By Dalton Ray–

In their second straight year hosting the first and second round of the NCAA tournament, four-seed women’s basketball beat 13-seed Chattanooga 82-62.

Behind 27 points from junior Asia Durr, Louisville broke away from the Mocs during a 24-point fourth quarter. Junior Myisha Hines-Allen added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Off the bench, freshman Jazmine Jones scored 14 points, shooting 7-of-8.

The Mocs countered Louisville’s big lineup by working the 3-point line. Despite the smaller lineup, Chattanooga owned the rebounding advantage for most of the first quarter through scrappy play.

Chattanooga led until the Cardinals ripped off a 15-0 run by forcing turnovers and converting on the fast break. U of L led 20-14 after one as Chattanooga hit 4-of-9 from three.

In the second quarter, Louisville started to show their paint presence by owning a 16-6 advantage midway through the quarter. Just as Louisville began to pull away, Chattanooga hit back-to-back threes to put the Mocs down four.

The Cards created separation again through quick passes in transition. U of L walked into the break with a 40-30 lead and had 17 made field goals on 15 assists.

Chattanooga didn’t change their game plan out of the break as they rained down three 3-pointers in the opening minutes. Lakelyn Boldin and Queen Alford kept the Mocs in the game with four threes in the quarter.

In the first three quarters, Louisville seemed to be on the edge of breaking away but couldn’t string enough defensive stops.

Leading by nine entering the fourth quarter, U of L used three straight turnovers to break the game open. The pressure Louisville put on Chattanooga started to show as the Mocs looked gassed. Durr connected on the dagger by nailing a three while being fouled and completing the four-point play.

Louisville will play the winner of five-seed Tennessee and 12-seed Dayton.

Photos by Laurel Slaughter / The Louisville Cardinal