Friday, December 4
Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, Conn.
6:30 p.m. ET
University of Louisville
vs
DePaul
Louisville Faces No. 20 DePaul in Jimmy V Classic on Friday
December 03, 2020 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals and Blue Demons will tip off at 6:30 p.m. E.T. on ESPN.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville women's basketball faces No. 20 DePaul in the Women's Jimmy V Classic at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will broadcast live on ESPN.
The Cardinals are 2-0 to start the season with wins over Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky. They held at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll.
On Monday, freshman guard Hailey Van Lith was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range, in her first two games at Louisville.
Van Lith tied Dana Evans with a team-high 20 points in the win over EKU and is the first UofL freshman to score 20 points in a game since Asia Durr scored 23 in an 80-75 loss to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinals on March 5, 2016. Durr had four 20-point games that season.
She also added a team-high 11 rebounds against EKU and is the first freshman with a double-double since Dana Evans had 18 points and 10 assists in an 87-63 win at Kentucky on Dec. 17, 2017.
UofL won 101-58 against EKU on Sunday, marking the first time since a 102-62 win over UT Martin on Dec. 4, 2018 that they have reached the 100-point plateau.
True freshmen Van Lith (16.5 ppg), Olivia Cochran (16.0 ppg) and Merissah Russell (6.0 ppg) are contributing 44 percent of Louisville's 87.5 points through the first two games. In addition, they are crashing the glass as Van Lith (9.5 rpg) and Cochran (6.5 rpg) rank first and second on the team in rebounds and with Russell's 4.5 rebounds per game, the trio is accounting for 37.8 percent of the team's 54.0 rebounds per game.
Louisville went 3-2 against AP Top 25 teams last year. Overall, head coach Jeff Walz has 63 wins over AP Top 25 teams and 52 in the last 10 years.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEMONS
DePaul is 1-1 on the young season with a narrow 93-91 loss to No. 12 Texas A&M and a record-setting 128-66 win over Chicago State. In the win over Chicago State, six players scored in double figures as the Blue Demons scored a record 128 points. The previous all-time mark had been 124 points against Savannah State in 2018. Last season, the Blue Demons went 28-5 and won the Big East Conference tournament title. They ranked No. 9 among all NCAA Division I programs in forcing turnovers. Juniors Sonya Morris was honored with the Big East Most Improved Player Award and a spot on the All-Big East Second Team while junior Lexi Held was All-Big East Honorable Mention and was voted the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player after her career-high 31 points led DePaul past Marquette for a three-peat title. Both have garnered national acclaim with Morris being recognized as a candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award while Held was named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy watch list.
Series History - Louisville trails the all-time series against DePaul 15-17 and the Cardinals are 0-2 in neutral site games. The former conference rivals played every year from 1995-96 to 2012-13. They last squared off in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center with Louisville falling 73-72.
The Last Meeting (March. 20, 2016) - Briahanna Jackson had a team-high 20 points, and Mariya Moore added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but third-seeded Louisville dropped a 73-72 decision to DePaul in the NCAA Tournament second round. Asia Durr added 15 points off the bench, and Myisha Hines-Allen finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, though, the Cardinals were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit.
GAME FACTS
Date: Friday, Dec. 4
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Conn. (10,000)
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: L, 73-72 (March 20, 2016 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 15-17 (10-5 home, 5-10 away, 0-2 neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 5th USA Today
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Dec. 6 vs. UT Martin
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.
The Cardinals are 2-0 to start the season with wins over Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky. They held at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll.
On Monday, freshman guard Hailey Van Lith was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range, in her first two games at Louisville.
Van Lith tied Dana Evans with a team-high 20 points in the win over EKU and is the first UofL freshman to score 20 points in a game since Asia Durr scored 23 in an 80-75 loss to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinals on March 5, 2016. Durr had four 20-point games that season.
She also added a team-high 11 rebounds against EKU and is the first freshman with a double-double since Dana Evans had 18 points and 10 assists in an 87-63 win at Kentucky on Dec. 17, 2017.
UofL won 101-58 against EKU on Sunday, marking the first time since a 102-62 win over UT Martin on Dec. 4, 2018 that they have reached the 100-point plateau.
True freshmen Van Lith (16.5 ppg), Olivia Cochran (16.0 ppg) and Merissah Russell (6.0 ppg) are contributing 44 percent of Louisville's 87.5 points through the first two games. In addition, they are crashing the glass as Van Lith (9.5 rpg) and Cochran (6.5 rpg) rank first and second on the team in rebounds and with Russell's 4.5 rebounds per game, the trio is accounting for 37.8 percent of the team's 54.0 rebounds per game.
Louisville went 3-2 against AP Top 25 teams last year. Overall, head coach Jeff Walz has 63 wins over AP Top 25 teams and 52 in the last 10 years.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEMONS
DePaul is 1-1 on the young season with a narrow 93-91 loss to No. 12 Texas A&M and a record-setting 128-66 win over Chicago State. In the win over Chicago State, six players scored in double figures as the Blue Demons scored a record 128 points. The previous all-time mark had been 124 points against Savannah State in 2018. Last season, the Blue Demons went 28-5 and won the Big East Conference tournament title. They ranked No. 9 among all NCAA Division I programs in forcing turnovers. Juniors Sonya Morris was honored with the Big East Most Improved Player Award and a spot on the All-Big East Second Team while junior Lexi Held was All-Big East Honorable Mention and was voted the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player after her career-high 31 points led DePaul past Marquette for a three-peat title. Both have garnered national acclaim with Morris being recognized as a candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award while Held was named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy watch list.
Series History - Louisville trails the all-time series against DePaul 15-17 and the Cardinals are 0-2 in neutral site games. The former conference rivals played every year from 1995-96 to 2012-13. They last squared off in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center with Louisville falling 73-72.
The Last Meeting (March. 20, 2016) - Briahanna Jackson had a team-high 20 points, and Mariya Moore added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but third-seeded Louisville dropped a 73-72 decision to DePaul in the NCAA Tournament second round. Asia Durr added 15 points off the bench, and Myisha Hines-Allen finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, though, the Cardinals were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit.
GAME FACTS
Date: Friday, Dec. 4
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Conn. (10,000)
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst)
Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)
Last Meeting: L, 73-72 (March 20, 2016 at KFC Yum! Center)
Series History: 15-17 (10-5 home, 5-10 away, 0-2 neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 5th Associated Press, 5th USA Today
Next UofL Game: Sunday, Dec. 6 vs. UT Martin
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.
