Louisville’s women’s basketball Sweet Sixteen bound, defeat Texas 73-51 Wednesday, Mar 22 2023 

basketball and Hailey Van Lith and Jeff Walz and Morgan Jones and NCAA Tournament and sports and sweet sixteen and texas longhorns and ULWBB and women's basketball Spencer Laws 4:37 pm

By Spencer Laws

The Madness Continues

In a night that saw many top seeds going down, the Cards dominated the Texas Longhorns on their home floor from buzzer to buzzer pulling what is considered to be upset.

Louisville women’s basketball punched their ticket into the next round of the NCAA Tournament Monday, beating the Longhorns 73-51. The team will face off with eighth-seeded Ole Miss this Friday, in Seattle in the Sweet Sixteen. 

This match-up comes as somewhat of a surprise; top-seeded Stanford fell to Ole Miss in dramatic fashion on Sunday, 54-49. 

Horns Down

On Monday, the Cards finished the first quarter all tied up at 16 with the Longhorns. The other three perfectly displayed what makes the team such a force. 

Hailey Van Lith led the way for the squad, leading all scorers with 21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while playing the whole 40 minutes of the game. Morgan Jones added 10 points off the bench, shooting 5 of 5 from the floor in 16 minutes of playing time. 

After that, the team saw six players add 5 or more points, looking like the team we thought it could be at the beginning of the season. 

Head Coach Jeff Walz and company again seem to get the train rolling at the right time and have everyone hitting on all cylinders. 

On Monday it seemed as if the Cards simply just wanted it more. They were jumping on loose balls and out-hustling the Longhorns during the entirety of the match. 

Post Game Theatrics

Hailey Van Lith and Texas Guard Sonya Morris ended the game with some fireworks. 

Van Lith was going through post-game ceremonies when Morris exchanged some thoughts. Van Lith had no part in the drama and just walked off. 

“I respect the Texas players. I don’t really want to speak on what happened at the end because I don’t want it to dim down the fact that we played really, really well. I have all the respect in the world for Texas, no hard feelings,” she said in her post-game presser. 

This is Jeff Walz and the program’s sixth straight Sweet Sixteen appearance. Walz was questioned about the accomplishment after the game. He answered the question with some laughter, first stating that it is all due to the coaching staff. He corrected himself, saying it’s all due to his players, their ability to buy into the program, and the process.

Throughout the entire game, you could see the visible emotion and reactions from Walz to the way his team was performing.

The Cardinals take on the Rebels Friday, March 24th, at 10 P.M. on ESPN.

Photo Courtesy// GoCards.com //

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Recapping a busy week for U of L athletics Wednesday, Dec 14 2022 

Aiko Jones and Anna Debeer and basketball and Claire Chasussee and Dani Busboom Kelly and Deion Branch and Football and Hailey Van Lith and Jeff Brohm and Jeff Walz and Liz Dixon and Morgan Jones and Scott Satterfield and sports and Volleyball Spencer Laws 11:46 pm

By Spencer Laws

Besides finals week, this round-up of athletics news has been nothing short of hectic for students, athletes, and fans alike. 

#BroughtBrohmHome

On Dec. 8th, the athletic association announced that Jeff Brohm would be the next head coach of the University of Louisville football team. 

Brohm was among every die-hard fan’s pick to take over the reins at Cardinal Stadium. 

His work in West Lafayette as Purdue University’s head coach was enough to catch athletic director Josh Heird’s eye, the deal was done shortly after the meeting between the two. Brohm came in right away and jumped on the recruiting trail. 

Looking to preserve some of the commits from previous head coach Scott Satterfield’s ‘23 class, Brohm went out to California to check up with four-star dual-threat QB Pierce Clarkson, and four-star wide receiver Deandre Moore at St. John’s Bosco. 

Deion Branch is still set to lead the Cards in the Battle for the Keg of Nails in the Wasabi Fenway bowl this Saturday, December 17th. He will step in for former head coach Scott Satterfield.

Volleyball is Back in the Final Four 

In an intense match on Dec. 10th, the volleyball team once again secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, making it back-to-back years. 

Dani Busboom Kelly and the team were taken to five sets to settle their matchup with the Oregon Ducks, picking up the first in a close 23-25 battle. Oregon came back and picked up the second set in another tight contest, 23-25. 

