BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - Asia Durr scored 33 points to help No. 5 Louisville beat WKU 102-80 on Tuesday night and get coach Jeff Walz his 300th career win.
Durr scored the first 11 points for the Cardinals (1-0) and had 21 by halftime as the team shot an efficient 56 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three-point range.
Already the winningest coach at Louisville, Walz got No. 300 in the same E.A. Diddle Arena where he started his career as a WKU graduate assistant in 1996-97.
Tuesday also marked the head coaching debut of Greg Collins at WKU (0-1). The defending Conference USA Tournament champion Lady Toppers orchestrated two runs in the first half to trim Louisville's lead to single digits, but Durr and the Cardinals never let it get close.
"They've done a great job at Louisville. Good coaches win with talent. That's one thing that Coach Walz has done is he's had great players, but he's won. They've played tough schedules; last year they lost three games. They beat Notre Dame twice, and last year Notre Dame won the national championship," Collins said. "They lost to Connecticut, Florida State and in the Final Four to Mississippi State. He's got the rest of the team back and over the years he's just continued to get good players and win against good teams. He's one of the best coaches in the country and he's got one of the best programs in the country."
Louisville used a 26-2 run in the last six minutes of the third quarter to lead by 34 points going into the fourth.
Durr played just three quarters and finished 12-of-21 from the floor with seven three-pointers. Arica Carter finished with 19 points and accounted for four of Louisville's 16-of-34 shooting from behind the arc.
Alexis Brewer led WKU with 22 points in her first game since sitting out a season after transferring from West Virginia.
"The focus is on the end of the season, being at our best. Right now, I'm happy with where we are getting up and down the court, I think we do a good job at that. We got up and down the court with Louisville tonight, which they're really one of the best transition teams in the country," Collins said. "We'll get better at our half court, that was really the difference."
BIG PICTURE
Louisville had 10 different scorers with Walz emptying the bench in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh transfer Yacine Diop had a double-double in her first game as a Cardinal with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kentucky native Lindsey Duvall scored six points for Louisville in her collegiate debut.
UP NEXT
Louisville plays at Chattanooga on Friday. WKU plays Oklahoma for the first time since 1985 in Norman, Okla., on Friday at 7 p.m.
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