No. 2 Louisville Plays at No. 16 Georgia Tech on Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After opening Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 79-49 win over Boston College on Thursday night, No. 2 University of Louisville women's basketball heads to No. 16 Georgia Tech 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 (11-1) extended their winning streak to 11 games on Thursday and now seek their fourth win over an AP Top 25 team this season.

In the win over Boston College, no Louisville player reached 22 minutes and five scored in double figures (Engstler – 14, Verhulst -12, Van Lith – 12, Cochran – 10, Dixon – 10), which included two players off the bench.

On the season, six different players (Engstler - 4, K. Smith - 4, Van Lith - 3, Dixon - 2, Hall - 1, A. Smith -1) have led the Cardinals in scoring.

Through 12 games, Louisville is limiting opponents to just 48.3 points per game, which ranks second in the ACC and fourth in the NCAA. In six of 12 games, they have limited opponents to 49 points or less. UofL is also holding opponents to 34.0 percent shooting, which ranks third in the ACC, and 24.0 percent 3-point shooting, which ranks fourth in the ACC and 23rd in the country.

In seven of 12 games this season, UofL's defense has limited its opponent to the smallest point total of the season. The Cardinals limited Bellarmine to a program-record tying 25 points, UT Martin to a season-low 30 points, Cal Poly to a season-low 32, Michigan to a season-low 48, Kentucky to a season-low 58, Eastern Kentucky to a season-low 38 and Boston College to a season-low 49.

Emily Engstler is averaging 10.3 points with a team-high 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, while shooting 50 percent overall and 13-of-24 (.542) from deep. She ranks second in the ACC with 6.8 defensive rebounds per game, second with 2.5 steals, fifth with 8.7 rebounds and eighth with 1.6 blocks. She has led UofL in rebounds in 11 of 12 games.

Louisville has won their last four conference road openers. Last year, they won 73-49 at Duke on Dec. 9, 2020. Their last loss in an ACC road opener was a 58-55 loss at No. 13 Duke on Jan. 2, 2017. UofL is 6-1 in ACC road openers. All-time, head coach Jeff Walz in 11-3 in conference road openers.

This marks the third time that UofL has played at Georgia Tech in its first ACC road game and they are 2-0. They won 78-65 on Jan. 3, 2016 and 74-71 on Dec. 28, 2018.

Under Walz, UofL is 88-24 (.786) all-time in January. He is 15-0 in January the previous two seasons. In the last three seasons, he is 23-1 with the lone defeat an 82-68 setback at No. 1 Notre Dame on Jan. 10, 2019. Over the previous eight seasons, the Cardinals are 60-5 (.923) in January.

ABOUT THE YELLOW JACKETS

Georgia Tech enters Sunday's game with a 10-2 record. They are 1-0 in ACC play with a 62-45 win vs. Wake Forest. Their game on Thursday at Pitt was postponed. The Yellow Jackets recorded back-to-back wins over AP Top 25 teams in early December with a 55-54 victory at No. 20 Georgia and a 57-44 win over No. 3 UConn. Georgia Tech leads the country allowing just 45.3 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 31.2 percent from the floor, which ranks second in the ACC and third in the NCAA. Despite their strong defensive output, they lead the ACC and rank 17th in the country with just 13.4 fouls per game. Offensively, they rank 13th in the league with 62.7 points per game. Lorela Cubaj and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen were tabbed preseason All-ACC for the Yellow Jackets. Cubaj leads the ACC in several categories - assist-to-turnover ratio (3.22), defensive rebounds per game (9.8) and rebounds per game (12.6). Her 4.8 assists per game and her 1.7 blocks per game rank fourth. Lahtinen ranks sixth with 4.2 assists per game. Georgia Tech features five players averaging more than 8.4 points per game - Eylia Love (11.3), Nerea Hermosa (10.9), Lahtinen (9.6), Digna Strautmane (8.9) and Cubaj (8.4).

Series History - UofL is 8-0 all-time against Georgia Tech and all eight meetings have taken place since the Cardinals joined the ACC. Louisville is 4-0 against the Yellow Jackets at the KFC Yum! Center and 3-0 in Atlanta. In 2019-20, UofL won 58-47 in Atlanta and in 2018-19, they won 74-71 at Georgia Tech as Myisha Hines-Allen's layup with two seconds to go gave them the victory. The first meeting between the two teams came in the Cardinals' ACC debut where they defeated the Yellow Jackets 75-48 on Jan. 2, 2015 at the KFC Yum! Center. In the eight meetings, the Cardinals have defeated their ACC opponent by an average of 17.0 points per game.

Last Meeting (Feb. 11, 2021) - Dana Evans scored 25 points in her home finale, Kianna Smith scored 13 of her 21 points in the third quarter and No. 3 Louisville beat Georgia Tech 85-70. Evans outscored Georgia Tech 9-4 during a second-quarter stretch that put Louisville ahead for good at 30-24. Smith took charge in the third, mixing three 3-pointers with a couple of baskets to give the Cardinals a 44-30 advantage. She finished 9 of 13 from the field to match her career high of 21 points. Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran each added 13 points and combined for 16 rebounds.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Jan. 2
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion (8,600)
TV: ACCN (Pam Ward, play-by-play; Stephanie White, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 85-70 (Feb. 11, 2021 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 8-0 (W8, 4-0 home, 3-0 away, 1-0 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Thursday, Jan. 6 at Pitt

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. 2 Louisville Plays at No. 16 Georgia Tech on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Cochran

Liz Dixon

Emily Engstler

Dana Evans

Kianna Smith

University of Louisville Athletics