Starting off the third set with an impressive 8-0 run, Oregon came out in a dominant and controlled, winning 25-13. With their back against the wall, the pulled out a 27-25 result to force the fifth set. 

The fifth set was all Cards as they sent the Ducks packing with a 15-6 victory to move on. 

Louisville players Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee were named to the All-Region team. Louisville outside hitter Anna Debeer was named Regional MVP. 

The team will face off with fellow ACC member Pittsburgh this Thursday, December 15th at 9:30 E.T. Their previous matches with the Panthers this season are split 1-1 — a 2-3 loss at the end of October, and a mid-November 3-0 sweep. 

Make it 6 Straight for Women’s Basketball

In addition to all the fun and madness that the University has been experiencing, women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz and company went down to Lexington and proved they own the state. 

The Cards controlled the Wildcats in another Battle of the Bluegrass, beating the Wildcats 86-72, to pick up their sixth straight win over UK.

Hailey Van Lith had a game-high 21 points. Liz Dixon added 16 of her own for the Cards, and Morgan Jones had 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers. 

Walz and the team have faced some adversity over the last couple of weeks, dropping some uncharacteristic games. In the “Battle for Atlantis” over Thanksgiving break, the team lost an overtime battle with Gonzaga in the opening matchup. After their win over a very good Texas team, they closed the tourney with another loss, this time to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. 

The Cards then dropped another tough battle in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge against No. 5 ranked Ohio State with a 77-96 loss, and a loss to Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, 49-67. 

Jeff Walz and the team didn’t panic in the longtime rivalry though. Nor did they against innercity rival Bellarmine, who they trounced 73-43. The team lead by 31 at the beginning of the second half, and the eight points were given up tied the program record for the fewest points allowed in a half. 

Louisville will travel to Pittsburgh to open the conference slate on Sunday, December 18. The Cardinals and Panthers are set to square off at the Peterson Event Center at 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

Photo Courtesy // GoCards.com //

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Louisville Live! kicks off basketball season with a bang, selling out Slugger Field Tuesday, Oct 25 2022 

Asia Durr and basketball and Dan McDonnell and Darrell Griffith and Jack Harlow and Jeff Walz and Kenny Payne and Pervis Ellison and Slugger Field and sports Spencer Laws 10:44 am

By: Spencer Laws

The energy around Slugger Field was unmatched as Louisville Live! opened Homecoming weekend with a bang to kick off the Kenny Payne era of men’s basketball. It was a sold-out crowd packed full of fans excited to see what both the men’s and women’s squads have to offer this season. 

The night was ushered by a combination of ascending hip-hop star Jack Harlow and basketball alumni Peyton Siva and Angel McCoughtry, who added a lot of fun and commentary throughout the night. 

Teams participated in events such as the three-point contest, the hot shot contest and  the Mountain Dew Slam Dunk contest. 

Along with both teams, many alumni and recruits were in attendance to experience the event and atmosphere on display. 

Pervis Ellison is a notable name in attendance that has been absent in recent years to the program. 

The former first-round pick of the 1989 NBA draft was roommates with head coach Kenny Payne when they were playing. 

Other noteworthy names in attendance include Darrel Griffith, Asia Durr, Dan Mcdonnell  and Master P.

The Men’s team before starts exhibitions o Oct. 30 against Lenoir-Rhyne. 

The Women’s team kicks off their season hosting Cincinnati on November 7th at the Yum Center.

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Louisville women’s basketball ready for the NCAA Tournament Friday, Mar 18 2022 

Baseball and Jeff Walz and Louisville Basketball and sports and women's basketball Daniel Rankin 11:53 am

By Daniel Rankin —

The journey to the Final Four begins tonight for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team as they set their eyes on winning the program’s first national championship.

At 6 p.m. tonight, the No. 1 Louisville Cardinals will face the No. 16 seeded Albany Great Danes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN 2.

The KFC Yum! Center will play host to the first and second round for eight of this year’s 68 national tournament teams, including the Louisville and Albany matchup.

Should the Cards advance to the second round, they will face either the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers or No. 9 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sun., March 19.

