Louisville blows out Stanford in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — After upsetting the top seed in the Lexington Regional the previous two years, the Stanford women couldn’t do it again.

Asia Durr had 24 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 17 and top-seeded Louisville rolled past the fourth-seeded Cardinal 86-59 on Friday night in the Lexington Regional semifinal.

In each of the past two years, Stanford knocked off top-seeded Notre Dame, winning in the regional semifinals in 2016 and the final in 2017.

This time, it was outclassed. Stanford shot 57 percent in the first half but still trailed 42-31 at the break because Louisville shot 56 percent and had a 16-9 rebounding advantage. Stanford also committed 12 turnovers.

Stanford, which finished 24-11, “has really demonstrated, I think, tremendous resilience and fight,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We had to do a lot of that tonight.”

The Cardinals, on the other hand, “were extremely aggressive,” she said. “We turned it over too much. We didn’t do a good enough job keeping them off the O-boards. … I think we’re better than what we showed tonight, but I’m really proud of our whole team and how well — the season that we had.”

In the third quarter, the Cardinal went cold, scoring just 14 points while Durr had 12 by herself. Louisville’s lead grew to 64-45 by the end of the period.

Louisville's Asia Durr (25) looks for an opening as Stanford's Kaylee Johnson, left, and Brittany McPhee defend during the first half of an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal Friday, March 23, 2018, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/James Crisp) less Louisville's Asia Durr (25) looks for an opening as Stanford's Kaylee Johnson, left, and Brittany McPhee defend during the first half of an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal Friday, ... more Photo: James Crisp, Associated Press Photo: James Crisp, Associated Press Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Louisville blows out Stanford in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

During one frustrating possession in the third quarter, the Cardinal grabbed seven offensive rebounds but missed eight shots.

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 regional final since 2014.

“If you’re not playing them, I think you could really enjoy watching them play,” VanDerveer said. “They pass the ball well. They shoot the ball well. They work hard on defense. They’re extremely physical. ... A very well-coached team and a very unselfish team.”

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

Brittany McPhee, playing her final game for Stanford, scored 15 points and DiJonai Carrington 14.

McPhee said of Durr, “I think she just exudes confidence, and she’ll take any shot and think it’s going to go in. She was feeling it tonight, and she has range from anywhere, so she’s just a great player.”

Alanna Smith, after making her first three shots in the first two minutes, scored only two points the rest of the night. Freshman Kiana Williams, so strong from three-point range in the first two rounds, went 1-for-5 from distance and scored just seven points.

Kaylee Johnson finished her Stanford career with 992 career rebounds, seventh on the Cardinal’s all-time list, and 166 blocks, fifth in Stanford history.

Playing just under 80 miles east of home, the Cardinals gave the crowd of 5,715, many clad in red, plenty of reasons to cheer.

Chronicle staff writer

Tom FitzGerald contributed

to this report.

Men’s tournament outlook

Friday, Sweet 16

No. 1 Kansas 80, No. 5 Clemson 76

No. 1 Villanova 90, No. 5 West Virginia 78

No. 3 Texas Tech 78, No. 2 Purdue 65

No. 2 Duke 69, No. 11 Syracuse 65

Saturday, Elite 8 (TBS)

No. 11 Loyola (Chi.) vs. No. 9 Kansas State, 3 p.m.

No. 9 Florida State vs. No. 3 Michigan, 5:45 p.m.

Sunday, Elite 8 (Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46)

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Villanova, 11:15 a.m.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 1 Kansas, 2 p.m.