Louisville women's basketball, with another tough test ahead, falls by 24 at No. 18 UConn

Louisville coach Jeff Walz knew the 17th-ranked Cardinals’ next three games wouldn’t be easy, but they would be telling.

After starting the season 10-1, U of L prepared for a challenge against No. 18 UConn on the road before hosting undefeated Washington then opening ACC play at No. 23 Miami.

Louisville fell short in the first test, falling to UConn, 86-62, and ending the team’s six-game winning streak on Saturday at XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. It was U of L’s lowest-scoring performance of the season. The Cardinals defeated Ole Miss, 64-58, on Nov. 29.

Though the Huskies now have a 19-3 all-time series lead over the Cardinals, Louisville had won two of the last three ahead of Saturday’s game. That included the team’s first road win over UConn two years ago.

But repeating a victory with an essentially new team required the team’s best defensive effort of the season against its toughest opponent. Walz had concerns about the Cardinals’ defensive struggles, including the team’s continued growing pains and its intensity level. It caught up with them against the Huskies, who shot 66% from the field after the first half. Louisville often fell behind on screens and allowed UConn to score 24 transition points.

The Huskies also outrebounded the Cardinals, 33-29, with 28 coming on the defensive end.

"We're just giving up way too many easy baskets, and then we're not contesting shots," Walz said. "That, unfortunately, led to some poor decisions on the offensive end of the floor."

While UConn has been hit with injuries, the Huskies still have two veterans in guards Paige Bueckers and Aubrey Griffin, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin, and forward Aaliyah Edwards. The trio combined to score 67 points, led by Griffin’s season-high 25 points.

"She's got a motor that doesn't stop," Walz said of Griffin, adding that he recruited her when she was in high school. "She might have an off night shooting the basketball, but she's never going to have an off night effort-wise. That, to me, is what you're looking for as a coach."

Bueckers, who scored 20 points, also had five blocks, five rebounds and four assists.

Though Louisville has been a high-scoring team all season, the Cardinals went cold in the second quarter, going almost four minutes without any points. They later came alive thanks to 11 points from guard Kiki Jefferson but trailed, 46-42, at halftime. The James Madison transfer led the team with 19 points, followed by 13 points from UMass transfer guard Sydney Taylor.

But things turned even worse for the Cardinals after the break. Their third-quarter performance of shooting 20% and scoring only nine points cemented the defeat. A 14-point deficit in the final 10 minutes was too much to overcome as the Huskies ran away with the victory.

"We had some really bad breakdowns in that second half," Walz said, "and the first half as well. The difference was we just scored in the first half."

Louisville returns home to take on Washington (11-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"We have to become a tougher basketball team," Walz said.

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs UConn women's basketball game: Jeff Walz and Cards fall