Louisville vs Texas women’s basketball: What to know about 2nd-round NCAA Tournament game

Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier Journal
·2 min read
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AUSTIN, Texas — After gutting out an 83-81 win over No. 12-seeded Drake in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, Louisville, a fifth seed, moves on to play a familiar foe in No. 4-seeded Texas on Monday at 7 p.m.

UT opened the NCAA Tournament with a 79-40 win over 13th-seeded East Carolina.

The Cardinals (24-11) and Longhorns (26-9) have some familiarity after U of L beat UT in the Battle 4 Atlantis 71-63 on Nov. 20. Three Cardinals produced double-digit scoring performances in Chrislyn Carr (19), Hailey Van Lith (18) and Morgan Jones (18). At the time, Louisville was ranked No. 6 in the country and Texas No. 3.

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Monday's winner will play either Stanford (28-5) or Ole Miss (24-8) in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Washington, Van Lith’s home state.

Here’s a look at Louisville’s matchup with Texas:

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Louisville head coach Jeff Walz reacts to a call during the first half of a first-round college basketball game against Drake in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Louisville head coach Jeff Walz reacts to a call during the first half of a first-round college basketball game against Drake in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Louisville will face a different version of the Longhorns than it saw in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Texas was without sophomore point guard Rori Harmon, who had a foot injury, to start the season. Without Harmon, UT started its season 2-3 and lost three straight to No. 5 UConn, Marquette and U of L before she returned Nov. 27. The Longhorns are 24-6 since and are now averaging 73.5 points per game. Harmon entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals. She had six points and 12 assists Saturday night.

But UT is without sophomore forward Aaliyah Moore, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in December. Moore scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Louisville in the first meeting.

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Can Hailey Van Lith get hot again?

Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith (10) is pressured by Drake guard Katie Dinnebier, left, during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith (10) is pressured by Drake guard Katie Dinnebier, left, during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

After getting in foul trouble in the first half against Drake on Saturday night, Van Lith joked she was well-rested for the second half. She scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter to help the Cardinals put the game away.

Van Lith (19.4 points per game) can score in a variety of ways, although she's shooting a career-low 29.3% from 3-point territory despite taking more shots (5.3 per game) from 3 than her previous two seasons. She’s scored at least 20 points in four of the Cardinals’ last six games.

The junior scored 18 points (5 of 15) and grabbed six rebounds against the Longhorns in the first meeting. Texas entered the NCAA Tournament only allowing 57.5 points.

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: March Madness schedule 2023: Louisville vs Texas NCAA Tournament game

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