By Ashlea Hellmann

With two Big East foes and two top-15 teams in the country coming to Freedom Hall, the Cardinals have a very important week in front of them.

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team, with a record of 11-3, will take on No. 14 University of Notre Dame tonight at 7 p.m. and No. 1 University of Connecticut this Saturday at 4 p.m. Students receive free admission into the games with their student ID.

The Irish come into Freedom Hall with a record of 12-2. They also boast the fourth most effective scoring offense in the country.

The Irish pose a balance attack led by a trio of talented guards who all average double figure points. Senior guard Charel Allen leads the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Ashley Barlow averages 12.5 ppg and junior guard Lindsay Schrader averages 10.5 ppg.

On Saturday the Cardinals will take on the 13-0 UConn, the top ranked team in the country. The Huskies also offer a trio of big time scorers led by freshman forward and McDonald’s All American Maya Moore who is averaging 15.7 ppg. Also scoring in double figures is sophomore center Tina Charles who averages 9.1 rebounds per game and senior guard Mel Thomas.

The game against the Huskies will feature a “Pack the House” promotion. The athletic department is calling all students and U of L athletic supporters to come out and support the Cardinals as they take on one of the most storied programs in women’s basketball history, having won five national titles. They will be offering drawstring bags to the first 5,000 fans.

U of L has had difficulty slowing down prolific scorers this season. They gave up 32 points to junior forward and All-American candidate Amber Holt in a win over Middle Tennessee State University. Despite the defensive lapse, Blue Raiders head coach Rick Insell was impressed with the team.

“They are a good team. Chauntise Wright is hard to handle. She’s strong. Then you have [Angel] McCoughtry, who is like our Holt, she’s an All-American. You’ve got to put two people on her and know where she is at all times,” said Insell following at 77-64 loss to the Cards. “They have good guard play and good role players and kids that can go in and get on the boards.”

The Cardinals had difficulty defending the three-point shot in their Big East opener at Syracuse University this past Saturday. The Cards lost to the Orange 79-56 while allowing them to shoot 52.9 percent from beyond the arc. U of L was unable to answer shooting a lowly 14.3 percent from three-point range.

“They did a good job. Unfortunately, I think we gave them a couple of open looks,” said U of L head coach Jeff Walz about Syracuse. “We didn’t contest it. I tried to switch up the defense once or twice and we just didn’t have the right person down there.”

The Cardinals hope to counter the scoring prowess of the Huskies and the Irish with a strong offensive attack of their own. The team will be guided by junior forward McCoughtry, who leads the nation in scoring with 24.3 ppg and steals. She will be aided by senior guard Patrika Barlow, who is second in the nation in assists with an average of 7.6 per game.

Barlow and McCougthry both struggled against the Orange, shooting a combined 5-27.

The Cardinals are excited for the week in front of them and the challenge it presents.

“Our motto is that if after the game, if we can look at each other and believe we’ve played hard, the score will take care of itself,” said Walz.