Stanford women's NCAA tournament run ends in loss to Louisville

LEXINGTON, Kentucky - Asia Durr had 24 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 17 and top-seeded Louisville rolled past No. 4 seed Stanford 86-59 on Friday night in the women's NCAA tournament Lexington Region semifinal.

Arica Carter had 13 points and Jazmine Jones 10 for the Cardinals (35-2), who trailed for just 53 seconds to win their 10th consecutive game and advance to their first region final since 2014.

Louisville thrived offensively, shooting 52 percent and building a lead that reached 27 points with 1:24 remaining to finish a third consecutive NCAA tournament rout.

Hines made 8 of 15 baskets and surpassed 2,000 career points. The senior forward also grabbed five rebounds.

Brittany McPhee had 15 points and Dijonai Carrington 14 for Stanford, which hoped to upset a tournament top seed for the third March in a row in Lexington after knocking out Notre Dame the previous two years.

The Cardinal's bench outscored Louisville 23-13, but Stanford committed 19 turnovers, leading to 22 points for the Cardinals.

BIG PICTURE

Stanford: The Cardinal started out doing what it needed to stay with Louisville offensively, outshooting the Cardinals 73 percent to 65 percent in the first quarter. But Stanford still trailed by six, and that early statistic demonstrated its struggle to slow down the athletic Cardinals. With that went the Cardinal's goal of toppling a top seed for the third consecutive spring.

Louisville: Playing just under 80 miles east of home with many of 5,715 clad in red at Rupp Arena, the Cardinals gave them a lot to cheer by clicking in many areas. They outrebounded Stanford 34-29, controlled the paint and outraced the Cardinal in the late-evening contest. Hines-Allen set the initial tempo on offense before Durr and others chipped in. Forward Sam Fuehring had 11 rebounds and nine points.