Cards preparing for Elite Eight showdown against Michigan
Lousiville is hoping to advance to the fourth Final Four in program history
Lousiville is hoping to advance to the fourth Final Four in program history
The University of Lousiville women's basketball program is one win away from advancing to the fourth Final Four in program history.
"I have never cut down a net," said Louisville forward Emily Engstler. "I've never won a championship. I've never been to a Final Four. I've never made it past second round. This would mean everything to me, leave it all out on the court."
The No. 1 seeded Cardinals will face the No. 3 seeded Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight on Monday at 9 p.m. EST.
The two teams played each other back on Dec. 2 in Louisville. The Cards won that matchup 70-48.
"I would say, we just can't take that game into account," said Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith. "We can look at it for things that went well for us, but it's March. Everyone is going to put their best foot forward, everyone is going to fight.
We're not relying on anything. We're going to go out and do what we do and impose our will, and we're just going to be ready to fight. We know they're going to give us their best shot. So I wouldn't say that -- you never know what's going to happen in this month. You just gotta play. There's going to be differences with the team at this point, but I think you just gotta focus on yourself and what your game plan is."
Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico remembers UofL's defense in that first meeting.
"Their defense I think that first game really surprised me, was great, outstanding, probably better than I anticipated," said Barnes Arico. "And kind of a little bit of a wake-up call of, holy cow, this team just dialed it up against us. How are we going to handle that pressure?
I think they have been able to do that against a number of teams this year, and that's going to be a challenge for us tomorrow. That's one of the many strengths of their team, their defensive intensity."
Louisville is 5-1 all-time against Michigan and has won four straight meetings.