just two minutes remaining in the game, bringing Louisville back within two points. The Cardinals’ defense continued to deliver, creating opportunities down the stretch. In the final seconds, Ziegler came up with another steal and pushed the ball ahead to Berry, who was fouled with a chance to tie the game at the free throw line. Berry calmly knocked down the first free throw but narrowly missed the second, leaving Louisville just short in a heartbreaking 59-58 loss.
Despite the outcome, the Cardinals showed tremendous resilience and fight after trailing by double digits for much of the first half. Their defensive effort, composure, and determination fueled a near comeback against one of the ACC’s top teams. While the loss stings, Louisville once again proved it belongs among the nation’s elite and remains firmly in the conversation as one of the top teams in women’s college basketball this season.
Duke was led in scoring by Fournier with 15 points. Mair and Nelson also finished in double figures with 13 points each. Those three Blue Devils also led the way on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds a piece. For the Cardinals, Elif Istanbulluoglu was the leading scorer with 13 points, while Ziegler and Scott each chipped in 11 points. Ziegler led Louisville on the rebounding front with 8 rebounds.
