No. 5 Louisville Faces Syracuse in ACC Semis on Saturday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a 65-53 win over Wake Forest on Friday, University of Louisville women's basketball will face Syracuse (14-7, 9-7) in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.

With the win, the Cardinals have advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals in all seven of their appearances and are 2-4 in those games.

Freshmen Hailey Van Lith led the way for Louisville in the win over Wake Forest, scoring a career-high 24 points on 6-10 shooting from deep. Her six 3-point field goals tied her career-high and she set a career-high with four steals.

Van Lith has three 20-point games this season, which is the most since Asia Durr had four in 2015-16. Van Lith had back-to-back 20-point games against EKU and DePaul, becoming the first UofL freshman to score 20 points in consecutive games since Myisha Hines-Allen had 23 points in two straight games against Miami and Syracuse on Jan. 25 and Jan. 29, 2015. She has scored 10-plus points in 16 of 24 games.

Mykasa Robinson played a career-high 38 minutes and contributed eight rebounds, four assists and two steals against Wake Forest. In her last seven games, she is averaging 29.1 minutes, 4.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Tied at 46-46 with 8:09 to go, Louisville used a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to pull away from the Demon Deacons. They outscored Wake Forest 21-9 in the fourth quarter and limited them to 3-14 (.214) fourth quarter shooting.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

Syracuse (14-7, 9-7) advanced to the ACC semifinals by roaring back from 13 points down to beat Florida State 68-67 on Kamilla Cardoso's putback with one second remaining. The Orange had trailed the entire contest prior to the last-second shot. Cardoso led Syracuse with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Along with Cardoso, five players scored in double-figures for the Orange in the win - Kiara Lewis (12), Digna Stroutmane (11), Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi (11) and Emily Engstler (10). Cardoso was named the 2020-21 ACC Freshman of the Year and Co-Defender of the Year and junior Engstler the ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year. Additionally, Cardoso was named to the All-Defensive Team, All-Freshman Team and was a First Team All-ACC.

Series History - UofL is 14-7 all-time against Syracuse. Louisville has won eight out of the 10 meetings since both programs left the Big East to join the ACC. In those eight ACC wins, the Cardinals have outscored their opponent by an average of 15.9 points. The Cardinals are 1-1 against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament, falling 80-75 in the 2016 semifinals and winning 71-46 last season in the quarters.

The Last Meeting (Jan. 21, 2021) - Dana Evans scored 21 points, Hailey Van Lith added 18 on six 3-pointers, and the Cardinals used several small second-half runs to pull away from No. 23 Syracuse for a 67-54 victory. Playing their first game as the nation's No. 1 women's team, the Cardinals countered the taller Orange by working the ball around the perimeter for opportunities. The patient approach built a slight edge before their 8-0 run over 1:39 in the third, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Van Lith and Evans, provided a 47-38 lead.

GAME FACTS
Date: Saturday, March 6
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Greensboro, N.C. | Greensboro Coliseum
TV: ACCN (Beth Mowins, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst; Holly Rowe, sideline)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 67-54 (Jan. 21, 2021 vs. Syracuse)
Series History: 14-7 (W2, 9-1 Home, 4-5 Away, 1-1 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 5th 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.

No. 5 Louisville Faces Syracuse in ACC Semis on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Asia Durr

Dana Evans

Myisha Hines-Allen

Mykasa Robinson

Hailey Van Lith

University of Louisville Athletics