No. 2 Louisville Plays at Boston College on Sunday, Walz Seeks 400th Win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a tough 84-71 win over Syracuse on Thursday, No. 2 University of Louisville women's basketball travels to play Boston College on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. ET and broadcast on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.

Head Coach Jeff Walz, already the winningest coach in program history with a 399-109 record, is one victory shy of 400 career wins.

Louisville is 14-1 on the year, 4-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, and has won 14 consecutive games following its season-opening loss to No. 7 Arizona. The 14-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in the country. It is tied for the sixth longest winning streak in program history.

The longest winning streak in program history is 20 straight when Louisville started the 2017-18 campaign at 20-0. Last season, they opened the season with 16 straight wins, which is tied for the second longest streak in program history. The Cardinals also won 16 straight in 2013-14. Louisville has twice won 15 straight games - in 2006-07 and 2015-16.

Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith led the way in the win over Syracuse with 20 points each. It marks the first time that two Louisville players have had 20 or more points in a game since Dana Evans had 25 and Kianna Smith had 21 in an 85-70 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 11, 2020.

In the fourth quarter, Smith and Van Lith combined for 13 points on 5-7 shooting, 3-3 from deep, and hit several key buckets. It marked Van Lith's season-high and her fourth 20-plus point game of her career. Smith has two 20-plus point games this season, four in a UofL uniform and six for her career.

UofL assisted on 22 of 34 buckets, which was good for 64.7 percent, in the win over Syracuse. It marks the third highest assist percentage this season. They assisted on 17 of 23 (.739) field goals against UT Martin and 23 of 33 (.697) against EKU. Their 22 assists against the Orange are the second most this season behind the 23 against EKU. In ACC play, Louisville has assisted on 65 of 111 field goals, good for 58.6 percent.

Olivia Cochran has scored in double figures in three of the last four games after having just one double digit scoring effort in her first 10 games. In the last four contests, she is averaging 10.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 15-22 (.682) from the free throw line. She had a season-high 13 points in the win over Syracuse.

The Cardinals shot 7-16 (.438) from the free throw line in the 50-48 come-from-behind win at Georgia Tech on Jan. 2. In the two games since, Louisville shot 17-18 from the stripe against Pitt and 9-10 from the line against Syracuse for a combined 26-28 (.929). The Cardinals are shooting 73.5 from the stripe on the season, which ranks third in the ACC.

Earlier this week, Emily Engstler was listed at No. 25 in ESPN's Top 25 Players, version 2.0. ESPN's Michell Voepel on Engstler, "She is the perfect cog for the Cardinals, fitting in so well to their gritty style of play that you would almost think she spent her whole career there. Able to play all over the court and have an impact on all aspects of game."

Engstler averages 10.9 points with a team-high 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 49 percent overall and 18-of-33 (.545) from deep. She leads the ACC with 2.6 steals per game, ranks third with 6.5 defensive rebounds per game, fourth with 8.4 rebounds and seventh with 1.5 blocks. She has led UofL in rebounds in 13 of 15 games.

ABOUT THE EAGLES

Boston College enters Thursday's game with a 12-4 record. The Eagles are 3-2 in ACC play and have won four straight following their 79-49 loss to the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center on Dec. 30. Boston College is shooting 48.5 percent from the floor, which leads the country. They average 17.9 assists per game, which ranks second in the league and 14th in the nation. Taylor Soule leads the Eagles and ranks fourth in the ACC with 15.4 points per game. She is shooting 91-of-160 from the floor, good for 56.9 percent, which leads the ACC and ranks 24th in the NCAA. She is 63-of-84 from the free throw line, which ranks first in the ACC in makes and second in attempts, and is good for 75.0 percent, which ranks ninth. They have four other players averaging more than 9.4 points per game - Cameron Swartz (13.6 ppg), Makayla Dickens (10.1 ppg), Maria Gakdeng (9.8 ppg) and Marnelle Garraud (9.4 ppg). Garraud ranks third in the ACC with 2.3 steals per game and fifth with 4.0 assists per game.

Series History - Louisville is 11-1 all-time against Boston College. The Cardinals are on an 11-game winning streak in the series, 10-0 since joining the ACC, and they are 4-0 on the road. The lone loss to Boston College came in the first meeting on Dec. 28, 1985, when Louisville suffered a 68-74 loss in the NC State Christmas Tournament. In the last 11 games, the Cardinals have won by an average of 22.4 points per game. Thursday's meeting marks the eighth straight time that the teams have faced off when Louisville was ranked in the top five.

Last Meeting (Dec. 30, 2021) - Emily Engstler scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 2 Louisville defeated Boston College 79-49 inside the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals showed their depth with five players scoring in double figures. Payton Verhulst tied a career-high 12 points and Hailey Van Lith added 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon chipped in 10 points each. Louisville held Boston College to 35 percent shooting overall and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

GAME FACTS
Date: Sunday, Jan. 16
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Chestnut Hill, Mass. | Conte Forum (8,606)
TV: ACCN (Sam Ravech, play-by-play; Kelly Gramlich, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 79-49 (Dec. 30, 2021 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 11-1 (W11, 6-0 home, 4-0 away, 1-1 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Thursday, Jan. 20 at No. 4 NC State

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 Boston College on Sunday, Walz Seeks 400th Win

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Cochran

Liz Dixon

Emily Engstler

Dana Evans

Kianna Smith

Hailey Van Lith

Payton Verhulst

University of Louisville Athletics