Durr scores 26, No. 4 Louisville women top Wake Forest 89-52

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Asia Durr knows sometimes it's possible to do too much when the shots aren't falling. So, while Louisville's leading scorer put in a little extra work leading into Sunday's game against Wake Forest, she also made sure she took a break.

That plan worked as Durr regained her shooting touch, scoring 26 points to lead the No. 4 Cardinals over the Demon Deacons 89-52.

After scoring 36 in a win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame on Jan. 11, Durr dipped over the next three games. The Atlantic Coast Conference's fourth-leading scorer totaled only 27 points and shot 26.3 percent in that span -- she also had her streak of 59 games with a 3-pointer end.

When she wasn't in the gym, she was playing NBA2K to relax, and when she was wide awake in the middle of the night, she'd put on some spa music to get back to sleep.

"Things happen, you know," she said. "There's so many games we play throughout the year. So, things like that are going to take place, but you know, I just try to stay up."

Durr scored 20 points in the first half for the Cardinals on 6-for-8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. She exited the game for good midway through the third quarter and played just 25 minutes.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz said he didn't say anything to Durr, and added that she had good looks in previous games that just didn't fall. On Sunday, Durr teammates did a good job of finding her when she was open a couple times early.

"She knocked them both down, and then, when you do that, that's confidence," Walz said. "And that's what she had."

At one point in the second quarter, the Cardinals (22-1, 8-1) made seven straight baskets to break away from the Demon Deacons (10-12, 2-7). Wake Forest lost its sixth in a row.

Durr ended that stretch with a 3-pointer. She was fouled on the play as she fell to the floor. Wake Forest coach Jen Hoover also drew a technical foul when she contested the call.

Durr made just 1 of 3 free throws, but the play gave Louisville a 46-26 lead with 1:52 left in the half.

Bionca Dunham had 16 points and Jazmine Jones 15 for Louisville.

Elisa Penna scored 20 points and matched a career high with 12 rebounds to lead Wake Forest. It marked the fourth time in the last six games the Italian junior has scored 20 or more.

JONES PROVIDES EARLY SPARK

The Louisville sophomore entered Sunday averaging 8.4 points a game. She nearly matched that total in the first four minutes as she scored the Cardinals' first eight points.

After making a pair of free throws to start the scoring with 8:38 left in the quarter, she got a steal in the backcourt that resulted in a layup. As Wake Forest tried bringing the ball up again, Durr got a steal that led to another Jones layup. In 29 seconds, Louisville had a six-point lead.

"She's got that ability and that's what we need her to keep doing," Walz said.

Jones added two more free throws, but then sat for the rest of the first half after picking up her second foul. Her teammates, namely Durr, picked up the slack from there.

BIG PICTURE

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons' previous five losses in their current streak were by a combined total of 44 points. They trailed Louisville by 42 with 7:10 remaining.

"We got to have a little bit of short-term memory on this one," Hoover said. "They're a very good basketball team. We felt like, coming in we could play with them. We've had a couple close games in (overtime) that I think really hurt us. We got to get back to being confident and playing Wake basketball."

Louisville: By starting a new winning streak, the Cardinals guaranteed themselves they at least remain tied for the ACC lead. That will be put to the test in their next contest as they travel to fellow co-leader Virginia on Thursday night.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Cardinals won twice by double digits this week and should not drop when the new poll is released on Monday.

UP NEXT

Wake Forest: Stays on the road in ACC play. The Demon Deacons play at Boston College on Thursday night.

Louisville: Starts February on the road, where the Cardinals will spend most of the month. The first stop will be at Virginia on Thursday night.