No. 6 Louisville leads from start to finish to defeat Syracuse 84-65

Updated: Feb 8, 2026, 07:19 pm

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- — Laura Ziegler scored 22 points and No. 6 Louisville raced out to a quick lead it never gave up in an 84-65 win over Syracuse on Sunday.

The Cardinals (22-4, 12-1 ACC) were coming off a one-point loss to Duke that snapped the team's 14-game winning streak. They scored the first 12 points against Syracuse, holding the Orange without a field goal in the first quarter. Louisville built the lead to 28-6 over the Orange (19-5, 9-4) as Syracuse missed all 13 of its field goal attempts in the first 10 minutes.

Syracuse didn’t score its first basket until a jumper by Dominique Darius with 10 seconds gone in the second quarter, but the Cardinals went on to build a 36-14 lead.

The Orange stormed back, closing the first half on a 22-6 run to narrow the margin to 44-36 at the break. Darius fueled the comeback, scoring all her 16 first-half points in the quarter and going 6-of-6 from the field, including two 3s.

Syracuse closed to within five at 59-54 on a layup by Burrows off a Louisville turnover with two minutes to go in the third, but that’s the closest Syracuse would get. The Cardinals closed the game on a 25-11 run.

Mackenly Rudolph and Imari Berry had 15 points each for the Cardinals.

Darius led the Orange with 22 points. She made all seven of her shots, including three 3-pointers. Uche Izoje added 13 and Sophie Burrows had 11.

Louisville outscored Syracuse 42-32 in the paint, including 14 in the first quarter.

Up Next:

Louisville: Hosts Wake Forest Thursday

Syracuse: Travels to Pittsburgh Thursday.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball