No. 5 Louisville Hosts Belmont on Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, December 5

LOUISVILLE, KY

12 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

BELMONT

Tickets

December 03, 2021 | Women's Basketball

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The Cardinals and Bruins will tip off at 12 p.m. ET on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.

By: Nick Evans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 5 University of Louisville women's basketball welcomes in Belmont on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. ET and broadcast on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.

The Cardinals (6-1) are coming off an impressive 70-48 win over No. 9 Michigan on Thursday. Trailing 7-2 early in the game, Louisville finished the first half on a 37-8 run and cruised to the victory.

The victory marked UofL's first Top 10 win since a 66-59 win over No. 4 NC State on Feb. 13, 2020. That season they also beat No. 1 Oregon, 72-62, on Nov. 30, 2019.

Emily Engstler recorded her second double-double of the season and 18th of her career with a team-high 18 points and 14 rebounds against Michigan. She added five steals, two blocks and two assists.

In three home games, she is averaging 16.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.7 steals, 2.0 blocks and 1.7 assists, while shooting 63 percent from the floor and 8-of-10 from 3-point range. On the season, she averages 10.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, while shooting 51 percent overall and 9-of-16 (.563) from deep.

She ranks second in the ACC with 2.4 steals, third with 14 total blocks and 2.0 blocks per game and fifth with 9.0 rebounds per game.

Kianna Smith has 997 points in her collegiate career, between both Louisville and California, and is three points shy of reaching 1,000. She has 397 points in her career at Louisville.

She leads the Cards with 11.1 points per game. She has scored in double digits in each of the last five games and twice has led the team in scoring.

Under head coach Jeff Walz, UofL is 82-14 (.854) all-time in December. In November and December combined, he is 163-28. Louisville is 22-1 in December over the previous four seasons, their lone loss a 67-60 defeat at Ohio State on Dec. 5, 2019.

ABOUT THE BRUINS

Belmont enters Sunday's game with a 4-3 record and they are 2-3 on the road. All three of their losses have come to teams either in the Top 25 or receiving votes. They won 62-50 at Ole Miss, who is receiving votes. The Bruins entered the 2021-22 campaign receiving votes in both national preseason polls for the first time in program history. They are looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in seven years after upsetting fifth-seeded and 14th-ranked Gonzaga in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to become the first OVC program to win a NCAA Tournament game since 1990. The Bruins return 85.7 percent of their scoring, 81 percent of their rebounding, 83 percent of their assists and 84.6 percent of their minutes from a season ago with nine returning letter winners. Belmont features OVC Preseason Player of the Year Destinee Wells, who was the league's freshman of the year a season ago. She is leading the team with 17.3 points and 4.1 assists per game. Senior forward Conley Chinn and sophomore guard Tuti Jones are also back for the Bruins, both preseason All-OVC selections. Jones is the team's second leading scorer with 13.7 points per game, while averaging a team-high 2.4 steals per game.

Series History - Louisville is 3-0 all-time against Belmont. They are 3-0 at home and 2-0 at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals' scoring margin in the three victories is plus-37.3, which includes a 60-point win (W, 95-35) on Nov. 20, 2014 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Last Meeting (Nov. 13, 2016) - Asia Durr scored 18 points as No. 5 Louisville defeated Belmont 73-50 in the Cardinals' home opener. Louisville opened the game 7 of 10 from the field and took a 10-point first quarter lead. In the second quarter, Belmont cut Louisville's lead to nine after a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Kylee Smith. Louisville coach Jeff Walz called a timeout and the Cardinals ended the final 4:16 of the first half on a 15-2 run.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Dec. 5
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
TV: ACCN (Angel Gray, play-by-play; Chelsea Gray, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 73-50 (Nov. 13, 2016 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 3-0 (W3, 3-0 home, 0-0 away, 0-0 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Dec. 12 vs. Kentucky

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.