SEATTLE: Kianna Smith and Liz Dixon each scored 13 points for No. 10 Louisville, which beat Washington 61-53 on Saturday.
The Cardinals (3-1) led by as much as 16 late in the third quarter, but had to hold off a late charge by the Huskies to win their third straight.
Haley Van Dyke scored 15 points and had seven rebounds for Washington (2-1), and Alexis Whitfield came off the bench for 10 points.
Haley Van Lith made a pair of free throws with 2:42 left to stop the Huskies’ 11-0 run that had cut Louisvilles lead to 54-51. Emily Engstler then hit a turnaround jumper with 1:52 left for a 58-51 lead that Washington couldnt erase. Van Lith finished with 11 points.
The Cardinals trailed by five early because of cold shooting, missing 12 of their first 18 shots and were 0 of 3 from the 3-point line.
Louisville forced five of Washingtons 14 first-half turnovers over less than three minutes. Then Smith hit the teams first 3 with 4:10 left in the half to break a 19-all tie and start a 14-4 run.
Louisville led 52-36 with 3:10 to go, but the Huskies rallied to cut the lead to 54-51. Mykasa Robinson and Smith hit three free throws to finish the game.
BIG PICTURE
Louisville: Coach Jeff Walz improved to 14-4 against the Pac-12, but his team hasnt had much fun against the conference this year after starting the season with a 61-59 overtime loss to No. 11 Arizona.
Washington: Until new coach Tara Langley finds a solution at point guard, something that may not happen this season, the turnovers will continue to cost Washington games. Louisville scored 17 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
Louisville: At Cal Poly on Tuesday.
Washington: Plays VCU at the Goombay Splash tournament in the Bahamas on Thursday.
___
More AP womens college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.