| 2020–21Louisville Cardinals women's basketball | |
|---|---|
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight | |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 6 |
| AP | No. 8 |
| Record | 26–4 (14–2 ACC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | KFC Yum! Center |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8Louisville | 14 | – | 2 | .875 | 26 | – | 4 | .867 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3NC State† | 12 | – | 2 | .857 | 22 | – | 3 | .880 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 17 | – | 9 | .654 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 15 | – | 9 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 10 | – | 9 | .526 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 8 | – | 7 | .533 | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 15 | – | 10 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 8 | – | 9 | .471 | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 11 | – | 11 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 12 | – | 13 | .480 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 5 | – | 12 | .294 | 12 | – | 14 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 3 | – | 12 | .200 | 5 | – | 14 | .263 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 2 | – | 11 | .154 | 7 | – | 12 | .368 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duke | 0 | – | 1 | .000 | 3 | – | 1 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 0 | – | 2 | .000 | 0 | – | 5 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †2021 ACC tournament winner Duke suspended their season on December 25, 2020 Virginia suspended their season on January 14, 2021 As of March 30, 2021 Rankings fromAP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2020–21 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team represented theUniversity of Louisville during the2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, were led by 14th-year head coachJeff Walz, and played their home games at theKFC Yum! Center in their seventh year in theAtlantic Coast Conference. On January 18, 2021, following a 12–0 start, the Cardinals were ranked number 1 in theAP Poll for the first time in program history, garnering 20 of 29 first place votes.[1]
The Cardinals finished the season 26–4 and 14–2 inACC play to finish in first place. In theACC tournament, they defeatedWake Forest in the Quarterfinals andSyracuse before losing in the FinalNC State. They received an at-large bid to theNCAA tournament where they were the two seed in theAlamo Regional. In the tournament they defeated fifteen seedMarist in the First Round, seven seedNorthwestern in the Second Round, and six seedOregon in the Sweet Sixteen before losing to one seed and eventual championsStanford in the Elite Eight to end their season.
TheCardinals finished the2019–20 season at 28–4 and 16–2 inACC play. They finished as the regular season ACC champions and earned the first seed in theACC tournament. They defeatedSyracuse in the Quarterfinals before losing to eventual championsNC State in the Semifinals. TheNCAA tournament was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 outbreak.[2]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yacine Diop | 2 | G | 5'10" | Dakar,Senegal | Graduated | |
| Seygan Robins | 3 | G | 5'10" | Sophomore | Harrodsburg, KY | Transferred toUT Martin |
| Lindsey Duvall | 12 | G | 5'9" | Mount Washington, KY | Transferred toNorthern Kentucky | |
| Kylee Shook | 21 | F | 6'4" | Senior | Colorado Springs, CO | Graduated; drafted 13th overall in the2020 WNBA draft by theNew York Liberty |
| Jazmine Jones | 23 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Tallahassee, FL | Graduated; drafted 12th overall in the2020 WNBA draft by theNew York Liberty |
| Jessica Laemmle | 24 | G | 5'2" | Senior | Louisville, KY | Graduated |
| Molly Lockhart | 30 | F | 6'3" | Louisville, KY | — | |
| Bionca Dunham | 33 | F | 6'2" | Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Graduated |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahlana Smith | 2 | G | 5'9" | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Gulf Coast State |
Source:[3]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hailey Van Lith G | Wenatchee, WA | Cashmere | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | N/A | ||
| Recruit ratings:ESPN: | ||||||
| Olivia Cochran F | Columbus, GA | Carver | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | ||
| Recruit ratings:ESPN: | ||||||
| Merissah Russell G | Ottawa, Ontario | Cairine Wilson | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A | ||
| Recruit ratings:ESPN: | ||||||
| Ahlana Smith G | Charlotte, NC | Mallard Creek | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A | ||
| Recruit ratings:ESPN: | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
| 2020–21 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source[4]
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Conference Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 5 | at Southeast Missouri | W 74–53 | 1–0 | Show Me Center (475) Cape Girardeau, MO | ||||||
| November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 5 | Eastern Kentucky | W 101–58 | 2–0 | KFC Yum! Center (2,614) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| December 4, 2020* 6:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 5 | vs. No. 20 DePaul Jimmy V Classic | W 116–75 | 3–0 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT | ||||||
| December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | No. 5 | UT Martin | W 85–67 | 4–0 | KFC Yum! Center (2,709) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| ACC Regular season | |||||||||||
| December 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., RSN | No. 2 | at Duke | W 73–49 | 5–0 (1–0) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC | ||||||
