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University of Louisville Athletics

Thursday, January 28
LOUISVILLE, KY
8 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

vs

NORTH CAROLINA

Louisville Women's Basketball

No. 1 Louisville Hosts North Carolina on Thursday at 8

January 27, 2021 | Women's Basketball

The Cardinals and Tar Heels will tip off at 8 p.m. E.T. on ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville women's basketball plays the second of three straight games at the KFC Yum! Center when they host North Carolina on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast on the ACC Network and 790-AM WKRD.
 
Tickets and parking for the Pitt game that was scheduled for Jan. 7 and postponed will be valid for the North Carolina contest on Thursday night.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, Louisville held off Miami for a 79-76 win. The Cardinals led all 40 minutes in the win over the Hurricanes, which marked the third win this season where they didn't trail. They also led wire-to-wire in wins over Eastern Kentucky and DePaul.
 
UofL is 15-0 to start the season, which ties the 2006-07 team for the second best start in program history. They started a program-record 20-0 in 2017-18.
 
The Cardinals are one of three undefeated teams in the AP Top 25, joined by No. 2 NC State (11-0) and No. 3 UConn (11-0). California Baptist (14-0), Bucknell (6-0) and UC Davis (3-0) are also undefeated.
 
Dana Evans was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday and USBWA National Player of the Week on Tuesday after playing all 80 minutes and averaging 23.0 points in wins over Syracuse and Wake Forest.
 
In the last three games, she has played 117 of 120 minutes and is averaging 22.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds. She scored 20 points, including Louisville's last 12 in the win over Miami on Tuesday. She is 15-15 from the stripe in the last two games, has made 33 consecutive freebies and hasn't missed since Dec. 6 vs. UT Martin.
 
She leads the ACC with 19.9 points per game and ranks fourth with 4.5 assists per game. She leads the ACC with a 93.5 free throw percentage and ranks fifth with 34 3-point makes.
 
Elizabeth Dixon had a Louisville career-high 21 points and led the team with nine rebounds against Miami. She was 6-7 from the floor and 9-12 from the stripe. Her previous career high at UofL was 15 points at Boise State on Nov. 24, 2019. She twice had a career-high 22 points during her freshman season at Georgia Tech.
 
Dixon shot 0-4 in the season opener at SEMO, but is 51-80 (.638) from the floor since. After shooting 49.6 percent (56-113) last season, she is shooting 60.7 percent (51-84) this year.
 
Ten of Louisville's 15 wins have come over a 26-day stretch starting on New Year's Day. Ten wins are the most ever in the first month. The previous mark was nine in 2015-16 (9-0) and 2019-20 (9-0). The North Carolina game will be UofL's 11th game in January, which will be the most in head coach Jeff Walz's tenure in the first month of the year. The previous high for the month under Walz was nine in 2015-16, 2016-17 (7-2), 2018-19 (8-1) and 2019-20. UofL played a program-high 12 games in January in 1979-80 (5-7) and 1981-82 (7-5).
 
ABOUT THE TAR HEELS
 
North Carolina is 8-5 overall, 3-5 in ACC play under second-year head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels are coming off a 78-73 home win against Notre Dame. They have struggled on the road this season, losing their first three games away from Chapel Hill. North Carolina ranks third in ACC with 77.9 points per game, allowing 63.9 points per game, good for fifth in the conference. Their +14.0-point margin ranks fourth in the ACC. Janelle Bailey leads the team in points and rebounds per game, posting a 14.7 and 8.2 average. Her 78 made field goals on .517 percent shooting for the season rank sixth and seventh respectively in the ACC. The Tar Heels rank third in offensive rebounds with 15.8 per game, second in rebounding margin at 10.7, and third in defensive rebounds with 31.3 per game. North Carolina trails only Louisville in assist-to-turnover ratio at +1.23. Stephanie Watts is top three in the conference in that category with a +2.1 differential.
 
Series History - Louisville is 7-3 all-time against North Carolina and they have won seven straight games. All seven wins have took place since the Cardinals joined the ACC. They are 3-0 at the KFC Yum! Center.
 
The Last Meeting (Jan. 19, 2020) -  Dana Evans scored 22 points to help Louisville beat North Carolina 74-67. Jazmine Jones added 19 points for the Cardinals, who led by double figures by midway through the first quarter and by 20 shortly before halftime. The Cardinals maintained a double-figure edge until the Tar Heels made a last push to get back in it, then had to hold on as UNC got within 71-67 on Taylor Koenen's contested stepback 3-pointer with 1:22 left. The Tar Heels had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Madinah Muhammad missed a 3 with 33 seconds left after a turnover. That ultimately would prove to be UNC's best chance, with Evans hitting two key free throws with 22 seconds left to help keep the Cardinals in control.

GAME FACTS
Date: Thursday, Jan. 28
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center
TV: ACCN (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: W, 74-67 (Jan. 19, 2020 at Chapel Hill)
Series History: 7-3 (W7, 3-0 Home, 3-0 Away, 1-3 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 1st Associated Press, 1st USA Today
Next UofL Game: Monday, Feb. 1 vs. No. 2 NC State

For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.