No. 3 Louisville Hosts No. 10 NC State on Senior Night

Thursday, February 28

LOUISVILLE, KY

7 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

NC STATE

Buy Tickets

No. 3 Louisville Hosts No. 10 NC State on Senior Night

February 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Tickets Watch Listen Live Stats Game Notes

The Cardinals and Wolfpack will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

By: Nick Evans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 3 Louisville women's basketball (25-2, 12-2) hosts Senior Night vs. No. 10 North Carolina State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET.

Prior to the game, seniors Arica Carter, Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring will be recognized in a special senior day ceremony. The senior class will go down as one of the most accomplished in program history.

They are off to a 25-2 start this season and are 61-5 in the last two seasons combined. Last season, they helped the Cardinals reach the program's third Final Four and put together a program-best 36-3 record.

They are 116-21 (.845) overall in the last four year and are assured to finish their careers with the fewest losses and the best winning percentage in program history. They are three wins away from becoming the winningest class in program history.

In the win over Boston College on Sunday, Louisville shot 51.7 percent from the floor. It marked the 11th time (11-0) they have shot above 50 percent and the first time since they shot 55.6 percent at Florida State.

Boston College scored 51 points, just avoiding being held below 50. UofL has held opponents below 50 points in seven of the last 12 games.

In ACC games, UofL ranks first in scoring defense (54.5), field goal percentage defense (.353), and 3-pt field goal percentage defense (.269). UofL's scoring defense has improved from 64.3 to 59.2 points per game and moved from 182 to 57 nationally in the last 12 games.

During that 12-game stretch, opponents are averaging 52.9 points per game, while shooting .352 from the floor and .304 from 3-point range.

UofL ranks 16th in the country and second in the ACC in scoring offense with 79.2 points per game. They have scored 100-plus three times, 90-plus six times, 80-plus 10 times and 70-plus in 23 of 27 games.

Louisville is 5-2 against AP Top 25 teams this season with wins over No. 22 Florida State, No. 19 Kentucky, No. 19 Arizona State, No. 2 Connecticut and No. 15 Syracuse, and losses at No. 1 Notre Dame and to No. 20 Miami.

Louisville needs 12,900 fans to attend the game on Thursday to eclipse an average attendance of 10,000 for the season. It would mark the first time since the first two seasons (2010-11 – 10,859, 2011-12 – 10,670) at the KFC Yum! Center to eclipse 10,000-plus fans per game for a season.

Park Community Credit Union will donate $1 to Gilda's Club Kentuckiana for every fan over 8,000 at Thursday's game.

ABOUT THE WOLFPACK

North Carolina State enters Thursday's game ranked No. 10 in the country in both polls with a 24-3 record. They are 11-3 in ACC play. They opened the season with wins in their first 21 games and were the last undefeated team in the country. They are 3-3 in their last six games.

They rank first in the ACC with 58.6 points allowed per game and .349 field goal percentage defense. They also rank 11th in the country in field goal percentage defense. They rank first in the ACC in rebounding offense (43.5), rebounding defense (33.5), rebounding margin (+10.0), defensive rebounds per game (31.4) and defensive rebound percentage (.745). Their 43.5 rebounds per game rank 14th in the country, while their 31.0 offensive rebounds per game rank third in the nation and their +10.0 rebounding margin ranks ninth.

Graduate Kiara Leslie leads the way for the Wolfpack. She ranks ninth in the ACC with 16.0 points per game and 12th with 7.4 rebounds. She is shooting 58-148 (.392) from deep, which ranks 10th and her 2.1 3-pointers per game rank 11th.

Freshman Elissa Cunane has started the last four games after not starting the first 23. She is averaging 13.0 points per game, which is second among active players. She is shooting 122-214 (.570) from the floor, which ranks seventh in the league. Junior Aislinn Konig is averaging 11.4 points, while shooting 82-199 (.412) from 3-point range, which ranks seventh in the ACC. Her 3.0 3-pointers per game is tied for the league lead.

Series History - UofL is 5-3 all-time against NC State. They are 5-1 since joining the ACC and 1-1 at the KFC Yum! Center. The last six games have all been decided by eight or less points, four have been decided by five or less points, and three have been decided by two or fewer. Louisville lost the last matchup at the KFC Yum! Center (L, 72-70) on Feb. 2, 2017. The Cardinals have won three in a row since, winning in the ACC quarterfinals (W, 59-58) on March 3, 2017, at NC State (W, 55-47) on Dec. 31, 2017 and in the ACC semifinals (W, 64-59) on March 3, 2018.

Date: Thursday, Feb. 28
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky. (22,000)
Radio: WKRD-790, Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst
Video: ACCNE, Don Russell, play-by-play; Sara White, analyst; Cortnee Walton, sideline
Last Meeting: W, 64-59 (March 3, 2018 at ACC Semis)
Series History: 5-3 (1-1 Home, 2-1 Away, 2-1 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 3rd Associated Press, 3rd USA Today

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.