The University of Louisville women’s basketball team will begin their run for their first National Championship on Friday, when they take on Albany in the KFC YUM! Center.
Louisville was named a #1-seed in the tournament for only the third time in program history, all of which have come under Coach Walz. Coach Walz is 33-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament at Louisville and has a pair of championship game appearances.
Louisville hasn’t played since they lost in the quarterfinals, 59-61 to Miami. Miami ultimately lost to NC State in the ACC Championship game.
The Cards are the #1-seed in the Wichita Region. There was a little bit of late drama with the final seeding of the top two seeds in the Wichita Region. Baylor losing to Texas in the Big 12 championship game might have helped Louisville maintain the top seed in the region. The Cards started off the season ranked in the top 20, and spent most of the season in the top 5. Louisville, Baylor, Michigan, and Tennessee are the top 4 seeds in the Wichita Region. If both Louisville and Baylor take care of business, both teams will square off in the Elite 8 for the Regional crown and a spot in the Final Four.
This year’s Cards team is deep and talented. They are led in scoring by Hailey Van Lith with 13.6ppg, but the Cards have multiple players that could give you 20 on any given night. Kianna Smith leads the team with almost 3apg, while being the second leading scorer on the team with 11.8ppg. The versatile Emily Engstler leads the team in rebounds with 9.1rpg, while adding 11.5ppg and is a huge defensive presence for the Cards.
Cards will host the first 2 games in the KFC YUM Center, on Friday and Sunday.
