Duke’s defense lifts the Blue Devils over Louisville, into ACC Tournament semifinals
After Louisville’s overtime win over Clemson on Thursday night, Cardinals guard Tajianna Roberts had a clear message for Duke.
“You guys already got them once,” ESPN commentator Pam Ward said.
“And we’re going to get them again,” Roberts responded.
Except the only thing Duke got was bulletin-board material.
The No. 3 seed Blue Devils defeated No. 6 seed Louisville, 61-48, on Friday night behind a commanding defensive performance.
Duke, ranked No. 11 in the most recent AP Top 25, will face Notre Dame at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for a chance to make the title game. The semifinal appearance will be the second in three seasons. With Duke advancing, all three Power Four women’s basketball teams from the Triangle will play in the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2014 after North Carolina and N.C. State also won their games Friday.
“Each team presents different problems. They demand different things of you defensively,” Duke head coach Kara Lawson said on Monday. “But there’s no doubt, if we feel like we can impose our will on that end, then we have a good chance of winning the game.”
Her squad’s defensive prowess was on full display against Louisville. The Blue Devils held the Cardinals to 18 first-half points — Louisville’s lowest single-half scoring output this season — on 30.8% shooting. They recorded just seven points in the second period.
Additionally, Duke forced 11 early turnovers. By comparison, the Cards average 43.5% shooting from the field and commit just under 16 turnovers per game.
The Blue Devils’ aggression took no time off in the second half. They held the Cardinals to 12 points in the third, including two points in the first five minutes. Louisville started the fourth on a 7-0 run to cut Duke’s lead to single digits, but its late push fell short. It never finished with 20 points in a single quarter.
“Within every team, they’re always going to have that fire inside of them,” Ashlon Jackson said of Louisville’s comeback attempt. “Every team in this league can be anyone you know. Having that in the back of our minds, like we expect that to happen, you know. But at the end of the day, it comes down to execution for both teams. I would say the team who executes the most wins within those situations.”
Duke didn’t just stop the scoring. The Blue Devils fought for rebounds on every possession. They also notched six blocks, 12 steals and 13 points in transition. Those numbers don’t even include efforts to corral loose balls. Louisville didn’t have any blocks or fast-break points; it recorded three steals.
“Transition was a point of emphasis for us on both sides of the ball,” Lawson said. “I’m very proud of the 13 points that we were able to get in transition. But I’m more proud of the zero that they got, or didn’t get. That was something that we talked about that we needed to try to limit their transition game. They have so many athletic players, so I thought to win that in this battle was a big reason why we won the game.”
Louisville deserves credit for effectively utilizing its own defense. In fact, turnovers seemed just as prevalent as scoring. In the second quarter, the teams combined for seven points and seven turnovers apiece in the first six minutes. Duke shot 41.5% from the field and 33.3% from the perimeter.
The two programs finished with 39 combined turnovers. Duke, which had 18 turnovers, said Louisville played with a lot of physicality but most of their mistakes came from mental errors and a loss of composure.
“Proud of the team’s effort. Any win in March is a good win. It doesn’t matter how it looks or what you do,” Lawson said on Friday. “This is such a difficult tournament, and Louisville is a terrific team; formidable opponent for us. We started the game off so well defensively. I thought the first half was a great defensive effort by us, and then they made a run. That’s what good teams do. I was really proud of how we settled ourselves back down.”
ACC Rookie of the Year Toby Fournier struggled to find the hole. She started 2 of 7 from the field and 0-3 on free-throw attempts. She finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Fournier shot 4 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Though her offensive efficiency was lower than normal, Fournier was disruptive and played fearlessly. She intercepted an inbounds pass with seven minutes to play and made a free throw to put the Blue Devils back up 12 points.
Jackson, Oluchi Okananwa and Reigan Richardson provided a much-needed lift on offense. The trio scored 36 points to help Duke overcome a poor shooting night, with Richardson scoring eight points in the fourth.
“I think we just lean on our defense,” Fournier said. “I don’t think it was too bad for us offensively, but what we lack in offense some nights, we’re gonna make up for in defense.”
Roberts, despite her confidence on Thursday, finished with eight points on 2-of-13 shooting, three boards and four turnovers. It was a far cry from the 16-point and 10-rebound double-double against Clemson. Mackenly Randolph led the Cards with 13 points. Olivia Cochran added a game-high 11 rebounds.
Louisville was without leading scorer Jayda Curry for the second consecutive game with a shoulder injury. Curry averages 13.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. In the Cardinals’ win at Duke, Curry recorded 24 points.
It wasn’t a pretty game for either team, and Duke will need better scoring in its semifinal matchup, but it survived and advanced.
“This is the greatest time of year,” Lawson said. “You get to play and then you go to sleep, you wake up, you play again. This is what you want. You want to be in March basketball.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 9:50 PM.
