# 2022–23 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Louisville Cardinals women's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, were led by 16th-year head coach Jeff Walz, and played their home games at the KFC Yum! Center. This season was their ninth year competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
They finished the season 26–12 overall and 12–6 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fourth seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye to the quarterfinals where they defeated twelfth seed Wake Forest. They then defeated first seed Notre Dame in the semifinals before falling short in the final to third seed Virginia Tech. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the fifth seed in the Seattle 4 Regional. They defeated twelfth seed Drake in the first round, fourth seed Texas in the second round, and eighth seed Ole Miss in the Sweet Sixteen, before losing to second seed Iowa in the Elite Eight to end their season.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the season 29–5 overall and 16–2 in ACC play to finish in second place. As the second seed in the ACC tournament, they were upset by seventh seed Miami in the quarterfinals. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the first seed in the Wichita Regional. They defeated sixteenth seed Albany in the first round, ninth seed Gonzaga in the second round, fourth seed Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, and third seed Michigan in the Elite Eight before falling to eventual champions, and first seed South Carolina in the Final Four. This was the Cardinals' fourth appearance in the Final Four in program history.

## Off-season
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ramani Parker | 0 | F | 6'4" | Sophomore | Fresno, California | Transferred to Mississippi State |
| Ahlana Smith | 2 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Charlotte, North Carolina | Graduated; Transferred to Mississippi State |
| Kianna Smith | 14 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Moreno Valley, California | Graduated; Drafted 16th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft |
| Emily Engstler | 21 | F | 6'1" | Senior | New York City, New York | Graduated; Drafted 4th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft |
| Chelsie Hall | 23 | G | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Boca Raton, Florida | Graduated |
| Sydni Schetnan | 45 | F | 6'5" | Freshman | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | None reported |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chrislyn Carr | 3 | G | 5'5" | Graduate Student | Davenport, Iowa | Syracuse |
| Morgan Jones | 24 | G | 6'2" | Graduate Student | Jonesboro, Georgia | Florida State |
| Josie Williams | 40 | C | 6'5" | Graduate Student | West Haven, Utah | Utah Valley |

