LOUISVILLE, Ky. — October 23, 2023
The University of Louisville women’s basketball team will be well-represented at Tuesday’s 2023 ACC Women’s Basketball TipOff as head coach Jeff Walz, senior Olivia Cochran and senior Merissah Russell will attend the event at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown.
Coach Walz will be making a live appearance on the ACC Network at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning. Later on in the morning, Walz and the players will have a press conference that will be streamed on ACC Network Extra starting at 10:30 a.m. ET. Fans can watch the press conference via the link here. Cochran and Russell will be live on ACC Network following the press conference at 10:45 a.m.
The Louisville contingent will also take part in various interviews and media opportunities throughout the morning. Fans can keep an eye on the festivities by following Louisville women’s basketball on social media and using the hashtag #ACCTipoff.
Cochran and Russell are both two of the most experienced Cardinals returning on the 2023-24 squad as they both enter their fourth year with the program. The pair has made the Elite Eight or further in each of their first three seasons.
Cochran has played 100 games in her Louisville career and started in 95 of those. She was recently named to the 2024 Katrina McClain Award Watch List for the third-straight season. She was one of just five players that have been on the list in each of the last two seasons. Cochran had one of the best games of her career in the Elite Eight last season as she tallied a career-high 20 points to go with 14 rebounds. The 14 rebounds were tied for fifth-best in program history in an NCAA Tournament game.
Russell has played in 75 games over the last three seasons for the Cardinals. She helped the Cards with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal off the bench in the first round win over Drake last season. In the Sweet 16 win over Ole Miss, Russell scored eight points on 3-for-6 shooting. Over the summer, she won bronze with Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Americup and won gold with the Cardinals at the 2023 GLOBL JAM.
Walz is entering his 17th season as the head coach of the Cardinals with a 441-125 record and is the all-time winningest coach in program history. He has guided the Cardinals to five-consecutive Elite Eight appearances, the only team in the country to make each of the last five Elite Eight’s. He also helped the Cardinals win the gold medal at the 2023 GLOBL JAM tournament in Toronto this past July.
Louisville opens the 2023-24 campaign on the road on Monday, November 6 when they take on Cincinnati at 6 p.m. ET. The home opener will be on Sunday, November 12 when the Cards take on DePaul at 4 p.m. ET at the KFC Yum! Center.
