Valerie King gasps as she watches the ball bounce out of bounds off her leg. (AP/Ed Reinke photos) | ZOOM |

        LOUISVILLE — It was a bad time for Valerie King and Debbie Merrill to go cold. Neither of the University of Cincinnati's top scorers could find the basket, and the No. 25 Bearcats suffered their first loss, 71-65 to Louisville Friday night.

        Sophomore King, averaging 20.8 point per game, scored only 11 on 3-of-12 shooting, and freshman Merrill, averaging 16.7, was held to eight on 3-of-11.

        Amanda Wolke scored a career-high 25 points to lead Louisville in the Conference USA opener for both teams Friday night. LaKisha Hoffman added 13 points and Kim Graham had 12 for the Cardinals (9-5, 1-0), who earned their first win over a ranked team since January 2000.

Brittani Young's shot is blocked by Louisville's Tiana Ford. | ZOOM |

        Tamara Douglass scored 14 points and K.B. Sharp added 12 for Cincinnati (11-1, 0-1), which was trying to match a school-record 12-game win streak.

        The Bearcats led 32-28 at halftime. The Cardinals tied it at 36 tie early in the second half, but Douglass scored inside near the 16-minute mark to start an 8-2 Bearcats' run.

        Louisville answered with eight straight points. Graham's basket with 11:33 left put Louisville up 46-44.

        The lead changed hands three times before Douglass converted a three-point play with 8:32 left to tie it at 50.

        The teams were tied again at 60 when Sara Nord hit a floater in the lane with 2:23 remaining. King re-tied the game with two free throws 30 seconds later. Wolke then scored down low with 1:43 left, Nord made a steal at the other end, and Hoffman hit two free throws with 49 seconds left to build a 66-62 Louisville lead.

Debbie Merrill and Louisville's Carol Brown tangle arms as they vie for a loose ball. | ZOOM |

        CINCINNATI (11-1) — Merrill 3-11 2-4 8, Young 1-2 2-2 4, Douglass 5-8 4-6 14, Sharp 5-9 0-0 12, King 3-12 4-4 11, Dozier 1-3 0-0 3, Alexander 1-1 0-0 2, Wilder 3-5 2-2 9, Flournoy 1-1 0-3 2, Knoch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 14-21 65.

        LOUISVILLE (9-4) — Wolke 12-16 0-1 25, Brown 1-2 0-1 2, Sober 1-5 0-1 2, Nord 1-7 2-2 4, Antoine 0-2 1-2 1, Graham 3-4 6-6 12, Minter 2-2 0-0 4, Kessans 1-6 3-6 6, Hoffman 5-10 3-6 13, Ford 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 15-25 71.

        Halftime—Cincinnati 32, Louisville 28. 3-Point goals—Cincinnati 5-14 (Sharp 2-4, Wilder 1-2, Dozier 1-3, King 1-4, Merrill 0-1), Louisville 2-8 (Kessans 1-2, Wolke 1-3, Sober 0-1, Nord 0-1, Hoffman 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Cincinnati 34 (Merrill 8), Louisville 37 (Graham, Kessans 6). Assists—Cincinnati 14 (Sharp 8), Louisville 14 (Nord 6). Total fouls—Cincinnati 23, Louisville 19. A—NA.

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