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Jones, Evans lead No. 9 Louisville past Central Michigan

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Jazmine Jones scored 25 points and Dana Evans had 24 - both career highs - to lead No. 9 Louisville to a 76-63 victory over Central Michigan on Thursday.

The Cardinals (3-0) shot just 37.3%, but Jones, five days after going 6-for-6 in a win over Murray State, made 10 of 13 baskets against the Chippewas (0-2). She added nine rebounds.

While the Chippewas held the rest of the Cardinals' shooters in check, they only shot 38.8% and committed 19 turnovers. Central Michigan did not make a field goal over the last 5:36.

Evans, a junior guard, scored 11 of her points in the third quarter as Louisville was finally able to pull away from the three-time defending Mid-American Conference regular-season champions.

Micaela Kelly led the Chippewas with 23 points, making 11 of 15 free throws.

After the Chippewas cut the Cardinals' lead to 45-42, Evans drained a 3-pointer with 4:17 left in the third quarter after Mykasa Robinson got a steal under the basket. Central Michigan never got that close again.

Kylee Shook added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinals. It was the second-straight double-double for the senior forward coming off the bench.

BIG PICTURE

Central Michigan: A week after opening the season with a double-overtime loss at home to Green Bay, a veteran Chippewas crew managed to keep up with the Cardinals for most of the game. Eventually, though, Louisville's depth and pressure defense were just too much.

Louisville: Coach Jeff Walz expected the Chippewas to give his Cardinals a test, and they did just that. Louisville led for 34:57, but the Cardinals didn't get a double-digit lead until Evans scored on a three-point play with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Central Michigan will play at Western Kentucky on Sunday.

Louisville hosts Chattanooga next Thursday.

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More AP women's basketball: https://apnews.com/Womensbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

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