Sunday, February 18
LOUISVILLE, KY
2 PM
University of Louisville
vs
#12/13 Virginia Tech
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 18 Cardinals Host No. 12/13 Virginia Tech in Top-20 Clash
February 17, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Three of the next four games will be at home for the Cardinals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 18 Louisville women's basketball team (21-5, 10-3 ACC) is back at home and set to face off with another ranked opponent this weekend. The Cardinals welcome No. 12/13 Virginia Tech (21-4, 12-2 ACC) to the KFC Yum! Center for a nationally televised Top-20 matchup. The Hokies and Cardinals both are in the Top-4 of the ACC standings as we head down the final stretch of the regular season. Louisville and Virginia Tech are set to face off at 2 p.m. ET from the KFC Yum! Center and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Following the highly successful NIL Flash Give at football back in the fall, the 502Circle is set to do a Flash Give during the Louisville and Virginia Tech on Sunday. During halftime, fans at the game will be prompted to consider giving to 502Circle, the Official NIL Collective of the Louisville Cardinals. The challenge will be for Card Nation to raise as much money as possible for Cardinals student-athletes during halftime.
Sunday's game is the program's Celebrating Black Culture and the team will be wearing special jerseys in honor of Black History Month. Fans can learn more about the jerseys and the details they entail here.
The Cardinals are no strangers to ranked opponents this season, especially in the month of February. Starting on the first of February, the Cardinals had a stretch of four-straight ranked opponents. During that stretch, Louisville played three-ranked opponents in a span of six days, with two of those games coming on the road. Including Sunday's game against the No. 12/13 Hokies, Louisville will play five ranked opponents over a span of six games. So far this season, Louisville is 6-4 against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked in the Top-25.
Nyla Harris has stepped her game up in her second season with the Cards. Harris currently leads the team in field goal percentage (.592), double-doubles (5), second in rebounds per game (6.1) and is third on the squad in points per game (10.5). She has elevated her game during conference play this season, especially when facing Top-25 opponents. In conference games against ranked opponents (6 games), Harris is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and .649 field goal percentage (37-for-57).
Olivia Cochran has been one of the top scoring and rebounding options for the Cardinals this year. She leads the team in rebounds (6.2), steals (1.5) and blocks (0.5) per game and is second on the team in scoring (11.2). Cochran has tallied 18 double-digit scoring games this season and has been an efficient shooter from the field. She is third on the team with a .507 field goal shooting percentage and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 17 games this year.
Kiki Jefferson has also been a top scoring option for the Cardinals and is one of the best free throw shooters in the country. She leads the team with 13.3 points per game, has scored double figures a team-best 20 times and has eight or more points scored in 25 of 26 games this season. Jefferson has been an efficient scorer this season and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 15 of 26 games this year. She is shooting 90.4 percent (103-for-114) from the free throw line this season and that mark leads the ACC and ranks 10th nationally.
Date: Sunday, February 18
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 24-19 (10-7 home, 9-11 away, 5-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: L, 67-75 (Mar. 5, 2024 at Greensboro, N.C.)
ABOUT THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech comes into Sunday's matchup with an 21-4 overall record and are 12-2 in ACC play this season. They are coming off an 61-56 home win over RV Duke on Thursday. The Hokies are on a tear heading into Sunday's game as they have won eight-straight games and are currently in first place in ACC heading into the weekend. Virginia Tech and Louisville were two of the three ACC teams that were announced in the initial NCAA Top 16 seed reveal on Thursday, Feb. 15. Virginia Tech was ranked No. 10 and the Cardinals came in at No. 16. NC State was the other ACC team listed and they were No. 6. The Hokies are one of the best teams in the ACC and nationally in several categories this year. Virginia Tech leads the ACC and is ranked 29th nationally with 17.2 assists per game. The Hokies are one of the best three-point shooting teams as they lead the league and rank 38th nationally with a 35.5 shooting percentage behind the arc. Virginia Tech is 11th nationally and first in the ACC with 9.2 three-pointers made per game. Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore are two of the best players in the country. Kitley ranks third nationally with 18 double-doubles, seventh in the nation with 11.7 rebounds per game and eighth with 22.8 points per game. Amoore is second nationally with 7.4 assists per game and 11th in the country with 191 three pointers made this season.
Series History - This will be the 44th meeting all-time between the two schools and the series dates all the way back to the 1980-81 season. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 24-19 and have won the nine of the previous 11 matchups against the Hokies. The Cardinals are 10-7 all-time against the Hokies in games played in Louisville.
