University of Louisville
UALBANY
Louisville Opens NCAA Tournament against 16-seed UAlbany on Friday
March 16, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals and Great Danes will tip off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 790-AM WKRD.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville women's basketball opens the 2022 NCAA Tournament against 16-seed Albany (23-9) on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will broadcast on ESPN2 and 790-AM WKRD.
Tickets are available at GoCards.com/MarchMadness.
At 25-4 and No. 4 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls, Louisville is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The Cardinals were also a No. 1 seed in 2018 (Final Four) and 2019 (Elite Eight). They are the only team in the country to be a No. 1 seed in three of the last four tournaments. They are 2-0 all-time against No. 16 seeds.
Louisville is making its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance and 13th in 14 tournaments under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals are playing in their 11th straight NCAA Tournament. Louisville is 37-23 all-time. They were 4-11 in their first 11 appearances and are 33-12 in their 12Â appearances with head coach Jeff Walz.
They have moved on to the Sweet 16 10 times, the Elite Eight six times, Final Four three times (2009, 2013, 2018) and twice advanced to the title game (2009, 2013), all under Walz. With three Final Fours in the last 12 tournaments, UofL ranks fourth in the country behind UConn (12), Stanford (7) and Notre Dame (6). Louisville is one of six programs to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 at least eight times since 2011.
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UofL is 12-0 all-time in first round games under Coach Walz. They have been the higher seed in all 12 games. UofL's scoring margin in first round games under Walz is +26.1. The Cardinals are 16-7 all-time in the first round and were 4-7 prior to Walz's arrival.
Louisville hosts the first and second round for the sixth time in its history and fifth time in the last six tournaments. The only time during that stint when they did not host was last season when the entire tournament was in San Antonio, Texas.
The Cardinals are 12-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at the KFC Yum! Center and 6-0 in first round games at home.
Mykasa Robinson has played a team-high eight NCAA Tournament games and is the only player entering her third NCAA Tournament at Louisville. This will mark Kianna Smith's team-high fourth NCAA Tournament, as she played in two tournaments while at California (2018, 2019). This is Emily Engstler's third NCAA Tournament and first with Louisville. She played in the 2019 and 2021 tournaments while at Syracuse.
ESPN unveiled its Top 25 Players entering the NCAA Tournament and Engstler was listed at No. 16, while Hailey Van Lith was listed at No. 18. UofL is one of three schools, joined by Stanford (Haley Jones, Cameron Brink) and UConn (Paige Bueckers, Christyn Williams) to have two players on list.
ABOUT THE GREAT DANES
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After winning their first America East title since 2017, the Albany enters the NCAA Tournament with a 23-9 overall record, 13-5 in league play. The Great Danes defeated New Hampshire and Vermont before upsetting first-seed Maine to win the America East title. Albany had five players earn America East postseason honors. Morgan Haney was named the America East Sixth Player of the Year. Helene Haegerstrand and Kayla Cooper earned spots on the First and Second Team, respectively. Lucia Decortes was named to the All-Defensive Team and Lilly Phillips earned an All-Rookie Team nod. Haegerstrand leads the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game and has knocked down 56 3-pointers, while shooting 39 percent from deep. Cooper is the other double-digit scorer with 11.1 points, while leading the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. The Great Danes feature the second-best scoring defense in the country, allowing 48.6 points per game. They limit opponents to 36.3 percent shooting, which led the America East and ranks 32nd in the NCAA.
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Albany Tournament History - This is Albany's seventh NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2017. They made their NCAA Tournament debut in 2012 and played in six straight from 2012 to 2017. The Great Danes are 1-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with their lone victory a 61-59 win over 5-seed Florida in 2016. This is the second time that Albany enters the tournament as a No. 16 seed. They were also a 16-seed in 2017 and fell 116-55 to UConn.
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Series History – First ever meeting.
GAME FACTS
Date: Friday, March 18
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
TV: ESPN2 (John Brickley, play-by-play; Meaghan McKeown, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Series History: 0-0 (0-0 home, 0-0 away, 0-0 neutral)
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.
