WBB Game Day: No. 15 Louisville

Game Day Coverage

Liberty Storylines

The Betty Chancellor Classic's second day will tip off with a matchup between Liberty (2-3) and No. 15 Louisville (4-1), both of whom are hoping to bounce back from Friday setbacks.
The Lady Flames are 0-2 all-time against the Cardinals, but Saturday's matinee will mark their first meeting since the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Liberty is 5-31 all-time against ACC opponents and has lost 39 straight matchups with Top 25 foes since defeating No. 17 DePaul in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Beginning his 25th season at Liberty, Head Coach Carey Green made history during a 68-46 season-opening win over Frostburg State, becoming the winningest coach in Liberty Athletics history (all sports). Green is going for career win No. 550 on Saturday.
Preseason All-CUSA selection Emma Hess leads the Lady Flames in scoring through five games with 13.0 ppg. She has knocked down a team-high 11 triples at a 42.3 percent clip. Hess, who has tallied 103 career three-pointers, needs two more to move into 10th place on Liberty's all-time list.

Notes and Anecdotes

Both Liberty and Louisville will look to bounce back from losses on Friday. The Lady Flames are hoping to avoid their first losing streak of 4+ games since a five-game skid spanning Nov. 8-24, 2019.
Louisville is ranked No. 15 in the Coaches poll. The highest-ranked team Liberty has defeated is No. 17 (both Kansas State on Dec. 4, 2004 and DePaul on March 22, 2005).
Liberty and Louisville are meeting for the first time in 14 years. Since then, the Lady Flames have played six games in the Derby City but none against the Cardinals (2010 NCAA Tournament vs. Kentucky at Freedom Hall, 2013 NCAA Tournament vs. Purdue at the KFC Yum! Center and four visits to Bellarmine between 2021-23).
Saturday's matinee will be the Lady Flames' fourth of seven games in Texas this season. Liberty only played in the Lone Star State eight times during its first 48 seasons.
Louisville is coming off a 26-12 season which saw the Cardinals reach the NCAA Elite Eight. This will be the third of Liberty's nine meetings with a 2023 NCAA qualifier this season and second in as many days.
Liberty is familiar with first-year Cardinal Kiki Jefferson. She was 2-1 vs. the Lady Flames at James Madison, averaging 15.3 ppg.

Liberty vs. Top 25

Liberty has lost 39 consecutive matchups with Top 25 opponents since an 88-79 victory over No. 17 DePaul on March 22, 2005 sent the Lady Flames into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Liberty has defeated four Top 25 foes in program history, with three of those victories coming during the 2004-05 season, the senior year of current assistant Katie (Feenstra) Mattera.
The Lady Flames own one Top 25 win over an ACC opponent. Liberty's first-ever Top 25 victory was a 77-69 home triumph over No. 23 Virginia in overtime on Nov. 26, 2002.

Liberty vs. ACC

Liberty is 5-31 all-time versus ACC opponents, with two of its victories coming against Virginia, two more versus Virginia Tech and one against Wake Forest. All five wins have come under Head Coach Carey Green, and all five victories have taken place in Virginia (three at Liberty, one at Virginia and one at Virginia Tech).
The Lady Flames won their last ACC matchup, posting a 59-40 home triumph over Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, 2021.
This is the 10th time in the last 11 seasons Liberty has faced at least one ACC opponent. The Lady Flames will also travel to NC State on Dec. 10.

Schedule