Following an upset loss in the ACC Quarterfinals to the Miami Hurricanes, there was some question about what the Cards’ final seeding would be. However, after a strong season finishing 25-4, Louisville secured the No. 1 seed.

Should Louisville advance to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, they’ll be making the journey to Wichita, Kansas to play in the tournament. A potential Elite 8 matchup could see the Cards face the No. 2 Baylor Bears, winners of the 2021 National Championship.

The location of this year’s Final Four is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where fellow No. 1 seed and ACC rival North Carolina State could potentially clash with the Cardinals.

For most of the year, The Cards have been one of the top teams in the nation. With Mykasa Robinson and Emily Engstler, the latter of which being a Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, Louisville shows off one of the best defenses in the country.

Throughout the season, the Cards have sometimes struggled offensively and with producing turnovers. However, Hailey Van Lith, Kianna Smith, Chelsie Hall and Engstler have all shown to be solid and reliable shooters capable of putting up big numbers.

Forward Olivia Cochran’s second year in red has shown a strong presence under the glass, accompanied by senior Liz Dixon.

While all signs point to a straightforward win for the Cards in this first-round matchup, it is March Madness and upsets are known to happen.

After the surprise Miami loss, Coach Walz’s message was clear, “One game at a time. We’re going to focus on Albany as you can’t focus on the round two opponent unless you get there.”

Luckily, readers, writers, national and local pundits alike can look ahead and speculate for them. Most agree: this is a powerful team that should expect at least a Final Four.

Baylor would undoubtedly pose a tough challenge but is certainly a winnable game. Dominant performances against Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut prove just that, as did the first three quarters against NC State. However, the fourth quarter has proven to be an issue for the Cards.

While Louisville is more than capable of winning against any team in the nation, they’ll need to keep the offense moving in matchups to seal the deal.

Earlier in the season, Coach Walz said, “We’re a good team, good enough to make the Final Four. But we could also be eliminated in the second round [of the NCAA Tournament].”

With the tournament underway, stay tuned for more coverage as we recap and preview matchups.

Photo by Daniel Rankin // The Louisville Cardinal

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Walz Named to Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List Wednesday, Feb 17 2021 

ACC and basketball and Jeff Walz and sports and Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year and women's basketball Eli Hughes 2:00 pm

By Nick Evans–

University of Louisville women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz has been named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List.

Walz is one of 15 coaches named to the list and one of two from the Atlantic Coast Conference – joined by NC State’s Wes Moore.

Despite losing five seniors from last year’s team and returning just two starters, Walz has led the Cardinals to a 19-1 overall record, 12-1 in ACC play. Louisville won its first 16 games and reached No. 1 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls for the first time in program history.

The Cardinals enter this week ranked No. 3 in the AP and No. 2 in the USA Today polls.

Louisville travels to play at Pittsburgh on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

For the latest on Louisville women’s basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team’s Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.

Story and Photo Courtesy of GoCards

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Former Miss Basketball of Kentucky transfers from Louisville Wednesday, May 6 2020 

basketball and Bullitt East and Colorado and dana evans and Duvall and Elizabeth Balogun and Jeff Walz and Kentucky and Lindsey Duvall and Louisville and Miss Basketball and ohio State and south carolina and sports and u of l John McCarthy 6:49 pm

By John McCarthy —

Lindsey Duvall, a former Miss Basketball of Kentucky, is entering the transfer portal following head coach Jeff Walz’s announcement on April 27.

“She’s decided that she does want to look for a place where she’s going to be able to have more of an impact,” said Walz.

Duvall had an electric high school career at Bullitt East in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Duvall started on the varsity team at Bullitt East when she was in seventh grade. She totaled 2,957 points throughout her high school career. The Miss Basketball award was presented to Duvall in 2017. The 5-foot-9 guard turned down offers from Kentucky, Ohio State, Colorado and South Carolina before committing to Louisville.

Duvall redshirted her freshman year at U of L while dealing with an injury. After recovering, she played a minor role on the team, averaging six minutes and three points per game over the course of her sophomore and junior season.

