ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — No. 8 Louisville handed top-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season, getting 18 points and 15 rebounds from Kylee Shook in a 72-62 victory Saturday in the Paradise Jam tournament.
Dana Evans scored 17 points, Elizabeth Balogun had 11 points and Jazmine Jones scored 10 for the Cardinals (8-0) to claim the tournament’s Island Division title and give coach Jeff Walz a signature win.
Satou Sabally scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures for the Ducks (6-1), who led by as many as 11 points early before Louisville took control.
Minyon Moore added 15 points, Sabrina Ionescu scored 13 and Ruthy Hebard had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon, which trailed by nine points entering the fourth quarter.
The Ducks managed to close within six points twice, the last at 66-60 on Ionescu’s 3-pointer with 1:32 left. Evans and Jones made 6 of 6 free throws to give Louisville some breathing room down the stretch.
Oregon had control in the first quarter, racing to a 24-13 lead by the end of the period on Ionescu’s layup with 48 seconds left.
However, the Cardinals rallied in the second quarter to tie the game twice, the last at 32-all on Balogun’s jumper with 1:40 left.
That began a 7-0 run by the Cardinals, with Evans’ 3-pointer 30 seconds later putting them ahead 35-32, and Shook’s layup giving Louisville a 37-32 halftime lead.
The Cardinals stretched their lead to as many as 12 points in the third quarter, going up 44-32 on Noriko Konno’s jumper with 7:32 left, and were ahead 51-42 heading into the final period.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: The Ducks are 1-1 against AP Top 25 opponents this season and 10-4 against ranked teams since the 2018-2019 season.
Louisville: The Cardinals snapped a five-game losing streak against top-ranked teams, with their last win coming against then-No. 1 Baylor in an NCAA regional in Oklahoma City on March 31, 2013.
UP NEXT
Oregon: Hosts South Dakota State on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Louisville: At Ohio State on Thursday.
___
More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womensbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25