Louisville Women's Basketball to Face Syracuse in ACC Semifinals

The Cardinals will face the Orange for a rematch in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

(Photo of Dana Evans: Jared Anderson via the Atlantic Coast Conference)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - After holding off yet another upset attempt from the Wake Forest Demon Deacons thanks in part to freshman guard Hailey Van Lith, the Louisville women's basketball program is still alive in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

The No. 5 Cardinals (22-2, 14-2 ACC) advance to the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament, where they will square off with Syracuse on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

Securing the five-seed in the tournament, the Orange (14-7, 9-7 ACC) downed thirteenth-seeded Boston College 67-61 in their tournament opener on Thursday, then upset fourth-seeded Florida State 68-67 on Friday thanks to a buzzer beater from freshman center Kamilla Cardoso.

This is not the first matchup with Syracuse for the top-seeded Cardinals, as these two teams met back on Jan. 21 at the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville won 67-54 thanks in part to a combined 39 points from Dana Evans & Hailey Van Lith.

After the win against the Demon Deacons, Louisville now has a 22-12 record in conference tournaments under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals won the ACC Championship in 2018 and have reached five league title games since his hiring in 2007.

The program received a bevy of league and national honors following the regular season's end last week. Senior guard Dana Evans was named the ACC Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, junior guard Mykasa Robinson was named to the All-Defensive Team, while freshmen Olivia Cochran and Hailey Van Lith were named to the All-Freshman Team.

Evans was also named a finalist for the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which is awarded to the top shooting guard in women's Division I college basketball, as well as a semifinalist for the Naismith Women's Trophy Player of the Year.

Walz was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, which is presented to the nation's top Division I women's college basketball coach.

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