Louisville Opens NCAA Tournament against 15-Seed Marist on Monday

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – University of Louisville women's basketball opens the 2021 NCAA Tournament against 15-seed Marist (18-3) on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET at the Alamodome. The game will broadcast on ESPN and 790-AM WKRD.

At 23-3 and No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today poll, Louisville is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Cardinals were a No. 1 seed in 2018 (Final Four) and 2019 (Elite Eight). Louisville has never faced a 15-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville is making its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance and 12th in 13 tournaments under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals are playing in their 10th straight NCAA Tournament. Louisville is 34-22 all-time. They were 4-11 in their first 11 appearances and are 30-11 in their 11 appearances with Walz.

They have moved on to the Sweet 16 nine times, the Elite Eight five times, Final Four three times (2009, 2013, 2018) and twice advanced to the title game, all under Walz. With three Final Fours in the last 11 years, UofL ranks fourth in the country behind UConn (11), Stanford (6) and Notre Dame (6).

UofL enters postseason play with two players that have tournament experience in a Cardinals uniform. Dana Evans came off the bench as a freshman for the 2018 team that reached the final four, averaging 6.2 points and 2.4 assists in 19.0 minutes. As a sophomore in 2019, she helped the Cards reach the Elite Eight, averaging 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. In 2019, Mykasa Robinson played in four games, including one start, averaging 8.5 minutes.

Kianna Smith played in the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments while at Cal, averaging 15.3 points and 4.3 assists, while shooting 6-14 from deep. As a freshman, she had 20 points and eight assists in the first round loss to Virginia. Ahlana Smith played two games in the 2019 tournament at UCLA, averaging 6.5 minutes.

Louisville in 11-0 all-time in first round games under Coach Walz. They have been the higher seed in all 11 games. UofL's scoring margin in first round games under Walz is +25.7. The Cardinals are 15-7 all-time in the first round and were 4-7 prior to Walz's arrival.

Louisville is 0-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Texas. In their first ever NCAA Tournament game on March 17, 1983, 7-seed Louisville fell 84-55 to 2-seed Texas in Austin, Texas.

ABOUT THE RED FOXES

Marist enters the tournament at 18-3, 13-3 in MAAC play. The Red Foxes last defeated Saint Peter's 69-30 to win their 11th MAAC championship, most in conference history. The matchup was Marist's 15th appearance in the championship game, all which have come under head coach Brian Giorgis. The Red Foxes are averaging 63.6 points per game and limiting opponents to a 50.0 mark, both conference highs. The 50.0 mark ranks second in the nation, trailing only their Alamo Region mate UCF at 49.9. Marist leads the conference in 12 out of 20 statistical categories, including scoring margin, field-goal percentage, and assists/turnover ratio. Senior forward Willow Duffell is averaging a near double-double with 12.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, ranking top-10 in the conference in both categories. Duffell's double-double last time out was her seventh of the season, and fourth in the last six games.

Marist Tournament History - This is Marist's 11th NCAA tournament appearance. The Red Foxes' five tournament wins came in 2007 (2x), 2008, 2011, and 2012. In 2007, Marist became the first MAAC program, men's or women's, to advance to the Sweet 16 when the 13-seed Red Foxes defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 67-63, and No. 5 Middle Tennessee State, 73-59, before falling to top-seed Tennessee. The highest seed Marist has ever received was a 7-seed in 2008. That year, the Red Foxes beat No. 10 DePaul to reach the second round.

Series History - Louisville is 1-1 all-time against Marist with both games at neutral sites. Louisville won 65-53 on Nov. 27, 2015 in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. and fell 74-68 on Dec. 18, 2010 in the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas.

GAME FACTS
Date: Monday, March 22
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: San Antonio, Texas | Alamodome
TV: ESPN (Pam Ward, play-by-play; LaChina Robinson, analyst; Holly Rowe, sideline)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 65-53 (Nov. 27, 2015 at Estero, Fla.)
Series History: 1-1 (W1, 0-0 Home, 0-0 Away, 1-1 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 8th Associated Press, 7th USA Today

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.

Louisville Opens NCAA Tournament against 15-Seed Marist on Monday

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Players Mentioned

Dana Evans

Mykasa Robinson

Ahlana Smith

Kianna Smith

University of Louisville Athletics