Hailey Van Lith Louisville vs. Ole Miss Sweet 16, 3-24-2023 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

Cards Set For Elite 8 Matchup vs. Iowa

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 26, 2023

The No. 5 seed Louisville women’s basketball team is one game away from back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history and the No. 2 seed Iowa Hawkeyes are the only thing standing in its way. The Cardinals are set to take on the Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight on Sunday, March 26 from Climate Pledge Arena. Louisville and Iowa are set to tip off at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday and the game will be aired nationally on ESPN.

The Cardinals advanced to the Elite Eight for the fifth-straight tournament and eighth time overall after the 72-62. They are the only team in the country that has made it to each of the last five Elite Eights. All eight appearances in the Elite Eight have come under head coach Jeff Walz as he improved to 8-4 in the Sweet 16 after the win over the Rebels.

In the win over Ole Miss, the Cardinals defense made it difficult for the Rebels to have any success on offense. The Cardinals controlled the pace of play most of the night and did not trail for the final 23 minutes of the ballgame. The Cardinals offense got off to a fast start, scoring 20 points in the first quarter and finished the game with 20 in the fourth. The 20 points were the most points the Rebels had given up in a quarter in the tournament this season.

Hailey Van Lith scored a game-high 21 points, her third-straight 20 point game in the NCAA Tournament. She has scored 20 points or more in seven of her last eight NCAA Tournament games, tied for the second-most in program history. Mykasa Robinson had another strong all-around game with 11 points, team-high five assists and a team-high seven rebounds. She has scored in double figures in three of her last six games.

The Cardinals had four players in double figures against the Rebels as Morgan Jones scored 11 and Olivia Cochran added 10. The Cardinals are 8-0 this season when four or more players score in double figures. Liz Dixon tallied eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in the win. She has 11 blocks in the NCAA Tournament in her career, tying for the most in program history.

Date: Sunday, March 26
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Site: Seattle, Wash. | Climate Pledge Arena (18,100)
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Andraya Carter, sideline analyst; Holly Rowe, reporter)
Radio: 93.9-FM WLCL (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
National Radio: Sirius Channel 136, XM Channel 204 (Matt Chazanow, play-by-play; Krista Brink, analyst)
Last Matchup: W, 86-52 (Dec. 4, 2014 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: Louisville leads 2-0 (1-0 home, 1-0 road)

ABOUT THE HAWKEYES
No. 2 seed Iowa enters the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with a 29-6 record and were 15-3 in B1G play. The Hawkeyes finished second in the Big 10 during the regular season and came away with the Big 10 Tournament Championship for the second-straight season after defeating No. 4 Ohio State in the championship game. The Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana, No. 10 Georgia and No. 6 Colorado to advance to the Elite Eight. Iowa is led by Caitlin Clark, who leads the team in points (26.8), rebounds (7.3), assists (8.6), steals (1.5) and blocks (0.6) per game. Clark leads the country in assists per game, three pointers per game (3.4) and triple doubles (4) while she is third in points per game and field goal made (303). The Hawkeyes are one of the fastest-paced teams in the country and lead the nation in points per game (87.3), assists per game (21.1), field goal percentage (.511) while they are third in assist/turnover ratio (1.47) and are eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.375).

Iowa Tournament History – This is the 29th overall appearance for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament and the fifth-straight tournament they have earned a bid for. Iowa is in the Elite Eight for the fifth time in program history and the first time since the 2019 season. They are 1-3 all-time in the Elite Eight and 0-1 during head coach Lisa Bluder’s tenure. The Hawkeyes are 5-3 against ACC opponents in the NCAA Tournament.

Series History – The Cardinals and the Hawkeyes will meet for the third time in program history with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Cardinals are 2-0 all-time against Iowa and this will be the second time the two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. The No. 3 Cardinals defeated No. 6 seed Iowa, 83-53, in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The game was held on Iowa’s home court as the Cardinals were unable to host the first and second round games.

Last Meeting (Dec. 4, 2014) – Louisville started fast and never let up, no matter who was playing. Sara Hammond scored a season-high 19 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 16 and No. 7 Louisville ran away quickly from No. 22 Iowa for an 86-52 rout Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Seeking a good tuneup before Sunday’s Bluegrass showdown with No. 13 Kentucky, the Cardinals (8-0) never trailed in racing to their first win over a ranked team this season. Hammond’s 9-of-13 shooting led Louisville’s 35-of-66 performance from the field, its fifth 50-percent shooting effort this season. On the other end, the Cardinals held the Hawkeyes (6-2) to 30 percent, including 1 of 17 from 3-point range.