After a year apart, Kentucky women’s basketball to resume rivalry with Louisville

Last season, for the first time in the modern era of women’s college basketball, the University of Kentucky didn’t play against the University of Louisville.

But this season, the rivalry will return on a national stage.

On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that the Kentucky and Louisville women’s programs will play each other as part of the Women’s Jimmy V Classic. The game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 12 at Louisville, and be broadcast on ESPN.

This will be Kyra Elzy’s first game against Louisville as head coach of the Wildcats.

Kentucky and Louisville have played each other 56 times in history, including at least one time each season beginning with the 1974-75 season.

Last year, limited non-conference opponents due to the coronavirus pandemic played a part in preventing the annual rivalry game. The Cardinals played just seven opponents outside the Atlantic Coast Conference in regular-season play, while the Wildcats played just eight opponents outside the Southeastern Conference in the regular season.

Kentucky leads the all-time series against Louisville 34-22. The most recent meeting of the two teams was won by Louisville, 67-66, in Rupp Arena in December 2019, despite a 26-point scoring effort from Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard.

The Kentucky and Louisville men’s basketball programs continued their annual rivalry game last season, but a date hasn’t been announced yet for their game at Rupp Arena in the 2021-22 season.