Tonight, it’s the ladies’ turn. After an 80-59 victory for the Louisville men over UConn last night at the KFC Yum! Center, tonight the 3rd ranked UConn (21-2, 9-1) women’s team comes into town to face the 20/17 ranked Louisville Cardinals (17-6, 6-4).
Jeff Walz Geno Auriemma
UConn’s two losses this season are to Baylor and Notre Dame, both on the road. Baylor is the #1 team in the country, and UConn lost by 5 points. Notre Dame is the #2 team in the country, and UConn lost by 7 points in overtime. Against other ranked teams? The Huskies have been dominant. (These rankings reflect what the teams were ranked when the game was played.) They beat #5 Stanford by 10, beat #7 Texas A&M by 30, beat #21 UNC by 51, beat #19 DePaul on the road by 44, , beat #5 Duke on the road by 16, and beat #14 Rutgers by 32. They haven’t exactly been struggling too much.
The Cards are coming off back to back losses on the road. To be 17-6 and tied for 6th in the Big East is a great accomplishment to this point, given the injuries the Cards have had. Tia Gibbs has been out all season with a shoulder injury, and Monique Reid hurt her knee a few games into the season and is done for the year. That is 2 starters that the Cards have had to try to make up for. It has not been easy.
The ladies need the fans to fill up the KFC Yum! Center for this one! If you show your Kroger Plus Card, you can get a ticket for $2. If you have a ticket stub from last night’s men’s game, you can get a free ticket. You can not beat those deals to see a top 20 team in Louisville hosting one of the most historic women’s teams of all time in UConn. Prior to tipoff, the Cards will honor one of the best UofL women’s players of all time when Sara Nord has her name added to the list of honored jerseys displayed at the KFC Yum! Center.
The game tips at 7:00 and will air on the CBS Sports Network and can be heard on WKRD 790 AM.