### Recruiting class

Source:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Nyla Harris F | Windermere, Florida | Lake Highland Preparatory School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Zyanna Walker G | Wichita, Kansas | Wichita Heights High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Imani Lester F | Raleigh, North Carolina | North Raleigh Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Jalyn Brown G | Baltimore, Maryland | Saint Frances Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Alexia Mobley G | Reynoldsburg, Ohio | Reynoldsburg High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 7 | Cincinnati | W 87–68 | 1–0 | KFC Yum! Center (8,049) Louisville, KY |
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 7 | IUPUI | W 84–62 | 2–0 | KFC Yum! Center (7,436) Louisville, KY |
| November 13, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | at Belmont | W 75–70 | 3–0 | Curb Event Center (1,840) Nashville, TN |
| November 19, 2022* 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | No. 6 | vs. Gonzaga Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 67–79 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | Atlantis Paradise Island (421) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 20, 2022* 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | No. 6 | vs. No. 3 Texas Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round | W 71–63 | 4–1 | Atlantis Paradise Island (365) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 21, 2022* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops | No. 10 | vs. South Dakota State Battle 4 Atlantis 5th place | L 55–65 | 4–2 | Atlantis Paradise Island (215) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 25, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 10 | Longwood | W 100–37 | 5–2 | KFC Yum! Center (8,130) Louisville, KY |
| November 30, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 18 | No. 4 Ohio State ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 77–96 | 5–3 | KFC Yum! Center (8,259) Louisville, KY |
| December 4, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | at Middle Tennessee | L 49–67 | 5–4 | Murphy Center (5,307) Murfreesboro, TN |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | SIU Edwardsville | W 105–32 | 6–4 | KFC Yum! Center (7,311) Louisville, KY |
| December 11, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Kentucky Rivalry | W 86–72 | 7–4 | Rupp Arena (7,927) Lexington, KY |
| December 14, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bellarmine | W 73–43 | 8–4 | Freedom Hall (2,676) Louisville, KY |
| December 18, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 77–53 | 9–4 (1–0) | Peterson Events Center (491) Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 21, 2022* 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | at DePaul | W 81–67 | 10–4 | Sullivan Athletic Center (1,422) Chicago, IL |
| December 29, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Syracuse | W 86–77 | 11–4 (2–0) | KFC Yum! Center (9,025) Louisville, KY |
| January 1, 2023 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Duke | L 56–63 | 11–5 (2–1) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,720) Durham, NC |
| January 5, 2023 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Georgia Tech | W 63–55 | 12–5 (3–1) | KFC Yum! Center (7,633) Louisville, KY |
| January 8, 2023 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Pittsburgh | W 76–69 | 13–5 (4–1) | KFC Yum! Center (9,218) Louisville, KY |
| January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | L 79–81 | 13–6 (4–2) | Cassell Coliseum (2,328) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 15, 2023 1:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Florida State | W 82–75 | 14–6 (5–2) | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,544) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Boston College | W 72–65 | 15–6 (6–2) | KFC Yum! Center (7,592) Louisville, KY |
| January 22, 2023 1:00 p.m., ABC | | No. 20 NC State | L 51–63 | 15–7 (6–3) | KFC Yum! Center (11,175) Louisville, KY |
| January 26, 2023 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Wake Forest | L 57–68 | 15–8 (6–4) | LJVM Coliseum (857) Winston–Salem, NC |
| January 29, 2023 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | W 79–67 | 16–8 (7–4) | JMA Wireless Dome (6,220) Syracuse, NY |
| February 5, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 11 North Carolina | W 62–55 | 17–8 (8–4) | KFC Yum! Center (10,069) Louisville, KY |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Virginia | W 63–53 | 18–8 (9–4) | John Paul Jones Arena (3,008) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 12, 2023 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Clemson | W 81–69 | 19–8 (10–4) | KFC Yum! Center (8,782) Louisville, KY |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 10 Notre Dame | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 19–9 (10–5) | Purcell Pavilion (5,245) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 19, 2023 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College | W 62–52 | 20–9 (11–5) | Conte Forum (1,423) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 23, 2023 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Miami (FL) | W 71–57 | 21–9 (12–5) | KFC Yum! Center (8,211) Louisville, KY |
| February 26, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 10 Notre Dame | L 65–68 | 21–10 (12–6) | KFC Yum! Center (12,015) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2023 11:00 a.m., ACCN | (4) | vs. (12) Wake Forest Quarterfinals | W 74–48 | 22–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (6,151) Greensboro, NC |
| March 4, 2023 12:00 p.m., ACCN | (4) | vs. (1) No. 10 Notre Dame Semifinals | W 64–38 | 23–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (7,122) Greensboro, NC |
| March 5, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN | (4) | vs. (3) No. 8 Virginia Tech Finals | L 67–75 | 23–11 | Greensboro Coliseum (6,802) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 18, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (5 S4) | vs. (12 S4) Drake First round | W 83–81 | 24–11 | Moody Center Austin, TX |
| March 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (5 S4) | at (4 S4) No. 15 Texas Second round | W 73–51 | 25–11 | Moody Center (5,430) Austin, TX |
| March 24, 2023* 10:00 p.m., ESPN | (5 S4) | vs. (8 S4) Ole Miss Sweet Sixteen | W 72–62 | 26–11 | Climate Pledge Arena (9,626) Seattle, WA |
| March 26, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN | (5 S4) | vs. (2 S4) No. 3 Iowa Elite Eight | L 83–97 | 26–12 | Climate Pledge Arena (11,700) Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S4=Seattle 4. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Rankings

Note: The AP does not release a final poll.
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received votes |