University of Louisville
Western Kentucky
Louisville Opens Season at Western Kentucky
November 05, 2018 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville women's basketball opens the 2018-19 campaign at Western Kentucky on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals return eight letterwinners from a team that produced a program-best 36-3 record and reached the program's third Final Four in 2017-18. Louisville opened last season with a 20-0 record, which marked the best start and longest winning streak in program history, and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.
Louisville returns four starters from a year ago, including 2017-18 ACC Player of the Year and All-American Asia Durr. Durr averaged 18.7 points per game as a junior, while knocking down 108 3-point field goals and shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. She has 1,743 career points, which ranks seventh in school history, and her 278 made 3-point field goals rank second.
The other returning starters are seniors Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring, who were named ACC All-Tournament Team and NCAA Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team last season, and junior Jazmine Jones, who was named ACC All-Tournament Team. Â
Already the winningest coach in Louisville women's basketball history, with a record of 299-96, head coach Jeff Walz is one win shy of the 300-win milestone. Walz seeks his 300th win in Bowling Green, Ky., where he began his collegiate coaching career. He served as an assistant coach under Paul Sanderford at WKU during the 1996-97 season. He helped the team earn an at-large bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament after going 22-9 to earn a share of the Sun Belt regular-season title. The next season, he moved on to Nebraska after Sanderford was offered the head coaching position.
ABOUT THE HILLTOPPERS
Last season, Western Kentucky went 24-9 overall and 12-4 in Conference USA play. They won the C-USA Tournament with a 72-57 victory over UAB and then fell to Oregon State, 82-58, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hilltoppers return three starters from last year's team, led by sophomore Raneen Elgedawy, who started all 33 games, averaging 9.0 points and 7.1, rebounds, which leads all returnees. WKU welcomes in former assistant Greg Collins in as its new head coach after former Walz assistant Michelle Clark-Heard took the head job at Cincinnati. Â
GAME FACTS
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 6
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Site: E.A. Diddle Arena,
   Bowling Green, Ky. (7,326)
Radio: WKRD, Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst
Video: ESPN+ ($4.99/mo., offers free seven-day trial)
Last Meeting: W, 68-61 (Dec. 11, 2016 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 16-20 (9-5 home, 6-14 away, 1-1 neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 4th USA Today
Officials: Roy Gulbeyan, Troy Winders, Neonta Williams
Next UofL Game:Â Friday, Nov. 9 at UT Chattanooga -Â 7Â p.m. ET
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
