Thursday, January 15
South Bend, Ind.
6 PM
University of Louisville
at
#23/#22 Notre Dame
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 9/10 Cardinals Set for Top 25 Matchup with No. 23/22 Notre Dame
January 14, 2026 | Women's Basketball
This will be the sixth ranked opponent the Cards face this season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 9/10 Louisville women's basketball team (16-3, 6-0 ACC) has a challenging week ahead on the road and it starts this Thursday as they head to South Bend to take on No. 23/22 Notre Dame (12-4, 4-2 ACC). Notre Dame will be the sixth ranked opponent the Cardinals have faced this season and their eighth game against a Quad 1 opponent. The Cardinals and Irish will square off at 6 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Thursday's matchup between the Cards and the Irish has two of the best teams in the ACC in a number of categories in conference games this year. The Irish lead the league in scoring offense in ACC games, averaging 85.0 points per game. The Cardinals rank second in the league in scoring in ACC games, averaging 80.0 points per game. The Cardinals however lead the league in scoring defense in conference games, as opponents average 58.7 points per game.
Louisville leads the ACC in free throw percentage, shooting 82.2% from the line in ACC play. Notre Dame ranks third with a 78.2% clip from the line. The Irish are shooting a league-best 51.0% from the field in ACC play while the Cards rank fourth with a 45.2% from the field. Both teams lead the ACC with 7.6 three-pointers made per game. Notre Dame leads the league with 11.3 steals per game while the Cards rank second with 10.8 steals per game.
Louisville has the top mark in the ACC in turnover margin at +5.2 while Notre Dame is fifth at +2.7. The Cards are also first in the ACC in scoring margin at +21.3 and Notre Dame is fifth at +18.0. The big difference between the two teams is in rebounding where the Cards are second in the ACC with 42.3 rebounds per game while the Irish rank 11th with 37.5.
The Cards are coming off an 86-46 home win over Pitt this past Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards had five players score in double figures with Anaya Hardy leading the way with a career-best 16 points to go with her nine rebounds. In just her fifth collegiate game, Grace Mbugua tallied her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Laura Ziegler (13 points), Imari Berry (12 points) and Skylar Jones (12 points) rounded out the group in double figures. Reagan Bender led the team with a career-high six assists on the night.
Date: Thursday, January 15
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: South Bend, Ind. | Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
TV: ACC Network (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Stephanie White, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville trails 14-22 (home 6-7, away 5-9, neutral 3-6)
Last Meeting: L, 59-72 (March 2, 2025 at South Bend, Ind.)
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame enters Thursday's matchup with a 12-4 overall record and are 4-2 in ACC play. The Irish are ranked 23rd in the most recent AP poll and 22nd in the most recent coaches poll. Notre Dame's ACC wins this season have come against #22/#18 North Carolina (73-50), Boston College (94-60), Pitt (94-59) and Florida State (93-60) while the defeats have come against Duke (68-82) and Georgia Tech (90-95, OT). Notre Dame leads the ACC and ranks sixth in steals per game (15.3), lead the ACC and rank eighth nationally in free throw percentage (79.2%) and lead the ACC and rank 14th nationally in turnover margin (+8.7). Hannah Hidalgo leads the NCAA with 5.9 steals per game and ranks second nationally with 25.1 points per game. She leads the ACC with 34.3 minutes played per game and the Irish have three players that rank in the Top 10 in the ACC in minutes played per game (Vanessa de Jesus, 6th, 33.5; Cassandre Prosper, 8th, 33.2).
Series History - This will be the 37th 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 14-22. Louisville is 8-6 over the last 14 matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Cardinals are 5-9 all-time in games played up in South Bend.
Last Meeting (Mar. 2, 2025) - The No. 25/RV Louisville women's basketball team (20-9, 13-5 ACC) dropped its final game of the regular season, 72-59, to No. 3 Notre Dame (24-5, 16-2 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. The Cardinals had a one point lead following the first quarter but were unable to keep up with the Irish the rest of the afternoon. Jayda Curry led the Cards in scoring with 19 points and tied a career high with five three-pointers. Curry has scored 15 or more points in each of her last six games.
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.
Thursday's matchup between the Cards and the Irish has two of the best teams in the ACC in a number of categories in conference games this year. The Irish lead the league in scoring offense in ACC games, averaging 85.0 points per game. The Cardinals rank second in the league in scoring in ACC games, averaging 80.0 points per game. The Cardinals however lead the league in scoring defense in conference games, as opponents average 58.7 points per game.
Louisville leads the ACC in free throw percentage, shooting 82.2% from the line in ACC play. Notre Dame ranks third with a 78.2% clip from the line. The Irish are shooting a league-best 51.0% from the field in ACC play while the Cards rank fourth with a 45.2% from the field. Both teams lead the ACC with 7.6 three-pointers made per game. Notre Dame leads the league with 11.3 steals per game while the Cards rank second with 10.8 steals per game.
Louisville has the top mark in the ACC in turnover margin at +5.2 while Notre Dame is fifth at +2.7. The Cards are also first in the ACC in scoring margin at +21.3 and Notre Dame is fifth at +18.0. The big difference between the two teams is in rebounding where the Cards are second in the ACC with 42.3 rebounds per game while the Irish rank 11th with 37.5.
The Cards are coming off an 86-46 home win over Pitt this past Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards had five players score in double figures with Anaya Hardy leading the way with a career-best 16 points to go with her nine rebounds. In just her fifth collegiate game, Grace Mbugua tallied her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Laura Ziegler (13 points), Imari Berry (12 points) and Skylar Jones (12 points) rounded out the group in double figures. Reagan Bender led the team with a career-high six assists on the night.
Date: Thursday, January 15
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: South Bend, Ind. | Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
TV: ACC Network (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Stephanie White, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville trails 14-22 (home 6-7, away 5-9, neutral 3-6)
Last Meeting: L, 59-72 (March 2, 2025 at South Bend, Ind.)
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame enters Thursday's matchup with a 12-4 overall record and are 4-2 in ACC play. The Irish are ranked 23rd in the most recent AP poll and 22nd in the most recent coaches poll. Notre Dame's ACC wins this season have come against #22/#18 North Carolina (73-50), Boston College (94-60), Pitt (94-59) and Florida State (93-60) while the defeats have come against Duke (68-82) and Georgia Tech (90-95, OT). Notre Dame leads the ACC and ranks sixth in steals per game (15.3), lead the ACC and rank eighth nationally in free throw percentage (79.2%) and lead the ACC and rank 14th nationally in turnover margin (+8.7). Hannah Hidalgo leads the NCAA with 5.9 steals per game and ranks second nationally with 25.1 points per game. She leads the ACC with 34.3 minutes played per game and the Irish have three players that rank in the Top 10 in the ACC in minutes played per game (Vanessa de Jesus, 6th, 33.5; Cassandre Prosper, 8th, 33.2).
Series History - This will be the 37th 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 14-22. Louisville is 8-6 over the last 14 matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Cardinals are 5-9 all-time in games played up in South Bend.
Last Meeting (Mar. 2, 2025) - The No. 25/RV Louisville women's basketball team (20-9, 13-5 ACC) dropped its final game of the regular season, 72-59, to No. 3 Notre Dame (24-5, 16-2 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. The Cardinals had a one point lead following the first quarter but were unable to keep up with the Irish the rest of the afternoon. Jayda Curry led the Cards in scoring with 19 points and tied a career high with five three-pointers. Curry has scored 15 or more points in each of her last six games.
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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