Jeff Walz has never backed down from expectations.  Entering his 20th season at the helm of the Louisville women’s basketball program, he has one of the best lineups on paper of any of his previous 19 teams.  The national media took note and ranked Louisville as the No. 7 team in the preseason.  To open this 2026-2027 campaign Louisville hosted the Bellarmine Knights and Stetson Hatters out of the Atlantic Sun Conference.  

The competition certainly was not what Louisville will see in ACC play and beyond, but they handled their business appropriately beating Bellarmine 119-47 and Stetson 87-35. 

Monday night was a record setter for The Ville against the Knights.  After racing out to a 23-0 lead, Louisville scored a program-record 44 points in the first quarter, 72 points in the first half and 119 for the game.  The previous high for points in a quarter and game was against DePaul in 2020, when Louisville scored 40 in the third quarter en route to a 116-75 win over the Blue Demons.  The previous points in a half record were 63 against the Knights in 2023.   

Louisville had 12 players score, with seven scoring double figures.   Tajianna Roberts led the way with 15 points on 7-for-12 scoring.  Imari Berry (14), Amiya Joyner (14), Carys Baker (13), Zamareya Jones (11), Ariyana Cradle (10) and Grace Mbugua (10) were the other double figure scorers.  Jones also became just the third player in women’s college basketball over the past five seasons to record nine or more assists and six or more steals in a game without recording a turnover offensively. 

In the Stetson game Wednesday night, the defense stepped up yet again, holding the Hatters to 20 points in the first half and 15 in the second half.  Louisville used a 24-2 run to start the second half to put the game out of reach.  Four Cards hit double figures, with Berry leading the way, scoring 16. 

The most encouraging aspect of the blowouts was the defense.  In the Bellarmine game, Louisville scored 53 points off 35 turnovers by BU.  Against Stetson, Walz’s squad scored 40 points off 30 forced turnovers.  In both games, Louisville had four players record three or more steals.  As previously slated, the competition should be factored in, but Louisville is forcing 32.5 turnovers per game. 

Walz has made the Final Four on four different occasions with defense being a mainstay on all four teams. 

2009 - 831 turnovers forced (1st nationally)

2013 – 782 turnovers forced (3rd nationally)

2018 – 357 turnovers forced (7th nationally)

2022 – 619 turnovers forced (8th nationally) 

Louisville will put their gaudy stats back on the line Sunday afternoon as they travel to Evansville to face the University of Southern Indiana.  The game will tip at 4 pm and be streamed on ESPN+.  Louisville won the only other matchup between the programs in 2024.