No. 4 Louisville Plays No. 6 UConn at Mohegan Sun on Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 4 University of Louisville women's basketball squares off against No. 6 UConn in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN and 790-AM WKRD.

The Cardinals (9-1) are seeking their 10^th straight win and their third win over a Top 25 team during the winning streak.

Through 10 games, Louisville is limiting opponents to just 46.7 points per game, which ranks second in the ACC and fourth in the NCAA. In five of 10 games, they have limited opponents to 48 points or less.

In the third quarter of Louisville's win over Eastern Kentucky on Thursday, the Cardinals limited the Colonels to one field goal (1-7). It marks back-to-back games that UofL has limited its opponent to one field goal in the third as they held Kentucky to 1-13 shooting. Four times this season, Louisville has limited an opponent to one field goal in a quarter as they also limited Bellarmine to one field goal in the third (1-10) and fourth quarter (1-13).

Kianna Smith notched a career-high 22 points on 8-11 shooting, 5-7 from 3-point range, while adding four rebounds and two assists against EKU. Her previous career-high was 21, which she accomplished twice last season - in a 116-75 win over No. 20 DePaul in her Louisville debut on Dec. 4, 2020 at Mohegan Sun Arena and in a 85-70 win vs. Georgia Tech on Feb. 11, 2021. Her five 3-pointers marked a UofL high and tied her career-high. She also had five vs. Oregon on Feb. 8, 2019 while at California.

Smith leads the Cards with 12.3 points per game and three times this season has led the team in scoring. She ranks second in the ACC and 23rd in the NCAA with a 47.8 3-point field goal percentage and ninth with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game.

In the last eight games, Smith has scored in double figures seven times. During that eight-game stretch, she is averaging a team-high 13.4 points while shooting 49 percent from the floor, an impressive 20-37 (.541) from beyond the arc, while dishing out 18 assists to just six turnovers.

Louisville is playing at the Mohegan Sun for the second consecutive season after defeating No. 20 DePaul, 116-75, in the Jimmy V Classic last year on Dec. 4, 2020. The 116 points marked the most in program history, surpassing 115 points in a 115-51 win over Murray State on Nov. 24, 2017. Per StatsPass.com, Louisville's 116 points were the most scored by a Division I team in regulation against an AP Top 25 opponent since at least 1999-2000.

Louisville is 2-1 against AP Top 25 teams this season with a 70-48 win over No. 12 Michigan and a 64-58 win over No. 14 Kentucky. Over the past five seasons, the Cardinals are 25-13 against AP Top 25 teams.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES

UConn enters Sunday's game with a 6-2 record and are ranked No. 6 in the Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Associated Press poll, which marks its lowest ranking in the AP poll since 2007. The Huskies fell 57-44 to Georgia Tech on Dec. 9 in its first game without sophomore Paige Bueckers, who is sidelined for at least six weeks with a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee. Despite their loss to Georgia Tech, the Huskies kept alive their streak dating back to 1993 of not losing consecutive games by rallying to beat UCLA, 71-61. Seniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa and sophomore Aaliyah Edwards were named Preseason All-BIG EAST selections. Williams is averaging 14.3 points while shooting 9-30 from deep and Nelson-Ododa is averaging 9.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds, while shooting 59 percent from the floor. Redshirt senior Evina Westbrook is averaging 10.6 points and 4.1 assists.

Series History - UofL is 2-18 all-time against UConn. They played twice in 2018-19, with the Cardinals winning 78-69 on Jan. 31 in front of 17,023 fans at the KFC Yum! Center and UConn winning 80-73 in the NCAA Elite Eight on March 31. The two teams also squared off at the Mohegan Sun in the 2014 AAC final on March 10, 2014, with the Cardinals falling 72-52.

Last Meeting (March 31, 2019) - No. 5 Louisville's historic season came to a close with an 80-73 loss to No. 2 UConn in the regional final in Albany, N.Y. Katie Lou Samuelson led the Huskies with 29 points and hit seven of the team's 14 3-pointers, including many big shots in the fourth quarter. Louisville scored 10 of 11 points to cut the deficit to 75-73 with 26.6 seconds left. Samuelson then hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game. Asia Durr was fouled a few seconds later, but the Cardinals' senior leader missed both free throws. Napheesa Collier was fouled after the Cardinals' missed a chance on an offensive rebound. She stepped up and sank both free throws on the other end to make it 79-73.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Dec. 19
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Site: Uncasville, Conn. | Mohegan Sun Arena (10,000)
TV: ESPN (Eric Frede, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Andraya Carter, reporter)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: L, 80-73 (March 31, 2019 at NCAA Elite Eight)
Series History: 2-18 (L1, 1-5 home, 0-6 away, 1-7 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Thursday, Dec. 30 vs. Boston College

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. 4 Louisville Plays No. 6 UConn at Mohegan Sun on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Kianna Smith

University of Louisville Athletics