Cardinals Travel to ACC TipOff on Monday
October 04, 2026 | Women's Basketball
Head coach Jeff Walz, Imari Berry and Elif Istanbulluoglu will represent the Cards
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville women's basketball team will be well-represented at Monday's 2026 ACC Women's Basketball TipOff as head coach Jeff Walz, senior Elif Istanbulluoglu and junior Imari Berry will attend the event at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown in Charlotte, N.C.
Coach Walz and the players will have a press conference that will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the press conference via the link here. Berry and Istanbulluoglu will have a live segment on ACC Network starting at 2:45 p.m. Coach Walz will be live on ACC Network later in the afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
The Louisville contingent will also take part in various interviews and media opportunities throughout the afternoon. Fans can keep an eye on the festivities by following Louisville women's basketball on social media and using the hashtag #ACCTipoff.
Istanbulluoglu is about to begin her fourth season with the Cardinals and is coming off her best collegiate season in 2025-26. She was one of three players to average 11 or more points per game in ACC play with 11.3. On the season, she was one of four players to average 10 or more points per game (10.1). She also averaged 5.1 rebounds per game, third most on the team. Those numbers were improved from the season before where she averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
In September, Istanbulluoglu was named to the Türkiye Senior National Team that competed at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup. She was the only ACC player and one of just five active college players to be named to a world cup roster. It is the second time in just over a calendar year she has been named to the senior national team for Türkiye. In the summer of 2025, she was on the team that competed at the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket tournament.
Berry is also coming off her best collegiate season in 2025-26 as her and Istanbulluoglu led the Cards back to the Sweet 16. Berry led the team in scoring in ACC play with 11.4 points per game en route to winning ACC Sixth Player of the Year. Her breakout conference game came in the 88-80 come from behind win in overtime over NC State on the road. She scored 33 points, including 25 in the second half and overtime, as the Cardinals overcame a 13-point second half deficit. Her 33 points were the most points scored by an opponent at Reynolds Coliseum since 2018.
Walz is entering his 20th season as the head coach of the Cardinals with a 515-154 record and is the all-time winningest coach in program history. He collected his 500th win last season and became the third-fastest active coach to reach 500 wins for his career. The Cards reached the Sweet 16 for the 13th time under Walz's leadership, tied for third among active head coaches for most Sweet 16 appearances. Louisville won 15 ACC games last season, the 12th-straight season with 12 or more conference wins. No other ACC team has won 10 conference games or more in each of the last 12 seasons.
Louisville opens the 2026-27 campaign at the KFC Yum! Center on November 2 as they take on in-town foe Bellarmine. It will be the first of 18 home games this season for the Cardinals after they won 16 of their home contests a season ago. The home non-conference slate is headlined by the matchup with UConn on Sunday, November 15.
Coach Walz and the players will have a press conference that will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the press conference via the link here. Berry and Istanbulluoglu will have a live segment on ACC Network starting at 2:45 p.m. Coach Walz will be live on ACC Network later in the afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
The Louisville contingent will also take part in various interviews and media opportunities throughout the afternoon. Fans can keep an eye on the festivities by following Louisville women's basketball on social media and using the hashtag #ACCTipoff.
Istanbulluoglu is about to begin her fourth season with the Cardinals and is coming off her best collegiate season in 2025-26. She was one of three players to average 11 or more points per game in ACC play with 11.3. On the season, she was one of four players to average 10 or more points per game (10.1). She also averaged 5.1 rebounds per game, third most on the team. Those numbers were improved from the season before where she averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
In September, Istanbulluoglu was named to the Türkiye Senior National Team that competed at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup. She was the only ACC player and one of just five active college players to be named to a world cup roster. It is the second time in just over a calendar year she has been named to the senior national team for Türkiye. In the summer of 2025, she was on the team that competed at the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket tournament.
Berry is also coming off her best collegiate season in 2025-26 as her and Istanbulluoglu led the Cards back to the Sweet 16. Berry led the team in scoring in ACC play with 11.4 points per game en route to winning ACC Sixth Player of the Year. Her breakout conference game came in the 88-80 come from behind win in overtime over NC State on the road. She scored 33 points, including 25 in the second half and overtime, as the Cardinals overcame a 13-point second half deficit. Her 33 points were the most points scored by an opponent at Reynolds Coliseum since 2018.
Walz is entering his 20th season as the head coach of the Cardinals with a 515-154 record and is the all-time winningest coach in program history. He collected his 500th win last season and became the third-fastest active coach to reach 500 wins for his career. The Cards reached the Sweet 16 for the 13th time under Walz's leadership, tied for third among active head coaches for most Sweet 16 appearances. Louisville won 15 ACC games last season, the 12th-straight season with 12 or more conference wins. No other ACC team has won 10 conference games or more in each of the last 12 seasons.
Louisville opens the 2026-27 campaign at the KFC Yum! Center on November 2 as they take on in-town foe Bellarmine. It will be the first of 18 home games this season for the Cardinals after they won 16 of their home contests a season ago. The home non-conference slate is headlined by the matchup with UConn on Sunday, November 15.
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