No. 4 Louisville rallies to beat South Dakota State 68-64
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) - Asia Durr scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half and No. 4 Louisville overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to beat South Dakota State 68-64 on Sunday.
Arica Carter added 14 points and Myisha Hines-Allen had 10 for the Cardinals (8-0) in their lowest-scoring and worst-shooting game of the season. Last season, Louisville won the matchup by 53 points.
Macy Miller and Myah Selland led the Jackrabbits (6-2) with 14 points apiece.
The Cardinals entered the game averaging 85.7 points but struggled against the Jackrabbits. Louisville shot 46.7 percent from the field.
"I told myself that I knew eventually my shots would fall," Durr said. "I just tried to stay positive, stay aggressive and tried and create."
Louisville took its first lead of the game in the third quarter on Durr's basket that made it 37-36. But South Dakota State responded and got the lead back to five. Louisville ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to tie it at 46 going into the final frame.
The Cardinals built the lead to five on Sam Fuehring's basket with just over six minutes to play. But the Jackrabbits again got it to two when Miller scored to make it 64-62. South Dakota State had the ball with a minute to play but was unable to get any closer.
South Dakota State shot 67 percent from the floor in the opening quarter and built the lead to as many as 12 points in the frame. Louisville's defense stiffened the rest of the way and limited SDSU's top two scorers, Miller and Maldison Guebert, to a 5-for-25 shooting performance.
"I thought defensively after that first quarter that we did a much better job," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "You can't ball watch them. They all shoot it so well."
After trailing by 12 at the start of the second quarter, Louisville responded and opened the frame on a 9-0 run. SDSU didn't get its first bucket in the quarter until the 3:32 mark and Louisville got it to within 26-23 when Carter scored.
But Louisville couldn't cut into the lead before halftime as SDSU scored the final five points of the quarter in just over a minute and took a 31-23 lead into the break.
"They did really good job defensively," Walz said. "They backed off some kids and were really physical with Durr, which was a smart move. Then we finally got our composure."
BIG TURNAROUND
Last year's game between these two schools in Louisville was an 83-30 win for the Cardinals.
HE SAID IT
"I'm not surprised by this at all," Walz said. "Last year's score, actually, surprised me. This year didn't. They are a very good basketball team. I think they finish in the top half of our league for sure.
BIG PICTURE
Louisville: The Cardinals played four straight at home before finishing the month with four straight road games.
South Dakota State: Miller is 4 for 26 from the field in the last two games.
UP NEXT
Louisville: Hosts UT Martin on Tuesday night.
South Dakota State: Hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday night.