No. 5 Louisville cruises past Belmont 73-50 in home opener
(AP) — Asia Durr and Ciera Johnson scored 18 points apiece as No. 5 Louisville defeated Belmont 73-50 in the Cardinals' home opener on Sunday.
After scoring a career-high of 24 points on Friday, Durr continued her hot start to her sophomore year with 7 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
The Bruins return five starters and their top nine scorers from their NCAA Tournament team last year, but they had trouble scoring against the Cardinals' length and pressure defense.
Possibly overshadowed by Durr's performance, Johnson was a force in the low post, going 6 of 7 from the field and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line.
The Bruins received four votes in The Associated Press preseason Top 25, but their four votes weren't enough to earn them a ranking.
Ranked fifth in The Associated Press preseason Top 25, Louisville is expected to stay behind Notre Dame, Baylor, UConn and South Carolina in the poll released Monday.