Last Meeting (Mar. 5, 2023) - The No. 4 seed Louisville women's basketball team fell just short of its second-ever ACC Tournament Championship as it dropped to the No. 3 seed Virginia Tech, 75-67, Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Cards attempted a feverish rally in the final minutes but it was not enough to overcome the Hokies. Chrislyn Carr led the Cards offensively with a team-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting and she hit three shots from behind the arc. The 27 points are the second-most by a Louisville player in the ACC Tournament. Mykasa Robinson has been all over the glass in Greensboro and she led the Cards with nine boards to go with eight points and two assists. Robinson tallied 25 rebounds across the three games this weekend. Olivia Cochran was in double figures for the fourth-straight game with 11 points.
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.
Following the highly successful NIL Flash Give at football back in the fall, the 502Circle is set to do a Flash Give during the Louisville and Virginia Tech on Sunday. During halftime, fans at the game will be prompted to consider giving to 502Circle, the Official NIL Collective of the Louisville Cardinals. The challenge will be for Card Nation to raise as much money as possible for Cardinals student-athletes during halftime.
Sunday's game is the program's Celebrating Black Culture and the team will be wearing special jerseys in honor of Black History Month. Fans can learn more about the jerseys and the details they entail here.
The Cardinals are no strangers to ranked opponents this season, especially in the month of February. Starting on the first of February, the Cardinals had a stretch of four-straight ranked opponents. During that stretch, Louisville played three-ranked opponents in a span of six days, with two of those games coming on the road. Including Sunday's game against the No. 12/13 Hokies, Louisville will play five ranked opponents over a span of six games. So far this season, Louisville is 6-4 against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked in the Top-25.
Nyla Harris has stepped her game up in her second season with the Cards. Harris currently leads the team in field goal percentage (.592), double-doubles (5), second in rebounds per game (6.1) and is third on the squad in points per game (10.5). She has elevated her game during conference play this season, especially when facing Top-25 opponents. In conference games against ranked opponents (6 games), Harris is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and .649 field goal percentage (37-for-57).
Olivia Cochran has been one of the top scoring and rebounding options for the Cardinals this year. She leads the team in rebounds (6.2), steals (1.5) and blocks (0.5) per game and is second on the team in scoring (11.2). Cochran has tallied 18 double-digit scoring games this season and has been an efficient shooter from the field. She is third on the team with a .507 field goal shooting percentage and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 17 games this year.
Kiki Jefferson has also been a top scoring option for the Cardinals and is one of the best free throw shooters in the country. She leads the team with 13.3 points per game, has scored double figures a team-best 20 times and has eight or more points scored in 25 of 26 games this season. Jefferson has been an efficient scorer this season and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 15 of 26 games this year. She is shooting 90.4 percent (103-for-114) from the free throw line this season and that mark leads the ACC and ranks 10th nationally.
Date: Sunday, February 18
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 24-19 (10-7 home, 9-11 away, 5-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: L, 67-75 (Mar. 5, 2024 at Greensboro, N.C.)
ABOUT THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech comes into Sunday's matchup with an 21-4 overall record and are 12-2 in ACC play this season. They are coming off an 61-56 home win over RV Duke on Thursday. The Hokies are on a tear heading into Sunday's game as they have won eight-straight games and are currently in first place in ACC heading into the weekend. Virginia Tech and Louisville were two of the three ACC teams that were announced in the initial NCAA Top 16 seed reveal on Thursday, Feb. 15. Virginia Tech was ranked No. 10 and the Cardinals came in at No. 16. NC State was the other ACC team listed and they were No. 6. The Hokies are one of the best teams in the ACC and nationally in several categories this year. Virginia Tech leads the ACC and is ranked 29th nationally with 17.2 assists per game. The Hokies are one of the best three-point shooting teams as they lead the league and rank 38th nationally with a 35.5 shooting percentage behind the arc. Virginia Tech is 11th nationally and first in the ACC with 9.2 three-pointers made per game. Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore are two of the best players in the country. Kitley ranks third nationally with 18 double-doubles, seventh in the nation with 11.7 rebounds per game and eighth with 22.8 points per game. Amoore is second nationally with 7.4 assists per game and 11th in the country with 191 three pointers made this season.
Series History - This will be the 44th meeting all-time between the two schools and the series dates all the way back to the 1980-81 season. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 24-19 and have won the nine of the previous 11 matchups against the Hokies. The Cardinals are 10-7 all-time against the Hokies in games played in Louisville.
Last Meeting (Mar. 5, 2023) - The No. 4 seed Louisville women's basketball team fell just short of its second-ever ACC Tournament Championship as it dropped to the No. 3 seed Virginia Tech, 75-67, Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Cards attempted a feverish rally in the final minutes but it was not enough to overcome the Hokies. Chrislyn Carr led the Cards offensively with a team-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting and she hit three shots from behind the arc. The 27 points are the second-most by a Louisville player in the ACC Tournament. Mykasa Robinson has been all over the glass in Greensboro and she led the Cards with nine boards to go with eight points and two assists. Robinson tallied 25 rebounds across the three games this weekend. Olivia Cochran was in double figures for the fourth-straight game with 11 points.
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.
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