WOMENS BASKETBALL
Duke 61, Louisville 48
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Oluchi Okananwa came off the bench to score 13 points and No. 11 Duke cruised to a 61-48 victory over Louisville on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at First Horizon Coliseum.
Okananwa made 4 of 7 shots with a 3-pointer and 4 of 5 free throws for Duke. Reigan Richardson added 12 points and Ashlon Jackson scored 11. ACC rookie of the year Toby Fournier scored 10 and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.
Reserve Mackenly Randolph scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting to lead the sixth-seeded Cardinals (21-10). Olivia Cochran had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double this season.
Six different players had a basket, and the Blue Devils led 15-11 lead after one quarter.
Louisville made 1 of 5 shots and turned the ball over five times in the first seven minutes of the second quarter in falling behind 23-13. Nyla Harris ended the Cardinals' six-minute scoring drought with a basket, but Taina Mair buried a 3-pointer with two seconds left as the Blue Devils closed the half on an 8-3 run for a 31-18 advantage.
Duke held Louisville to two points through the first four minutes of the third quarter and the Blue Devils used back-to-back 3-pointers by Jackson and a three-point play by Fournier to up their lead to 41-20. Jackson finished with eight points in the period and Duke led 45-30.
Louisville scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, but Okananwa answered with a three-point play and Duke maintained a double-digit lead from there.
March 7, 2025