Sunday, February 8
Syracuse, NY
12 PM
University of Louisville
at
Syracuse
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 6 Cardinals Travel to Syracuse
February 07, 2026 | Women's Basketball
Louisville is 7-0 on the road this season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 6 Louisville women's basketball team (21-4, 11-1 ACC) is back on the road to close out the week in a battle of two top four teams in the ACC. The Cardinals head north to take on the Syracuse Orange (19-4, 9-3 ACC) as both teams currently sit in second and third place in the ACC standings. The Cardinals and Orange will square off at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 8 and it will be broadcast on the CW.
The Cardinals are coming off their first loss in over two months in the 59-58 defeat to No. 17/22 Duke this past Thursday. The Cardinals have only lost two games since December 4 and they have been by a combined three points. The Cardinals have been able to bounce back quickly following a loss during Jeff Walz's tenure as head coach. In his 19 seasons, the Cardinals are 105-26 all-time following a loss and they are 3-0 this season. All four of Louisville's losses this season have come to teams currently ranked in the Top 20.
Elif Istanbulluoglu continued her strong play against the Blue Devils on Thursday. She led the team with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and hauled in six rebounds going up against another strong post matchup. She has scored in double figures in each of the last three games and five of her last seven games. In conference play, she is tied for the team lead with 11.5 points per game.
The Cardinals have had a lot of success on the road this season as they are a perfect 7-0 in road games. They are the only team in the ACC to be undefeated in road games this season and all seven of their road games have come in conference play. Including neutral site games, the Cardinals are 9-1 away from home this season.
Date: Sunday, February 8
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Syracuse, N.Y. | JMA Wireless Dome (30,219)
TV: CW (Kylen Mills, play-by-play; Fallon Stokes, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 21-8 (13-1 home, 6-6 away, 2-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 72-62 (Jan. 16, 2025 at KFC Yum! Center)
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse enters Sunday's matchup with a 19-4 overall record and are 9-3 in ACC play. Syracuse is tied for third in the ACC standings heading into the weekend while the Cards are one spot above them in second place as the two teams look to secure a double bye for the ACC Tournament. Syracuse's ACC wins have come against SMU (78-69), Florida State (82-72), Wake Forest (73-58), Virginia (79-60), Cal (90-87), Stanford (69-58), Georgia Tech (94-70), Miami (65-60) and Boston College (93-59). Their ACC defeats have come at the hands of Duke (51-71), Virginia Tech (57-77) and North Carolina (71-77). Syracuse leads the league and ranks sixth nationally with 17.5 offensive rebounds per game. They are first in the ACC with 20.2 turnovers forced per game. The Orange rank ninth nationally in rebounds per game (43.4) and 12th in the nation in blocks per game (5.6). Uche Izoje leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally with 2.6 blocks per game. She also leads the league and is 16th nationally with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Series History - This will be the 31st meeting all time between the two schools as the series dates back to the 1986-87 season. Louisville holds the all-time series lead 21-8. The Cardinals have won nine of the last 10 games over the Orange dating back to the 2019-20 season. The Cardinals are 15-3 against the Orange since they joined the ACC during the 2014-15 season.
Last Meeting (Jan. 16, 2025) - The Louisville women's basketball team (13-5, 6-1 ACC) fought hard in a 72-62 victory over Syracuse (7-10, 1-5 ACC) Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. With the win over the Orange, the Cards take both games of their short homestand and become the second ACC team to win six conference games so far this season. Louisville has won its last seven games and six in a row against ACC opponents dating back to December 15. Ja'Leah Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double in the win. For Williams, it was her first career double-double. All five Cardinals starters finished the game in double figures while Elif Istanbulluoglu provided nine points off the bench.
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 are coming off their first loss in over two months in the 59-58 defeat to No. 17/22 Duke this past Thursday. The Cardinals have only lost two games since December 4 and they have been by a combined three points. The Cardinals have been able to bounce back quickly following a loss during Jeff Walz's tenure as head coach. In his 19 seasons, the Cardinals are 105-26 all-time following a loss and they are 3-0 this season. All four of Louisville's losses this season have come to teams currently ranked in the Top 20.
Elif Istanbulluoglu continued her strong play against the Blue Devils on Thursday. She led the team with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and hauled in six rebounds going up against another strong post matchup. She has scored in double figures in each of the last three games and five of her last seven games. In conference play, she is tied for the team lead with 11.5 points per game.
The Cardinals have had a lot of success on the road this season as they are a perfect 7-0 in road games. They are the only team in the ACC to be undefeated in road games this season and all seven of their road games have come in conference play. Including neutral site games, the Cardinals are 9-1 away from home this season.
Date: Sunday, February 8
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Syracuse, N.Y. | JMA Wireless Dome (30,219)
TV: CW (Kylen Mills, play-by-play; Fallon Stokes, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 21-8 (13-1 home, 6-6 away, 2-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 72-62 (Jan. 16, 2025 at KFC Yum! Center)
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse enters Sunday's matchup with a 19-4 overall record and are 9-3 in ACC play. Syracuse is tied for third in the ACC standings heading into the weekend while the Cards are one spot above them in second place as the two teams look to secure a double bye for the ACC Tournament. Syracuse's ACC wins have come against SMU (78-69), Florida State (82-72), Wake Forest (73-58), Virginia (79-60), Cal (90-87), Stanford (69-58), Georgia Tech (94-70), Miami (65-60) and Boston College (93-59). Their ACC defeats have come at the hands of Duke (51-71), Virginia Tech (57-77) and North Carolina (71-77). Syracuse leads the league and ranks sixth nationally with 17.5 offensive rebounds per game. They are first in the ACC with 20.2 turnovers forced per game. The Orange rank ninth nationally in rebounds per game (43.4) and 12th in the nation in blocks per game (5.6). Uche Izoje leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally with 2.6 blocks per game. She also leads the league and is 16th nationally with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Series History - This will be the 31st meeting all time between the two schools as the series dates back to the 1986-87 season. Louisville holds the all-time series lead 21-8. The Cardinals have won nine of the last 10 games over the Orange dating back to the 2019-20 season. The Cardinals are 15-3 against the Orange since they joined the ACC during the 2014-15 season.
Last Meeting (Jan. 16, 2025) - The Louisville women's basketball team (13-5, 6-1 ACC) fought hard in a 72-62 victory over Syracuse (7-10, 1-5 ACC) Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center. With the win over the Orange, the Cards take both games of their short homestand and become the second ACC team to win six conference games so far this season. Louisville has won its last seven games and six in a row against ACC opponents dating back to December 15. Ja'Leah Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double in the win. For Williams, it was her first career double-double. All five Cardinals starters finished the game in double figures while Elif Istanbulluoglu provided nine points off the bench.
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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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballWBB: Jeff Walz Postgame Presser (Duke - 2/5/26)
Friday, February 06
WBB: Elif Istanbulluoglu and Laura Ziegler Postgame Presser (Duke - 2/5/26)
Friday, February 06
WBB: Jeff Walz Preview Press Conference (Duke - 2/3/26)
Tuesday, February 03
WBB: Cal Highlights (2/1/26)
Sunday, February 01
