Sunday, December 14
Chapel Hill, NC
4 PM
University of Louisville
at
#12/#11 North Carolina
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 22/20 Cardinals Set for Road Clash with No. 12/11 Tar Heels
December 13, 2025 | Women's Basketball
North Carolina is the fourth ranked opponent the Cardinals have faced this season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in nearly a month, the No. 22/20 Louisville women's basketball team (9-3, 1-0 ACC) will be playing a game outside the city of Louisville this weekend. The Cardinals are heading to the triangle for a Top-20 clash with No. 12/11 North Carolina (9-2) on Sunday, December 14. The Cardinals and Tar Heels will square off from Carmichael Arena at 4 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Earlier this week, the Cardinals closed out a stretch where seven of their last eight games came at home and all eight were played in the city of Louisville. The Cards went 6-2 over that stretch and have won five of their last six games heading into this weekend's matchup with the Tar Heels.
The 12th-ranked Tar Heels will be the fourth ranked opponent the Cardinals will face so far this season. They have already played No. 1 UConn, No. 3 South Carolina and No. 20 Kentucky over the first month-plus of the season. Next week, the Cardinals will square off with No. 18 Tennessee before the Christmas break.
Louisville is coming off a 93-62 win over Ball State this past Wednesday to conclude the homestand. The Cards got strong contributions from its bench once again as they scored 50 points in the win. The Cards average 36.1 bench points per game this season, a mark that leads the ACC and ranks third nationally. The Louisville bench has outscored its opponents on its own three times this season.
Anaya Hardy tied a season high with 12 points and had a team-best 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. She is tied with Laura Ziegler with a team-best three doubles-doubles. Hardy has burst onto the scene in her sophomore season and become an important part of the rotation. Since the Morehead State game on Nov. 19, Hardy has played 10 or more minutes in seven of the last eight games. She has played 20 minutes or more in six of the last eight and made the starting lineup in each of the last three games.
Skylar Jones led the team with 20 points against Ball State, her second 20-point outing of the season. She was 7-for-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds to tie a season high for the second straight game. Five Cardinals ended the night in double figures with Ziegler (15 pts.), Mackenly Randolph (12 pts.) and Imari Berry (10 pts.) joining Jones and Hardy.
Date: Sunday, December 14
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. | Carmichael Arena (10,180)
TV: ACCN (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; Meghan McKeown, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 9-6 (5-1 home, 3-2 away, 1-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: L, 75-79 (Feb. 23, 2025 at KFC Yum! Center)
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina comes into Sunday's matchup with a 9-2 overall record and this will be their ACC opener for the season. Their only two losses on the season have come against Top 5 teams in UCLA (60-78) and Texas (64-79). The Tar Heels went 3-0 in Cancun to claim the Cancun Challenge title on Thanksgiving weekend. North Carolina comes into the game ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Similar to the Cardinals, North Carolina gets great production from their bench as they rank third in the ACC and 19th nationally with 30.6 bench points per game. Indya Nivar ranks second in the ACC and second nationally with 43 steals on the season.
Series History - This will be the 16th meeting all time between the two schools as the series dates back to the 1984-85 season. Louisville holds the all-time series lead 9-6 and are 3-2 in games played down in Chapel Hill. The Cardinals have won nine of their 12 meetings between the Tar Heels as members of the ACC. Louisville is 9-4 against the Tar Heels under Jeff Walz's tenure.
Last Meeting (Feb. 23, 2025) - The Louisville women's basketball team (19-8, 12-4 ACC) dropped a hard-fought game with #9 North Carolina (25-4, 13-3 ACC), 79-75, Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter but could not hold off a Tar Heel offense that posted 29 points in the final 10 minutes to storm back for the win. Louisville shot just 25-64 (39.1%) from the field, and even though they outrebounded UNC 42-27 in the game, it was not enough to fend off the Tar Heels. Jayda Curry played all 40 minutes for the Cards and led the team with 18 points on 7-15 (46.7%) shooting. Louisville boasted a balanced offensive attack with Merissah Russell posting 13 points off the bench, Tajianna Roberts and Olivia Cochran contributing 11 points each. Cochran's 10 rebounds secured her fourth double-double of the season.
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.
Earlier this week, the Cardinals closed out a stretch where seven of their last eight games came at home and all eight were played in the city of Louisville. The Cards went 6-2 over that stretch and have won five of their last six games heading into this weekend's matchup with the Tar Heels.
The 12th-ranked Tar Heels will be the fourth ranked opponent the Cardinals will face so far this season. They have already played No. 1 UConn, No. 3 South Carolina and No. 20 Kentucky over the first month-plus of the season. Next week, the Cardinals will square off with No. 18 Tennessee before the Christmas break.
Louisville is coming off a 93-62 win over Ball State this past Wednesday to conclude the homestand. The Cards got strong contributions from its bench once again as they scored 50 points in the win. The Cards average 36.1 bench points per game this season, a mark that leads the ACC and ranks third nationally. The Louisville bench has outscored its opponents on its own three times this season.
Anaya Hardy tied a season high with 12 points and had a team-best 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. She is tied with Laura Ziegler with a team-best three doubles-doubles. Hardy has burst onto the scene in her sophomore season and become an important part of the rotation. Since the Morehead State game on Nov. 19, Hardy has played 10 or more minutes in seven of the last eight games. She has played 20 minutes or more in six of the last eight and made the starting lineup in each of the last three games.
Skylar Jones led the team with 20 points against Ball State, her second 20-point outing of the season. She was 7-for-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds to tie a season high for the second straight game. Five Cardinals ended the night in double figures with Ziegler (15 pts.), Mackenly Randolph (12 pts.) and Imari Berry (10 pts.) joining Jones and Hardy.
Date: Sunday, December 14
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. | Carmichael Arena (10,180)
TV: ACCN (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; Meghan McKeown, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 9-6 (5-1 home, 3-2 away, 1-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: L, 75-79 (Feb. 23, 2025 at KFC Yum! Center)
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina comes into Sunday's matchup with a 9-2 overall record and this will be their ACC opener for the season. Their only two losses on the season have come against Top 5 teams in UCLA (60-78) and Texas (64-79). The Tar Heels went 3-0 in Cancun to claim the Cancun Challenge title on Thanksgiving weekend. North Carolina comes into the game ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Similar to the Cardinals, North Carolina gets great production from their bench as they rank third in the ACC and 19th nationally with 30.6 bench points per game. Indya Nivar ranks second in the ACC and second nationally with 43 steals on the season.
Series History - This will be the 16th meeting all time between the two schools as the series dates back to the 1984-85 season. Louisville holds the all-time series lead 9-6 and are 3-2 in games played down in Chapel Hill. The Cardinals have won nine of their 12 meetings between the Tar Heels as members of the ACC. Louisville is 9-4 against the Tar Heels under Jeff Walz's tenure.
Last Meeting (Feb. 23, 2025) - The Louisville women's basketball team (19-8, 12-4 ACC) dropped a hard-fought game with #9 North Carolina (25-4, 13-3 ACC), 79-75, Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter but could not hold off a Tar Heel offense that posted 29 points in the final 10 minutes to storm back for the win. Louisville shot just 25-64 (39.1%) from the field, and even though they outrebounded UNC 42-27 in the game, it was not enough to fend off the Tar Heels. Jayda Curry played all 40 minutes for the Cards and led the team with 18 points on 7-15 (46.7%) shooting. Louisville boasted a balanced offensive attack with Merissah Russell posting 13 points off the bench, Tajianna Roberts and Olivia Cochran contributing 11 points each. Cochran's 10 rebounds secured her fourth double-double of the season.
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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