Thursday, January 4
LOUISVILLE, KY
8 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Duke
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 17/16 Cardinals Welcome Duke for ACC Home Opener
January 03, 2024 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals are going for their 1,000 win in program history against the Blue Devils
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 17/16 Louisville women's basketball team (12-2, 1-0 ACC) is back at home for the first time in over two weeks as they have their first home game after the holiday break set for Thursday night. The Cardinals are set to host the Duke Blue Devils (9-4, 1-1 ACC) for their ACC home opener on Thursday, January 4 inside the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville is currently at 999 program wins all-time is one shy of hitting the 1,000 win mark in program history. The Cardinals and Blue Devils will square off at 8 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on the ACC Network.
Louisville is coming off a thrilling 77-72 win on the road in the ACC opener against Miami this past Sunday on New Year's Eve. Louisville improved to 10-0 all-time in ACC openers since they joined the league in 2014-15. It was the third time over that stretch that the Cardinals faced a ranked opponent to open ACC play. The win snapped a 17-game home winning streak for the Hurricanes as they had not lost a home game since Dec. 29, 2022.
In the win, The Cardinals had big second halves from two players as they both took over both quarters in the second half. Jayda Curry had one of her best games in a Louisville uniform as she led the Cards with a season-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting against the Hurricanes. She scored 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter as the Cardinals took a one-point lead into the fourth. Trailing by four multiple times in the fourth quarter, Merissah Russell took over and scored 11-straight points and was three-for-three from behind the arc. Her first two three pointers kept the Cardinals within one and then the third tied the game. After the third three, Russell was fouled and she hit both free throws to give the Cardinals a lead they would not relinquish.
The Cardinals hit some milestones in the win over the Hurricanes and it started in the first quarter with Kiki Jefferson. She knocked down a jumper to eclipse the 2,000-point mark for her career in the opening minutes. She scored 12 points on the afternoon and has 2,010 points for her career. In the third quarter, Curry knocked down a three and she eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career. After her 19 points against the Hurricanes, she currently has 1,009 points for her career.
Date: Thursday, January 4
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ACCN (Angel Gray, play-by-play; Aja Ellison, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 7-4 (4-0 home, 2-4 away, 1-0 neutral)
Series History w/Walz: Louisville leads 6-3 (4-0 home, 2-3 away)
Last Meeting: L, 56-63 (Jan. 1, 2023 at Durham, N.C.)
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke comes into Thursday's matchup with a 9-4 overall on the season and are 1-1 in conference play after having their ACC opener almost a month ago on December 7 against Clemson. The Blue Devils have won four-straight games heading into Thursday after an 80-75 home win over Boston College this past Sunday. The Blue Devils fell in their ACC opener to Clemson 64-80 but have not dropped a game since that meeting on Dec. 7. Duke is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country as they rank third nationally and lead the ACC with 7.2 blocks per game. Both teams are strong free throw shooters as the Cardinals have a .776 free throw percentage as a team and the Blue Devils are right behind with .775. The difference between the two teams is how often they get to the line. Louisville has had 299 free throw attempts this season and the Blue Devils just 191.
Series History - This will be the 12th meeting all-time between the two teams and the 10th meeting as conference foes in the ACC. Louisville holds the all-time series history advantage with a 7-4 record and they are 4-0 against Duke in games played in Louisville. Duke won the matchup last season on New Year's Day but the Cardinals have won five of their last six games against the Blue Devils dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Last Meeting (Jan. 1, 2023) - The RV/RV Louisville women's basketball team battled all afternoon but could not overcome its early deficit and fell, 63-56, to Duke Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cardinals (11-5, 2-1) got within two twice in the final quarter but a late Blue Devils (13-1, 3-0) run was the difference. Chrislyn Carr had eight points with two threes as Olivia Cochran added eight points and five boards. The Cards got the deficit down to two in two different spots in the fourth quarter but an 8-0 run by the Blue Devils put them back ahead by 10 with under two minutes remaining. The Cards went on a 5-0 spurt after two baskets to trim the Duke lead to 59-54 with 1:06 left. The Cards hit another shot to get within three but that was the closest they got as the Blue Devils hit their free throws to close out the game.
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, X account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
Louisville is coming off a thrilling 77-72 win on the road in the ACC opener against Miami this past Sunday on New Year's Eve. Louisville improved to 10-0 all-time in ACC openers since they joined the league in 2014-15. It was the third time over that stretch that the Cardinals faced a ranked opponent to open ACC play. The win snapped a 17-game home winning streak for the Hurricanes as they had not lost a home game since Dec. 29, 2022.
In the win, The Cardinals had big second halves from two players as they both took over both quarters in the second half. Jayda Curry had one of her best games in a Louisville uniform as she led the Cards with a season-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting against the Hurricanes. She scored 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter as the Cardinals took a one-point lead into the fourth. Trailing by four multiple times in the fourth quarter, Merissah Russell took over and scored 11-straight points and was three-for-three from behind the arc. Her first two three pointers kept the Cardinals within one and then the third tied the game. After the third three, Russell was fouled and she hit both free throws to give the Cardinals a lead they would not relinquish.
The Cardinals hit some milestones in the win over the Hurricanes and it started in the first quarter with Kiki Jefferson. She knocked down a jumper to eclipse the 2,000-point mark for her career in the opening minutes. She scored 12 points on the afternoon and has 2,010 points for her career. In the third quarter, Curry knocked down a three and she eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career. After her 19 points against the Hurricanes, she currently has 1,009 points for her career.
Date: Thursday, January 4
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ACCN (Angel Gray, play-by-play; Aja Ellison, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 7-4 (4-0 home, 2-4 away, 1-0 neutral)
Series History w/Walz: Louisville leads 6-3 (4-0 home, 2-3 away)
Last Meeting: L, 56-63 (Jan. 1, 2023 at Durham, N.C.)
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke comes into Thursday's matchup with a 9-4 overall on the season and are 1-1 in conference play after having their ACC opener almost a month ago on December 7 against Clemson. The Blue Devils have won four-straight games heading into Thursday after an 80-75 home win over Boston College this past Sunday. The Blue Devils fell in their ACC opener to Clemson 64-80 but have not dropped a game since that meeting on Dec. 7. Duke is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country as they rank third nationally and lead the ACC with 7.2 blocks per game. Both teams are strong free throw shooters as the Cardinals have a .776 free throw percentage as a team and the Blue Devils are right behind with .775. The difference between the two teams is how often they get to the line. Louisville has had 299 free throw attempts this season and the Blue Devils just 191.
Series History - This will be the 12th meeting all-time between the two teams and the 10th meeting as conference foes in the ACC. Louisville holds the all-time series history advantage with a 7-4 record and they are 4-0 against Duke in games played in Louisville. Duke won the matchup last season on New Year's Day but the Cardinals have won five of their last six games against the Blue Devils dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Last Meeting (Jan. 1, 2023) - The RV/RV Louisville women's basketball team battled all afternoon but could not overcome its early deficit and fell, 63-56, to Duke Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cardinals (11-5, 2-1) got within two twice in the final quarter but a late Blue Devils (13-1, 3-0) run was the difference. Chrislyn Carr had eight points with two threes as Olivia Cochran added eight points and five boards. The Cards got the deficit down to two in two different spots in the fourth quarter but an 8-0 run by the Blue Devils put them back ahead by 10 with under two minutes remaining. The Cards went on a 5-0 spurt after two baskets to trim the Duke lead to 59-54 with 1:06 left. The Cards hit another shot to get within three but that was the closest they got as the Blue Devils hit their free throws to close out the game.
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, X account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
Players Mentioned
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