WBB: Jeff Walz claims his 500th career win; Cardinals defeat Hokies 85-60.

Morgan SchmidtJanuary 4, 2026

On Sunday, January 4, the Louisville Cardinals extended their win streak to 7 and became 4-0 in conference play after a victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies. The win also marked Jeff Walz’s 500th win in his career.

In the first quarter, rebounds were the spark that supported the first 3 minutes of play. Despite the number of rebounds, neither team could find a rhythm with its offense. Anaya Hardy found herself under the basket on multiple occasions, making tough plays. Shortly, the Cardinals found their rhythm, getting everyone involved, and Amari Berry, as the first substitution off the bench, made back-to-back three-pointers. The teams played 6 minutes straight with no break, but a break came at the 3:42 mark, with the Cards leading 14-9.

Virginia Tech came out of the timeout, putting the Cards out of position, leading to a basket by the Hokies. Quickly, Laura Ziegler responded with a three-pointer. Anaya Hardy got everyone pumped after a smackdown play that unfortunately led to an uncontested 3-pointer by the Hokies. At the end of the first, Louisville led 19-12, with Berry leading with 6 points, followed by Ziegler with 5 points.

The second quarter started fast for the Cardinals. Ziegler pulled up for a mid-range jumper, and shortly, the next possession came for the Cards, and Berry tagged on another 3-pointer. The Hokies, who already trailed the Cards 24-12, took a timeout to hopefully determine a way to stop an impending run by the Cardinals.

Virginia Tech came out of the timeout with a play, hopeful to put points on the board, but no stress was felt by Louisville. Ziegler is calling her own number, giving herself a solo drive to the basket and another 2 points to her stat line. Soon, the Cardinals found themselves in a scoring drought for over 2 minutes. Renya Smith gave the Cards their first points out of the drought, extending the Louisville lead to 28-18. Mackenly Randolph found herself coming off the bench at this time, not wasting any time to make two back-to-back tough plays off the glass.

The Hokies soon stepped up pressure; unfazed, the Cards made plays, Berry once again coming off the bench having a solo drive to a guaranteed layup, and Randolph having a full-court run to a difficult shot off the glass. To end the half, a seemingly long pass turned into a 3-pointer by Zielger that got everyone in the arena off their feet. At halftime, the Cardinals led 44-27, and Ziegler led with 12 points, followed by Berry with 11 points.

In the third quarter, the first basket comes from Hardy after a possession that restarted two different times with fouls by the Hokies. Quickly, the Cards forced a turnover on the following possession for the Hokies, in which Randolph took it down the court, making a layup. The sequence was then followed by a Virginia Tech timeout. With 8:43 left in the third quarter, Louisville led 48-27.

The Cardinals continue to play at a high pace, never looking tired and never letting the Hokies have a chance for a run. Randolph is coming up with another steal and making her way to the basket, and Tajianna Roberts, who has only totaled 3 points in the game so far, continues to be physical under the basket and fights to get an inbound. At this time, everyone was finding a role and filling in roles that at times are not usual, like Elif Istanbulluoglu pulling up behind the arc and draining a 3-pointer. With 4:30 left in the quarter, Louisville led 62-33.

Soon, the Hokies started to find momentum, the Cardinals finding themselves without making a field goal for 4 minutes and in a scoring drought for over 2 minutes. But a 3-pointer by Skylar Jones was a spark that led to a forced turnover that ended in another 3-pointer, this time made by Roberts, to end the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the Cardinals led 70-42.

The fourth quarter started with an uncontested 3-pointer made by Roberts. The Hokies are not letting up, forcing two back-to-back turnovers for the Cards, leading to points. But coming off the bench, Istanbulluoglu makes a steal, which Jones soon turned into a basket. With 6:44 left in the game, Louisville led 76-49.

The first Louisville timeout came at the 4:03 mark of the fourth quarter with the Cards leading 82-55, after the Cardinals and Hokies continued to trade off points. The first bucket out of the timeout for the Cards came out of the timeout at 2:12 with a 3-pointer made by Grace Mbugua. At the final buzzer, the Cards took the victory over the Hokies with a final score of 85-60.

Laura Ziegler led the Cardinals with 18 points and 9 rebounds by the end of the game.