No. 5 Louisville Ventures to North Carolina on Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 5 Louisville women's basketball (17-1, 6-0) travels to play at North Carolina (13-4, 4-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. E.T. The game will broadcast on ESPN2.

The Cardinals are 6-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and are looking to open league play with wins in their first seven games for the first time since 2015-16. That season, they opened with wins in their first 10 ACC games and finished 15-1.

UofL is shooting 45.7 percent on the season, which ranks second in the ACC. They shot 57.7 percent (30-52) from the floor in the win at Boston College, which marked the highest field goal percentage this season and the best since they shot 63.5 percent (40-63) in the 90-72 win over Marquette in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2018.

They shot 55.6 percent (35-63) from the floor in the win over Miami and are shooting 56.5 percent (65-115) in their last two road games. They are shooting 46 percent in ACC play, which ranks third in the league and 51.7 percent (93-180) in three ACC road games.

Louisville leads the ACC with 16.1 assists per game and ranks second with a 1.14 assist-to-turnover ratio. They have a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio in six ACC games, which leads the league.

The Cardinals have 63 assists in the last three games, which is the best three-game stretch this season. They had 19 assists at Boston College and vs. Wake Forest, and a season-high 25 assists in the win at Miami.

Dana Evans is coming off a 27-point performance at Boston College, which was just one point shy of her career high. She tied her career-high with seven 3-pointers, as she opened the game 7-of-8 and finished 7-of-10.

She ranks second in the ACC with 18.9 points per game and leads the conference and ranks ninth in the country with 55 made 3-pointers. She is shooting 45.1 percent from beyond the arc, which leads the league and ranks 13th in the NCAA.

She has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games and her seven 20-plus point games are tied for second in the ACC. She leads the league and ranks seventh in the country with a 91.5 free throw percentage.

In the last four games, Mykasa Robinson is averaging 4.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, while shooting 7-12 from the floor and 5-6 from the stripe. She is averaging 20.0 minutes per game.

ABOUT THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina enters Sunday's contest with a 13-4 record and they are 4-2 in the ACC. The Tar Heels opened the season with wins in their first eight games, but are 5-4 in their last nine games. They are coming off a 78-58 win over Miami in Chapel Hill. They outscored the Hurricanes 28-10 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

They are 3-0 in ACC home games and 1-2 in ACC road games. They are 1-1 against AP Top 25 teams with a 66-60 win over NC State at home and a 78-64 loss at Florida State.

North Carolina ranks first in the ACC with 76.5 points per game and fourth allowing 59.4 points per game. Their +17.1 scoring margin ranks second in the league. They rank first with a 1.33 assist-to-turnover ratio and second with a +3.65 turnover margin.

The Tar Heels feature five double-digit scorers - Janelle Bailey (14.9 ppg), Taylor Koenen (14.3 ppg), Shayla Bennett (12.8 ppg), Madinah Muhammad (12.6 ppg) and Malu Tshitenge (11.6). All five players have started every game and they all average over 29.2 minutes per game.

Bailey was named second team All-ACC last season as a sophomore and was named preseason All-ACC this year. She is averaging a double-double with 10.0 rebounds, which ranks fourth in the ACC. Her nine double-doubles rank second in the league and 13th in the country. Bailey ranks fourth in the ACC with 73 free throws made and 94 free throw attempts.

Bennett ranks first in the ACC with a 2.29 assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth with 5.1 assists per game. Tshitenge ranks first in the ACC and eighth in the country with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. Muhammad ranks seventh in the league with 36 made 3-pointers, while Koenen has knocked down 34 threes and ranks second in the league, shooting 42 percent from deep.

Series History - UofL is 6-3 all-time against UNC and has won six straight against the Tar Heels and all six wins have come since the Cardinals joined the ACC. Last season, Louisville won 73-66 at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 3, 2019. Two years ago, the Cards won 67-57 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 18, 2018. North Carolina last defeated Louisville on March 29, 2008 (L, 78-74) in the Sweet 16 in New Orleans.

The Last Meeting (Jan. 3, 2019) - Jazmine Jones scored 17 points and Kylee Shook recorded her second double-double of the season, as Louisville outlasted the Tar Heels of North Carolina, 73-66 in the ACC opener inside the KFC Yum! Center. UofL took a 40-23 lead into the locker room at halftime, but UNC made things interesting to start the third stanza, coming out with a 12-6 run that cut the Cards' lead to 11. The Tar Heels carried their momentum into the fourth quarter, as a 10-2 run pulled them within two. The Tar Heels kept things close, pulling within a bucket of the Cards on four separate occasions. With Asia Durr on the bench in foul trouble, Carter, Jones, and Shook all came up huge for UofL with some late buckets, as Louisville held off the Tar Heels, 73-66.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Jan. 19
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Carmichael Arena | Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV: ESPN2, Pam Ward, play-by-play, LaChina Robinson, analyst
Radio: 790 AM (WKRD), Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst
Last Meeting: W, 73-66 (Jan. 3, 2019 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 6-3 (3-0 Home, 2-0 Away, 1-3 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 4th USA Today
Next Game: Thursday, Jan. 23 vs. Virginia

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.

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Players Mentioned

Asia Durr

Dana Evans

Jazmine Jones

Mykasa Robinson

Kylee Shook

University of Louisville Athletics