Preview: Louisville at Syracuse in ACC Women’s Basketball Showdown

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Interstat) — A pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball matchup featuring two top-10 caliber teams will unfold Sunday when the Louisville Cardinals visit the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome.

Both teams enter with identical 4-1 records in their last five games and near-identical overall marks. Louisville (21-4) looks to rebound from a narrow 59-58 home loss to Duke on Thursday. Syracuse (19-4) arrives riding high after a dominant 93-59 road victory at Boston College the same night.

The contest features a compelling backcourt duel. Louisville will rely on guard Elif Istanbulluoglu, who scored 13 points in 36 minutes against Duke and is averaging 10.3 points over her last six games. Syracuse counters with dynamic guard Dominique Darius, who recorded a triple-double (10 points, 10 assists) in just 24 minutes against Boston College. Darius is averaging 16.4 points and 4.9 assists over her last seven contests, including a 26-point outburst in a win over Stanford.

Louisville’s strength has been its consistent dominance, with 12 of its 21 wins coming by 19 points or more. Its only recent blemish was the one-point defeat to Duke. Syracuse has shown both explosive offense, scoring 90-plus points three times in conference play, and resilience, winning a triple-overtime thriller against California on Jan. 15. The Orange’s conference loss came in overtime at North Carolina on Jan. 25.

The Cardinals have won five straight in the series, including a 70-65 victory in their last meeting at the Carrier Dome on Jan. 26, 2025. Syracuse last defeated Louisville on Feb. 26, 2023.

With both teams jockeying for position in the ACC standings and seeking to bolster their NCAA tournament seeding, Sunday’s clash carries significant weight. The outcome may hinge on which star guard can control the tempo and whether Louisville can contain Syracuse’s high-powered offense on its home floor.

Following this game, Louisville will host Wake Forest on Thursday. Syracuse will travel to face Pittsburgh on Thursday.