2021–22 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team

2021–22 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record29–5 (16–2 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaKFC Yum! Center
Seasons
2021–22 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 NC State 17 1   .944 32 4   .889
No. 4 Louisville 16 2   .889 29 5   .853
No. 17 North Carolina 13 5   .722 25 7   .781
No. 21 Notre Dame 13 5   .722 24 9   .727
No. 16 Virginia Tech 13 5   .722 23 10   .697
Georgia Tech 11 7   .611 21 11   .656
Boston College 10 8   .556 21 12   .636
Miami (FL) 10 8   .556 21 13   .618
Florida State 10 8   .556 17 14   .548
Duke 7 11   .389 17 13   .567
Wake Forest 4 14   .222 16 17   .485
Syracuse 4 14   .222 11 18   .379
Clemson 3 15   .167 10 21   .323
Pittsburgh 2 16   .111 11 19   .367
Virginia 2 16   .111 5 22   .185
2022 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2021–22 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, were led by 15th-year head coach Jeff Walz, and played their home games at the KFC Yum! Center in their eight year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They finished the season 29–5 overall and 16–2 in ACC play to finish in second place. As the second seed in the ACC tournament, they were upset by seventh seed Miami in the Quarterfinals. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the first seed in the Wichita Regional. They defeated sixteenth seed Albany in the First Round, ninth seed Gonzaga in the Second Round, fourth seed Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, and third seed Michigan in the Elite Eight before falling to eventual champions, and first seed South Carolina in the Final Four. This was the Cardinals fourth appearance in the Final Four in program history.

Previous season

[edit]

The Cardinals finished the season 26–4 and 14–2 in ACC play to finish in first place. In the ACC tournament, they defeated Wake Forest in the Quarterfinals and Syracuse before losing in the Final NC State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were the two seed in the Alamo Regional. In the tournament they defeated fifteen seed Marist in the First Round, seven seed Northwestern in the Second Round, and six seed Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen before losing to one seed and eventual champions Stanford in the Elite Eight to end their season.

Off-season

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Dana Evans 1 G 5'6" Senior Gary, Indiana Graduated; Drafted 13th overall in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings
Malea Williams 3 F 6'4" Freshman Georgetown, Kentucky Transferred to Cincinnati[1]
Elizabeth Balogun 4 G 6'1" Junior Chattanooga, Tennessee Transferred to Duke[2]

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Emily Engstler 21 F 6'1" Senior New York, New York Syracuse[3]
Chelsie Hall 23 G 5'7" Graduate Student Boca Raton, Florida Vanderbilt[4]

Recruiting Class

[edit]

Source:[5]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Payton Verhulst
G
De Soto, Kansas Bishop Miege 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Sydni Schetnan
F
Sioux Falls, SD Washington 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

[edit]
2021–22 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Ramani Parker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS So Montverde Academy Fresno, CA
G 2 Ahlana Smith 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Mallard Creek
Gulf Coast State
Charlotte, NC
F 3 Alexia Mobley 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Reynoldsburg Reynoldsburgh, OH
G 5 Mykasa Robinson 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Ashland Blazer Ashland, KY
G 10 Hailey Van Lith 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Cashmere Wenatchee, WA
G 11 Norika Konno 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Seiwa Gakuen Sendai, Japan
G 12 Payton Verhulst 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Bishop Miege De Soto, KS
G 13 Merissah Russell 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Cairine Wilson Ottawa, Ontario
G 14 Kianna Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr Troy
California
Moreno Valley, CA
F 21 Emily Engstler 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr St. Francis Prep
Syracuse
New York, NY
F 22 Elizabeth Dixon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Sr Ridgeway
Georgia Tech
Memphis, TN
G 23 Chelsie Hall 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) GS Seffner Christian
Vanderbilt
Boca Raton, FL
F 44 Olivia Cochran 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Carver Columbus, GA
F 45 Sydni Schetnan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Washington Sioux Falls, SD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 29, 2021

Schedule and results

[edit]

Source[6]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2021*
7:00 p.m.
No. 6 Union W 106–32 
KFC Yum! Center (6,587)
Louisville, KY
Non-Conference Regular season
November 12, 2021*
4:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 6 vs. No. 22 Arizona
The Invitational
L 59–61 OT 0–1
Sanford Pentagon (2,345)
Sioux Falls, SD
November 16, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 10 Bellarmine W 82–25  1–1
KFC Yum! Center (7,014)
Louisville, KY
November 17, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 10 UT Martin W 62–30  2–1
KFC Yum! Center (6,809)
Louisville, KY
November 20, 2021*
5:00 p.m., P12N+
No. 10 at Washington W 61–53  3–1
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (1,884)
Seattle, WA
November 23, 2021*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 10 at Cal Poly W 72–32  4–1
Mott Center (662)
San Luis Obispo, CA
November 28, 2021*
2:00 p.m., MWSN
No. 10 at Colorado State W 71–45  5–1
Moby Arena (1,336)
Fort Collins, CO
December 2, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 10 No. 12 Michigan
ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge
W 70–48  6–1
KFC Yum! Center (7,309)
Louisville, KY
December 5, 2021*
Noon, ACCN
No. 10 Belmont W 80–66  7–1
KFC Yum! Center (7,092)
Louisville, KY
December 12, 2021*
1:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 No. 14 Kentucky
Jimmy V Classic/Rivalry
W 64–58  8–1
KFC Yum! Center (12,167)
Louisville, KY
December 16, 2021*
8:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 6 Eastern Kentucky W 82–38  9–1
KFC Yum! Center (6,937)
Louisville, KY
December 19, 2021*
3:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 6 at No. 7т UConn
Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase
W 69–64  10–1
Mohegan Sun Arena (8,204)
Uncasville, CT
ACC Regular season
December 30, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 3 Boston College W 79–49  11–1
(1–0)
KFC Yum! Center (7,709)
Louisville, KY
January 2, 2022
Noon, ACCN
No. 3 at No. 16 Georgia Tech W 50–48  12–1
(2–0)
McCamish Pavilion (1,918)
Atlanta, GA
January 6, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 Pittsburgh W 81–39  13–1
(3–0)
KFC Yum! Center (6,703)
Louisville, KY
January 9, 2022
Noon, ACCN
No. 3 at Miami (FL) Postponed due to COVID-19 Issues[7] Watsco Center 
Coral Gables, FL
January 13, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 3 Syracuse W 84–71  14–1
(4–0)
KFC Yum! Center (7,307)
Louisville, KY
January 16, 2022
Noon, ACCN
No. 3 at Boston College W 63–53  15–1
(5–0)
Conte Forum (1,066)
Chestnut Hill, MA
January 20, 2022
7:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 at No. 4 NC State L 59–68  15–2
(5–1)
Reynolds Coliseum (5,500)
Raleigh, NC
January 23, 2022
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 Wake Forest W 72–60  16–2
(6–1)
KFC Yum! Center (8,802)
Louisville, KY
January 27, 2022
8:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 5 Florida State W 75–62  17–2
(7–1)
KFC Yum! Center (7,755)
Louisville, KY
January 30, 2022
3:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 No. 21 Duke W 77–65  18–2
(8–1)
KFC Yum! Center (9,001)
Louisville, KY
February 1, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 4 at Miami (FL)
Rescheduled from Jan 9, 2022
W 69–66  19–2
(9–1)
Watsco Center 
Coral Gables, FL
February 3, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCRSN
No. 4 at Clemson W 93–71  20–2
(10–1)
Littlejohn Coliseum (493)
Clemson, SC
February 6, 2022
Noon, ACCRSN
No. 4 at Syracuse W 100–64  21–2
(11–1)
Carrier Dome (1,401)
Syracuse, NY
February 10, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 3 Virginia Forfeited to Louisville due to Virginia's travel issues.[8] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
February 13, 2022
2:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 No. 18 Notre Dame W 73–47  22–2
(13–1)
KFC Yum! Center (10,056)
Louisville, KY
February 17, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCRSN
No. 3 at No. 24 North Carolina L 65–66  22–3
(13–2)
Carmichael Arena (2,115)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 20, 2022
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 No. 23 Virginia Tech W 70–56  23–3
(14–2)
KFC Yum! Center (10,294)
Louisville, KY
February 24, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 4 at Pittsburgh W 66–55  24–3
(15–2)
Peterson Events Center (1,344)
Pittsburgh, PA
February 27, 2022
Noon, ESPN2
No. 4 at No. 14 Notre Dame W 86–64  25–3
(16–2)
Purcell Pavilion (7,531)
Notre Dame, IN
ACC Women's Tournament
March 4, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCRSN
(2) No. 4 vs. (7) Miami (FL)
Quarterfinals
L 59–61  25–4
Greensboro Coliseum (5,682)
Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
(1 W) No. 4 (16 W) Albany
First Round
W 83–51  26–4
KFC Yum! Center (8,407)
Louisville, KY
March 20, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 W) No. 4 (9 W) Gonzaga
Second Round
W 68–59  27–4
KFC Yum! Center (10,414)
Louisville, KY
March 26, 2022
4:00 p.m., ESPN2
(1 W) No. 4 vs. (4 W) No. 18 Tennessee
Sweet Sixteen
W 76–64  28–4
Intrust Bank Arena 
Wichita, KS
March 28, 2022
9:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 W) No. 4 vs. (3 W) No. 12 Michigan
Elite Eight
W 62–50  29–4
Intrust Bank Arena (4,695)
Wichita, KS
April 1, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN
(1 W) No. 4 vs. (1 G) No. 1 South Carolina
Final Four
L 59–72  29–5
Target Center (18,978)
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=Wichita.
All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

[edit]
Regular Season Polls
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
Week
17
Week
18
Final
AP 6 10 10 10 7 6 3 3 3 (5) 3 (4) 3 (2) 5 4 3 3 4 4 5 4
Coaches 6 7 5 5 4 3 2 2 (14) 2 (7) 2 (6) 4 4 3 3 4 4 5 4 4
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
(RV)   Received Votes

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Women's Basketball Announces 2021 Signing Class". gobearcats.com. University of Cincinnati. April 27, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "2018-19 ACC Freshman of the Year Elizabeth Balogun transfers to Duke women's basketball". dukechronicle.com. Duke Student Publishing Company. April 27, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "Former Syracuse guard Emily Engstler transfers to Louisville". dailyorange.com. The Daily Orange. April 1, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Louisville Women's Basketball Adds Transfers Emily Engstler, Chelsie Hall". si.com. Sports Illustrated. April 1, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Louisville Cardinals". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021–22 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball schedule". Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces Schedule Changes". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  8. ^ Crawford, Eric (February 10, 2022). "Louisville women's home game against Virginia is canceled; UVA to forfeit". WDRB. Retrieved February 11, 2022.