| December 13, 2020 4:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | North Carolina | Postponed[5] | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| December 17, 2020 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | Florida State | Postponed[6] | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| December 20, 2020 1:00 p.m., RSN | No. 2 | Miami (FL) | Postponed[7] | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| January 1, 2020 3:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | Northern Kentucky | W 74–64 | 6–0 | KFC Yum! Center (0) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 2, 2020 Noon, ACCNX | No. 2 | Bellarmine | W 97–46 | 7–0 | KFC Yum! Center (2,718) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 3, 2021 Noon, ACCN | No. 2 | at Virginia | Postponed | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||
| January 5, 2021 2:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | North Carolina | Postponed | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| January 5, 2021 2:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | UT Martin | W 96–61 | 8–0 | KFC Yum! Center (2,754) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 7, 2021 6:30 p.m., RSN | No. 2 | Pittsburgh | Postponed | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| January 7, 2021 8:00 p.m., RSN | No. 2 | at Virginia Tech | W 71–67 | 9–0 (2–0) | Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA | ||||||
| January 10, 2021 Noon, ACCN | No. 2 | at Florida State | Postponed | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL | |||||||
| January 10, 2021 Noon, ACCN | No. 2 | Clemson | W 70–45 | 10–0 (3–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,734) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 14, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | Boston College | W 89–70 | 11–0 (4–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,604) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 17, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | No. 3 NC State | Postponed[8] | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | |||||||
| January 17, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | Florida State | W 84–56 | 12–0 (5–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,804) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 21, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | No. 23 Syracuse | W 67–54 | 13–0 (6–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,643) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 24, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | at Wake Forest | W 65–63 | 14–0 (7–0) | LJVM Coliseum (0) Winston-Salem, NC | ||||||
| January 26, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | Miami (FL) | W 79–76 | 15–0 (8–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,653) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | North Carolina | W 79–68 | 16–0 (9–0) | KFC Yum! Center (2,748) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| February 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | No. 4 NC State | L 60–74 | 16–1 (9–1) | KFC Yum! Center (2,989) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| February 4, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | at Boston College | W 97–68 | 17–1 (10–1) | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA | ||||||
| February 7, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | Notre Dame | W 71–65 | 18–1 (11–1) | KFC Yum! Center (2,912) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| February 11, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 3 | Georgia Tech | W 85–70 | 19–1 (12–1) | KFC Yum! Center (2,914) Louisville, KY | ||||||
| February 14, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | at Syracuse | Postponed[9] | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY | |||||||
| February 18, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 3 | at Pittsburgh | W 82–58 | 20–1 (13–1) | Peterson Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA | ||||||
| February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 3 | at Florida State | L 59–68 | 20–2 (13–2) | Donald L. Tucker Center (1,258) Tallahassee, FL | ||||||
| February 28, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | at Notre Dame | W 78–61 | 21–2 (14–2) | Purcell Pavilion (126) Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| ACC Women's Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 5, 2021 Noon, RSN | (1)No. 5 | vs. (9) Wake Forest Quarterfinals | W 65–53 | 22–2 | Greensboro Coliseum (592) Greensboro, NC | ||||||
| March 6, 2021 Noon, ACCN | (1)No. 5 | vs. (5) Syracuse Semifinals | W 72–59 | 23–2 | Greensboro Coliseum (1,122) Greensboro, NC | ||||||
| March 7, 2021 Noon, ESPN2 | (1)No. 5 | vs. (2) No. 3 NC State Final | L 56–58 | 23–3 | Greensboro Coliseum (2,063) Greensboro, NC | ||||||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| March 22, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN | (2 A)No. 8 | vs. (15 A) Marist First Round | W 74–43 | 24–3 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX | ||||||
| March 24, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2 A)No. 8 | vs. (7 A) Northwestern Second Round | W 62–53 | 25–3 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX | ||||||
| March 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (2 A)No. 8 | vs. (6 A) No. 23 Oregon Sweet Sixteen | W 60–42 | 26–3 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX | ||||||
| March 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (2 A)No. 8 | vs. (1 A) No. 2 Stanford Elite Eight | L 63–78 | 26–4 | Alamodome (1,463) San Antonio, TX | ||||||
| Poll | Pre- Season | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 5 | 5 | 2 (2) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 | 2 | 1 (20)[A] | 1 (20) | 1 (26) | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7т | 8 |
| Coaches | 5 | 2 (6) | 2 (6) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 3 (5) | 2 (11) | 2 (8) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll and AP does not release a final poll.
A This is the first time Louisville has been ranked number 1 in the AP Women's Basketball Poll in program history.[1]