She will enter the transfer portal as a traditional transfer, meaning she will have to sit out a year of basketball before getting back on the court. “I told her if she doesn’t find anything that she will still have a scholarship with us. I’ve always been impressed with the type of person she is. She works hard for us day in and day out,” said Walz.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Women’s basketball clinch ACC regular season title with win over Boston College Friday, Feb 28 2020 

basketball and bionca dunham and jazmine jones and Jeff Walz and KFC Yum! Center and kylee shook and mykasa robinson and No. 5 Louisville and sports and Yacine Diop Cole Emery 2:06 pm

By Cole Emery —

No. 5 Louisville Cardinals defeated the Boston College Golden Eagles 68-48 Feb. 27 at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cards jumped out to an early 18-6 lead thanks to five forced turnovers that turned into seven points for Louisville.

Boston College fought back and went on a 11-2 run to finish the quarter down three points to the Cards. Sophomore Makayla Dickens scored nine points in the final two and a half minutes of the first quarter from beyond the arc.

The run left the Cardinals unaffected, and they went on a 13-2 run of their own to start the second quarter. During the run, senior Bionca Dunham scored six points, and junior Jazmine Jones capped off the run with a three-pointer to give them a 33-19 lead.

For the rest of the game, Boston College remained in a double digit deficit.

With five seconds remaining in the half, senior Kylee Shook swiped a steal and drained a buzzer-beating jumper. The Cards took a 46-24 lead into halftime.

Boston College outscored Louisville in the second half, but a dominant first half gave the Cards enough cushion to cruise to victory without their starting guards for the second game in a row. “Those are two significant players on our team,” Shook said. “So, we knew, us being upperclassmen, we had to lead the way and just go out hard.”

Shook racked up her fourth double-double in five games with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also blocked two shots and secured two steals for the game. Jones scored 17 points, assisted three baskets and blocked three shots.

In their second straight start, redshirt senior Yacine Diop and sophomore Mykasa Robinson both played an important role in the victory. Diop scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and passed for two assists. Robinson scored seven points, secured five rebounds, assisted 5 shots, stole the ball three times and blocked one shot.

Amidst injury problems, “These kids have been unbelievable,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “It just shows the character and the fight that they have.”

The Cardinals will play Virginia Tech Mar. 1 in their final game of the season at the KFC Yum! Center at noon.

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Louisville Women’s Basketball downed NC State Thursday, Feb 20 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and bionca dunham and dana evans and Elizabeth Balogun and jazmine jones and Jeff Walz and kylee shook and mykasa robinson and Reynolds Coliseum and sports and Yacine Diop John McCarthy 3:09 pm

No. 9 Louisville women’s basketball defeated the No. 4 North Carolina State Wolfpack 66-59 Feb. 12 at the Reynolds Coliseum.

This victory for the Cardinals (22-3, 11-2) came a game after they were upset inside the Carrier Dome Feb. 9 by the unranked Syracuse Orange. With this win, the Cardinals sit atop the ACC standings along with NC State (22-2, 11-2).

Louisville will look to enter back into the top five in the AP poll come Monday after an impressive victory.

Senior Bionca Dunham provided an early spark for the Cardinals in the first four minutes, putting up three points and a defensive rebound. Senior Jazmine Jones struck in the first quarter as well, swishing a three-pointer and banking in a pair of layups. Junior Dana Evans contributed four points and dimed an assist in the first quarter.

By the end of the second quarter, the Cardinals lead grew to ten. Jones and Evans bottomed three-point jumpers. Sophomore Mykasa Robinson made a jumper and a free-throw and dished an assist to Evans for a three-point bucket.

Louisville came out in the second half shooting efficiently from the field, shooting 57% from the field in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

A late third-quarter run by the Wolfpack brought their deficit to five points.

After a two-minute drought for the Cardinals, Senior Kylee Shook drove into the lane for a layup, increasing the lead to six as the third-quarter clock expired.

The Cardinals did not score till the 7:25 mark of the fourth quarter, allowing North Carolina State to creep within three points of the lead.

Senior Yacine Diop stroked a three-pointer to free the Cardinals from their fourth-quarter jitters and spread the lead back to six.

Minutes later, Jones hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to eight before crossing into the five-minute mark. Three points was as close as the Wolfpack got from tying the game.

Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz said, “We followed the scouting report and did exactly what we needed to do.” As time winded down the Cardinals played superb defense, shutting down North Carolina State. With 43 seconds remaining in the game, Junior Elizabeth Balogun drilled a dagger three-pointer to solidify the upset victory.

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Women’s basketball defeated by team USA Saturday, Feb 15 2020 

Angel McCoughtry and basketball and bionca dunham and Breanna Stewart and dana evans and Elizabeth Balogun and jazmine jones and Jeff Walz and KFC Yum! Center and kylee shook and Skylar Diggins-Smith and sports and Sue Bird and Yacine Diop Cole Emery 12:05 pm

By Cole Emery —

The USA national team defeated the women’s basketball team 97-54 in their exhibition game Feb. 2.

The game started off with a layup by USA’s Skylar Diggins-Smith under the basket moments after the game opening tip. 

Senior Jazmine Jones answered with a layup of her own. Senior Kylee Shook drained a wide open three-pointer moments later. 

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop came off the bench to make an immediate impact with a layup then an assist to give the Cards a 14-13 lead. She then recorded a block after coming out of a timeout.

Louisville took a 21-17 lead going into the second quarter.

Despite a slow start for Team USA, Breanna Stewart helped surge the National Team with two layups in transition from long passes.

The matchup between Louisville’s Jones and former Cardinal Angel McCoughtry was an intense battle in the second quarter. Jones sparked the Cardinals after an abysmal start by draining a three-pointer. McCoughtry answered back by maneuvering around Jones for an easy layup the following possession.

Team USA took a 45-30 into halftime.

The experience National Team dominated the second half, but the Cardinals capitalized on some plays.

Senior Bionca Dunham drained a contested midrange shot followed by a three pointer by sophomore Elizabeth Balogun to start the second half.

Sue Bird began to light up from the three point line during the second half for team USA which seemed to be the ignitor towards a high efficiency on the offensive side of the ball.

Throughout the entire game, junior Dana Evans slashed inside and made her way to the basket time after time.

Despite the loss, Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said after the game, “It was good, because our players hear their coaches teaching in practice and they heard the same things we teach them.”

Jones led the team with 12 points and Evans had 11.

The Cardinals will face off against Florida State at the KFC YUM! Center Feb. 6 at 8:00 pm. 

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Cardinals blowout Pittsburgh for twelfth straight win Monday, Jan 27 2020 

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By Matthew Keck —

It was a scoring frenzy at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 27 as the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals blew out the Pittsburgh Panthers 83-49. This marked the Cardinals’ twelfth straight win of the season.

The Cards (20-1, 9-0) got off to a slow start early on but led 21-13 after the first quarter. They weren’t looking back either, going on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to head into the half with a 17-point lead.

Six players contributed to the win, scoring in double digits against the Panthers (3-16, 0-8). They also posted an impressive 23 assists among eight players and 15 steals from seven Cards.

Sophomore Elizabeth Balogun, senior Bionca Dunham, junior Dana Evans and senior Kylee Shook led the team in scoring with 12 points each. Senior Jazmine Jones added 11 and sophomore Elizabeth Dixon 10 points toward the win.

Dunham was on fire from the field, shooting 5-7 and perfect at the free throw line. She also managed to pull in the second most rebounds with three offensive and defensive, for six total.

The Cards dominated the glass on defense with 29 rebounds on that side of the ball. Balogun and sophomore Mykasa Robinson topped the team with the most rebounds grabbing eight all together.

In addition to her 12 points, Shook had five rebounds and one block and steal. Evans finished shooting 4-9 and with three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop helped the Cards with eight points, two rebounds and assists and one steal. Robinson made her stamp with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while scoring four points.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 47 percent from the field, going 7-24 from three-point range. The bench was also a big factor, scoring 24 points in their victory over the Panthers.

This win marks U of L’s tenth-straight 20-win season, and their twelve game winning streak is their best since the 2018-2019 season when they won 14 in a row.

Louisville’s coach Jeff Walz said after the game how happy he was with the Cardinals consistent scoring across the team. He praised his players for their ability to share the ball.

“We needed a game like this at home,” said Walz. “We haven’t played extremely well here [this season], like we have in the past.”

The Cards are headed on the road to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame Jan. 30. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

File Photo Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal 

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