LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Less than a minute into the second quarter, Louisville's Asia Durr pulled up from behind the arc and hit a 3-pointer that sent the KFC Yum! Center into a frenzy.
Unbeknownst to No. 2 UConn, it was the beginning of the end.
It was Durr's first basket of the game and gave the Cardinals a 26-24 lead. She would hit two more 3s in succession, igniting Louisville fans and getting on a hot streak that was hard for the Huskies to defend. Connecticut would only regain the lead once the rest of the game, falling to No. 3 Louisville, 78-69, on Thursday night.
The game was a back-and-forth battle, but UConn couldn't get over the hump in the second half. The Huskies got close enough multiple times, but struggled to finish _ a theme for the night.
It's the first time since the 2012-13 season that UConn (18-2) has lost more than one regular-season game.
In the loss, Napheesa Collier led the Huskies with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Crystal Dangerfield had 19 points and eight rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson ended the night with 16 points. Megan Walker had seven points and 12 rebounds, and Christyn Williams finished with five points.
The Huskies and Cardinals spent the entire first quarter going back and forth, matching each other shot for shot. Each of UConn's starters scored early, with Samuelson and Walker leading the way. Walker was especially aggressive on the boards, leading UConn in rebounds in the first. By the end of the quarter, the Huskies and Cardinals were tied at 21.
Things began heating up in the second when Durr came alive. She didn't score at all in the first quarter, but all it took was one 3-pointer to get her going in the second. She would hit three in a row from behind the arc and push the Cardinals into the lead with a 14-point performance in the second. Durr got Louisville out on a 9-0 run that was eventually ended by a layup from UConn freshman Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
The Huskies began closing the gap again once Collier got more involved. The senior had a quiet first quarter, but she was more active in the second half of the second quarter, helping UConn pull within two by halftime. Collier and Dangerfield led the team at halftime with nine points each, and Walker led them in rebounding with nine. Louisville ended the quarter up 40-38.
Louisville extended their lead to five points to start the quarter before the Huskies started to fight back. Down just one, UConn had two possessions to take the lead but gave up a turnover and missed a layup. With the momentum back on their side, the Cardinals pulled out to another five-point lead before the Huskies took a timeout. Behind Durr, Louisville was able to get out to a nine-point lead before UConn began to cut into it again. By the end of the quarter the Cardinals led 58-51.
Try as hard as they could, the Huskies couldn't recover in the fourth quarter. Each time they began to eat into Louisville's lead, the Cardinals responded or UConn hurt itself. At the end of the night the Huskies had shot 38 percent and committed a majority of their turnovers in the last half of the game.
