Tomorrow the Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team will face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be nationally aired on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET and will take place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
The Cardinals are the No. 5 seed and are hoping to make it to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history. They have advanced to the Elite Eight for the fifth-straight tournament and eighth time overall, and 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, who has an 8-4 record in the Sweet 16.
In their recent win over Ole Miss, the Cardinals dominated on both ends of the court. They controlled the pace of play and did not trail for the final 23 minutes of the game. Hailey Van Lith led the team with 21 points, her third-straight 20-point game in the NCAA Tournament. Mykasa Robinson also had a strong all-around game with 11 points, five assists, and seven rebounds.
Four other Cardinals players scored in double figures, including Morgan Jones with 11 points and Olivia Cochran with 10. When four or more Louisville players score in double figures, the team is 8-0 this season. Liz Dixon also contributed with eight points, six rebounds, and two blocks, tying for the most blocks in program history in the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 2 seed Iowa Hawkeyes have a 29-6 record and were 15-3 in B1G play. They finished second in the Big 10 during the regular season and won the Big 10 Tournament Championship for the second-straight season after defeating No. 4 Ohio State in the championship game.
The Hawkeyes are led by Caitlin Clark, who leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game. Clark also leads the country in assists per game, three pointers per game, and triple doubles, and she is third in points per game and field goal made. The Hawkeyes are one of the fastest-paced teams in the country and lead the nation in points per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage, while they are third in assist/turnover ratio and eighth in three-point field goal percentage.
This is the 29th overall appearance for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament and the fifth-straight tournament they have earned a bid for. They are 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.
This will be the third time the Cardinals and the Hawkeyes meet, with the Cardinals leading the series 2-0. The last time the two teams met was in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, where the Cardinals won 83-53.
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