Photo by: Adam Mouchrani | Louisville Athletics
No. 15 Cardinals Return Home to Face No. 12/14 Notre Dame
February 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball
This will be the third of four-straight ranked matchups for the Cardinals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 15 Louisville women's basketball team (19-4, 8-2 ACC) are back home and await another ranked opponent this Thursday night. The Cardinals welcome No. 12/14 Notre Dame (17-4, 7-3 ACC) to the KFC Yum! Center for their third of four-straight ranked opponents. The Cardinals and Fighting Irish will square off at 6 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
The Cardinals stretch of ranked opponents started last Thursday with an 81-69 home win over No. 21/23 Syracuse. This past Monday, the Cardinals dropped a road contest to No. 3/5 NC State. Following Thursday's game against No. 12/14 Notre Dame, the Cardinals will travel to No. 23 Syracuse to take on the Orange. In total, the Cardinals will face five ranked opponents in six games when you include the Feb. 18th matchup against No. 16/18 Virginia Tech. So far this season, Louisville is 5-3 against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked in the Top-25.
Since head coach Jeff Walz took over in 2007, the Cardinals have been able to bounce back quickly following a loss. Louisville is 88-24 over the last 17 seasons following a loss and are even better after a loss against ACC opponents. The Cardinals are 22-3 after a loss against ACC opponents and they have only lost back-to-back games against ACC teams three times over the past 10 years.
Date: Thursday, February 8
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Holly Rowe, reporter)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville trails 13-18 (home 5-6, away 5-7 neutral 3-5)
Last Meeting: W, 64-38 (Mar. 4, 2023 at Greensboro, N.C.)
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame comes into Thursday's matchup with a 17-4 record and are 7-3 in conference play. The Fighting Irish are currently ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches poll and will be the third of four-straight ranked opponents the Cardinals will face. Notre Dame is on a hot streak and have won three-straight games and has won seven of its last eight games dating back to Jan. 11. Thursday's matchup will pair two of the best shooting teams in the ACC and in the country. Notre Dame leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with a 47.4 field goal percentage. The Cardinals are second in the ACC and rank 24th nationally with a 46.4 field goal percentage. The Irish have some of the best marks in the conference in several. They lead the league and rank seventh nationally in scoring margin with +22.8. The Irish also lead the league and are 11th nationally in scoring offense with 83.1 points per game. Notre Dame also is tops in the league and 12th nationally in three point percentage defense as they hold opponents to 25.6 percent from behind the arc. Freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo leads the nation with 5.1 steals per game and 106 steals on the season. She is second nationally in points (521) and fourth nationally in points per game (24.8).
Series History - This will be the 32nd meeting between the two schools as they have been conference foes going back to the BIG EAST days. The Cardinals trail the all-time series 13-18 but have seen more success over the past few years. Louisville has won seven of the last nine matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Cardinals trail the series 5-6 in games played in Louisville but have won four of the last five home matchups dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Last Meeting (Mar. 4, 2023) - The No. 4 seed Louisville Cardinals defense was on full display in its 64-38 win over No. 1 seed Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. After dropping the two regular season matchups with the Irish (25-5), the Cardinals (23-10) left no doubt as they held the Irish to their fewest points scored in a game this season and the fewest points allowed in a semifinal matchup in ACC Tournament history. The 38 points scored are the fewest for Notre Dame since they scored 38 on January 24, 2004. With the win, Louisville advances to the ACC Finals for the fourth time in its nine years in the ACC. Mykasa Robinson scored in double figures with 10 points, led the team with five assists and had a team-high eight rebounds in the win. It is the fifth-straight game she has had eight or more assists and the 10th-straight game she has led the team in assists. Olivia Cochran had 12 points and eight rebounds and Chrislyn Carr was the fourth Cardinal in double figures with 10 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.
The Cardinals stretch of ranked opponents started last Thursday with an 81-69 home win over No. 21/23 Syracuse. This past Monday, the Cardinals dropped a road contest to No. 3/5 NC State. Following Thursday's game against No. 12/14 Notre Dame, the Cardinals will travel to No. 23 Syracuse to take on the Orange. In total, the Cardinals will face five ranked opponents in six games when you include the Feb. 18th matchup against No. 16/18 Virginia Tech. So far this season, Louisville is 5-3 against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked in the Top-25.
Since head coach Jeff Walz took over in 2007, the Cardinals have been able to bounce back quickly following a loss. Louisville is 88-24 over the last 17 seasons following a loss and are even better after a loss against ACC opponents. The Cardinals are 22-3 after a loss against ACC opponents and they have only lost back-to-back games against ACC teams three times over the past 10 years.
Date: Thursday, February 8
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Holly Rowe, reporter)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville trails 13-18 (home 5-6, away 5-7 neutral 3-5)
Last Meeting: W, 64-38 (Mar. 4, 2023 at Greensboro, N.C.)
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame comes into Thursday's matchup with a 17-4 record and are 7-3 in conference play. The Fighting Irish are currently ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches poll and will be the third of four-straight ranked opponents the Cardinals will face. Notre Dame is on a hot streak and have won three-straight games and has won seven of its last eight games dating back to Jan. 11. Thursday's matchup will pair two of the best shooting teams in the ACC and in the country. Notre Dame leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with a 47.4 field goal percentage. The Cardinals are second in the ACC and rank 24th nationally with a 46.4 field goal percentage. The Irish have some of the best marks in the conference in several. They lead the league and rank seventh nationally in scoring margin with +22.8. The Irish also lead the league and are 11th nationally in scoring offense with 83.1 points per game. Notre Dame also is tops in the league and 12th nationally in three point percentage defense as they hold opponents to 25.6 percent from behind the arc. Freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo leads the nation with 5.1 steals per game and 106 steals on the season. She is second nationally in points (521) and fourth nationally in points per game (24.8).
Series History - This will be the 32nd meeting between the two schools as they have been conference foes going back to the BIG EAST days. The Cardinals trail the all-time series 13-18 but have seen more success over the past few years. Louisville has won seven of the last nine matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Cardinals trail the series 5-6 in games played in Louisville but have won four of the last five home matchups dating back to the 2017-18 season.
Last Meeting (Mar. 4, 2023) - The No. 4 seed Louisville Cardinals defense was on full display in its 64-38 win over No. 1 seed Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. After dropping the two regular season matchups with the Irish (25-5), the Cardinals (23-10) left no doubt as they held the Irish to their fewest points scored in a game this season and the fewest points allowed in a semifinal matchup in ACC Tournament history. The 38 points scored are the fewest for Notre Dame since they scored 38 on January 24, 2004. With the win, Louisville advances to the ACC Finals for the fourth time in its nine years in the ACC. Mykasa Robinson scored in double figures with 10 points, led the team with five assists and had a team-high eight rebounds in the win. It is the fifth-straight game she has had eight or more assists and the 10th-straight game she has led the team in assists. Olivia Cochran had 12 points and eight rebounds and Chrislyn Carr was the fourth Cardinal in double figures with 10 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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