No. 5 Louisville Welcomes in UT Martin on Sunday at Noon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 5 University of Louisville women's basketball showcased its potential on national television with a record-breaking 116-75 win over No. 20 DePaul on Friday night.

The Cardinals now return home with a perfect 3-0 record to host UT Martin on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast on the ACC Network.

Louisville's 116 points against DePaul mark the most points in program history, surpassing the 115 points they scored in a 115-51 win over Murray State on Nov. 24, 2017. Per StatsPass.com, Louisville's 116 points is the most scored by a Division I team in regulation against an AP Top 25 opponent since at least 1999-2000.

The 61 points in the first half ties the most points ever in half, matching the 61 they had in the second half of an 88-69 win over Canisius on Dec. 20, 2000. The 40 points in the third quarter mark a program record, surpassing the 37 they had in the third quarter of a 107-52 win over Tennessee State on Dec. 2, 2018 and in the second quarter of an 86-69 win over Hartford on Nov. 24, 2018.

The Cardinals' 41-point margin marks its biggest win ever against an AP Top 25 team. Its previous high was a 34-point win (86-52) over No. 22 Iowa on Dec. 4, 2014.

Louisville's 49 field goals also set a program record, surpassing the 47 they had against Murray State in that 115-51 win. They shot 60.5 percent (49-81) from the field, which is the best field goal percentage since they shot 63.5 percent (40-63) in a 90-72 win over Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2018.

UofL has scored 100 points in back-to-back games with a 101-58 win against EKU and a 116-75 win over DePaul, marking the first time since they won 107-52 vs. Tennessee State on Dec. 2, 2018 and 102-62 vs. UT Martin on Dec. 4, 2018 that they have scored 100 in consecutive games.

Leading 26-23 over DePaul with 1:27 to go in the first quarter, UofL used a 33-7 run over the next 10 minutes to build a 59-30 lead with 1:51 to go in the half and cruised the rest of the way.

Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith had 21 points, while Dana Evans added 20 points, in the win over DePaul, becoming the first trio to score 20 points in a single game since Jill Morton (24), Sharon Bellamy (24) and Roscelle Bullock (22) did so in an 84-74 win at Memphis on Jan. 22, 1999.

It was Smith's debut for the Cardinals and she got off to a quick start, scoring 16 first half points on 7-10 shooting. In addition to her 21 total points, she also finished with six rebounds and six assists.

Louisville's 11 blocks against DePaul tie the record for the most blocks in a game in head coach Jeff Walz era. They also had 11 in the 107-52 win over Tennessee State on Dec. 2, 2018.

ABOUT THE SKYHAWKS

UT Martin enters the 2020-21 season as the OVC favorites, ranked 10th in the Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll, while receiving votes in the Preseason USA TODAY Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history. The Skyhawks return 13 players off a squad which posted a 22-10 overall record last season, while cruising to a 16-2 mark in league play to garner the program's sixth regular season championship. Highlighting the squad is the senior duo of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop, which each followed up All-OVC first team honors last season with similar preseason nods. The pair combined to score 35.8 points per game last season while averaging over 7.8 rebounds per game and tallying 108 blocks.

Series History - UofL is 9-0 all-time against UT Martin. This marks the 10th time in the past 11 years that the two teams have met. The only season during that stretch where they didn't meet was 2013-14. The Cardinals are 6-0 all-time in Louisville. The Cardinals have won the nine games by an average margin of 26.4 points, but last year it took double overtime to pull out 71-63 victory in Martin. That is the smallest margin of victory for Louisville in the series.

The Last Meeting (Dec. 19, 2019) - Dana Evans scored 22 points and No. 6 Louisville outlasted UT Martin 71-63 in double overtime after trailing for nearly all of regulation. Kylee Shook and Yacine Diop each added 15 points for the Cardinals. Louisville took the lead for good with 3:05 left in the second overtime. The Cardinals made 18 of 20 free throws, while the Skyhawks were 15 of 28. Shook also finished with six blocks and surpassed Angel McCoughtry to become Louisville's all-time leader in the category.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Dec. 6
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
TV: ACCN (Sam Gore, play-by-play; Monica McNutt, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 71-63 (Dec. 19, 2019 at UT Martin)
Series History: 9-0 (6-0 Home, 3-0 Away, 0-0 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 5th USA Today
Next UofL Game: Wednesday, Dec. 9 at Duke

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.

No. 5 Louisville Welcomes in UT Martin on Sunday at Noon

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Players Mentioned

Yacine Diop

Dana Evans

Kylee Shook

Kianna Smith

Hailey Van Lith

University of Louisville Athletics