Wednesday, December 14
Louisville, KY (Freedom Hall)
6:30 PM
University of Louisville
at
Bellarmine
Photo by: Rachel Klotz | Louisville Athletics
RV/#25 Cardinals Return to Freedom Hall to Take on Bellarmine
December 13, 2022 | Women's Basketball
This will be Louisville’s first game in Freedom Hall since the 2009-10 season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville women's basketball team is returning to a familiar venue for the first time in over 10 years for their next game on Wednesday. The Cardinals are heading back to Freedom Hall to take on Bellarmine on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
This will be Louisville's first trip back to Freedom Hall since March 17, 2010, when they played their final home game at the venue against Bradley. The Cardinals began playing at Freedom Hall in their second varsity season in 1976-77. When head coach Jeff Walz took over in 2007-08, the Cardinals were playing their home games at Freedom Hall. In the three seasons under Walz, the Cards were 31-10 in games played at Freedom Hall.
Louisville is coming off a 86-72 win on the road against Kentucky in the annual Battle for the Bluegrass. It was the Cardinals sixth-straight win over the Wildcats, the longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry for the Cardinals. The Cardinals led wire-to-wire against the Wildcats and never trailed in Sunday's game. It is the second time in the six-game winning streak that they did not trail in a game and both of those games were in Lexington. Louisville set a program record with 33 made free throws in the win, surpassing the previous record of 32 that was set in 2009.
Hailey Van Lith continued her strong start to the season with a game-high 21 points in the win. It was her second straight game scoring 21 points, the fourth time in her last five games she has scored 20 or more and she has eclipsed the 20-point mark in six of her 10 games so far this season. Morgan Jones made her impact on the defensive end for the second straight game on Sunday. After setting a career high with eight steals against SIUE, Jones tied a career high with four blocks against Kentucky. She also hauled in a season-high eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards. The four blocks and seven offensive rebounds were the most by a Cardinal player this season.
Date: Wednesday, December 14
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | Freedom Hall (18,252)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 970-AM WGTK (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 82-25 (Nov. 16, 2021 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: Louisville leads 12-2 (10-1 home, 2-1 away)
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Bellarmine is 4-6 on the season but have won three of their last four games heading into Wednesday's game. The Knights are 3-0 at home this season after not having a home game until Dec. 1 this season. Freshman center Gracie Merkle leads the way for the Knights as she averages a double-double with 14.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and is also the leading shot blocker with 3.0 per game. She has had double-doubles in each of her last six games and has seven total on the season. The Knights have a number of Louisville ties on their roster as three players are from The Ville. Jaela Johnson went to Manual, Ashlee Harris went to Sacred Heart and Cam Browning went to Male.
Series History - This will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two teams that are separated by just a few miles in town. The Cardinals hold a 12-2 all-time record over the Knights and are 2-1 in games played on Bellarmine's home court. This will be the third-straight season the two teams have played each other but the first time they will meet in Freedom Hall since 1999, when Freedom Hall was the home arena for the Cardinals.
Last Meeting (Nov. 16, 2021) - Senior forward Emily Engstler led the way with 12 points and 14 rebounds as No. 10 Louisville defeated Bellarmine 82-25 on Tuesday night inside the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals started the game strong offensively, scoring nine points in the first 2:20 of the game. Louisville then went on a 17-3 run over the final 5:15 of the first quarter to take a 28-10 lead. Kianna Smith and Engstler combined to score 18 of the Cardinals' 28 first quarter points. Louisville tightened up its defense in the second quarter, allowing just four points and forcing eight turnovers to take a 48-14 lead into the break. Engstler's double-double marked her first in a Louisville uniform after recording 16 in three years at Syracuse. She recorded the double-double in the first half, going into the locker room with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Knights' 25 points mark the lowest point total allowed in Louisville program history, while the 57-point win was the largest margin of victory in a home opener all-time.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram account at @LouisvilleWBB, Twitter account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
This will be Louisville's first trip back to Freedom Hall since March 17, 2010, when they played their final home game at the venue against Bradley. The Cardinals began playing at Freedom Hall in their second varsity season in 1976-77. When head coach Jeff Walz took over in 2007-08, the Cardinals were playing their home games at Freedom Hall. In the three seasons under Walz, the Cards were 31-10 in games played at Freedom Hall.
Louisville is coming off a 86-72 win on the road against Kentucky in the annual Battle for the Bluegrass. It was the Cardinals sixth-straight win over the Wildcats, the longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry for the Cardinals. The Cardinals led wire-to-wire against the Wildcats and never trailed in Sunday's game. It is the second time in the six-game winning streak that they did not trail in a game and both of those games were in Lexington. Louisville set a program record with 33 made free throws in the win, surpassing the previous record of 32 that was set in 2009.
Hailey Van Lith continued her strong start to the season with a game-high 21 points in the win. It was her second straight game scoring 21 points, the fourth time in her last five games she has scored 20 or more and she has eclipsed the 20-point mark in six of her 10 games so far this season. Morgan Jones made her impact on the defensive end for the second straight game on Sunday. After setting a career high with eight steals against SIUE, Jones tied a career high with four blocks against Kentucky. She also hauled in a season-high eight rebounds, including seven offensive boards. The four blocks and seven offensive rebounds were the most by a Cardinal player this season.
Date: Wednesday, December 14
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | Freedom Hall (18,252)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 970-AM WGTK (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 82-25 (Nov. 16, 2021 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: Louisville leads 12-2 (10-1 home, 2-1 away)
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Bellarmine is 4-6 on the season but have won three of their last four games heading into Wednesday's game. The Knights are 3-0 at home this season after not having a home game until Dec. 1 this season. Freshman center Gracie Merkle leads the way for the Knights as she averages a double-double with 14.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and is also the leading shot blocker with 3.0 per game. She has had double-doubles in each of her last six games and has seven total on the season. The Knights have a number of Louisville ties on their roster as three players are from The Ville. Jaela Johnson went to Manual, Ashlee Harris went to Sacred Heart and Cam Browning went to Male.
Series History - This will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two teams that are separated by just a few miles in town. The Cardinals hold a 12-2 all-time record over the Knights and are 2-1 in games played on Bellarmine's home court. This will be the third-straight season the two teams have played each other but the first time they will meet in Freedom Hall since 1999, when Freedom Hall was the home arena for the Cardinals.
Last Meeting (Nov. 16, 2021) - Senior forward Emily Engstler led the way with 12 points and 14 rebounds as No. 10 Louisville defeated Bellarmine 82-25 on Tuesday night inside the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals started the game strong offensively, scoring nine points in the first 2:20 of the game. Louisville then went on a 17-3 run over the final 5:15 of the first quarter to take a 28-10 lead. Kianna Smith and Engstler combined to score 18 of the Cardinals' 28 first quarter points. Louisville tightened up its defense in the second quarter, allowing just four points and forcing eight turnovers to take a 48-14 lead into the break. Engstler's double-double marked her first in a Louisville uniform after recording 16 in three years at Syracuse. She recorded the double-double in the first half, going into the locker room with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Knights' 25 points mark the lowest point total allowed in Louisville program history, while the 57-point win was the largest margin of victory in a home opener all-time.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram account at @LouisvilleWBB, Twitter account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
Players Mentioned
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