Elite 8 live updates: Louisville women's basketball earns Final Four berth

The Louisville women's basketball team enters the 2022 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 against No. 3 seed Michigan in Wichita, Kansas, on Monday.

The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The No. 1 seeded Cardinals took care of business on Saturday, beating No. 4 seed Tennessee 76-64 in the Sweet 16.

Louisville was led by Emily Engstler, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Hailey Van Lith, who had 23 points and a career-high six assists. The Cards beat Michigan 70-48 earlier this season. After trailing, 7-2 early, U of L went on a 23-2 run to put that game out of reach.

Both teams have evolved since that Dec. 2 outing, and with a trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the line, the stakes will be high in this late night showdown.

March Madness: How Louisville has prepared even its inexperienced players for Elite Eight stage

NCAA Tournament: How Louisville women's pressure defense cut Tennessee down to size to advance to Elite Eight

Final: Louisville 62, Michigan 50

The Louisville Cardinals are back in the Final Four.

The No. 1 seeds in the Wichita Region held off No. 3 Michigan on Monday night to earn a spot in Minneapolis. The Cardinals play South Carolina on Friday.

Hailey Van Lith leads Louisville with 22 points, followed by Chelsie Hall with 15 and Kianna Smith with 11. Emily Engstler grabs 16 rebounds and 6 steals.

Naz Hillmon leads Michigan with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Louisville is in its first Final Four since 2018 and fourth overall. The Cardinals are seeking their first national championship.

1:55 left 4Q: Louisville 56, Michigan 50

Olivia Cochran scores on consecutive plays. Michigan timeout.

3:47 left 4Q: Louisville 52, Michigan 50

Michigan misses with an opportunity to tie with 4:10 to go. Louisville hasn't scored in 4+ minutes.

Naz Hillmon has a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds).

Leigha Brown, Michigan's second-leading scorer, aggravates a foot injury and won't return. He has 3 points tonight.

7:52 left 4Q: Louisville 52, Michigan 45

Hailey Van Lith is up to 20 points again. That's four games in a row in this tournament.

End 3Q: Louisville 45, Michigan 43

Hailey Van Lith snaps a Michigan 7-point run in the last minute of the quarter and leads the Cardinals — along with Chelsie Hall — with 15.

Michigan's Naz Hillmon is getting to the free throw line a lot and has 15.

3:59 left 3Q: Louisville 41, Michigan 33

Emily Engstler has 11 of Louisville's 19 rebounds. The Cardinals are -2 in that area.

Olivia Cochran heads to the bench with 6:41 left after picking up her 3rd foul.

Emily Engstler gets her first basket of the game about 2 minutes into the third quarter off of a turnover, stretching Louisville's lead to 38-31.

Halftime: Louisville 30, Michigan 27

Chelsie Hall has 13 points and Hailey Van Lith 9 for the Cardinals.

Naz Hillmon has 9 for Michigan, which has 11 turnovers.

4:29 left 2Q: Louisville 26, Michigan 19

Chelsie Hall scores off of a Michigan turnover, and the Cardinals lead 24-17. Hall is up to 11 points.

End 1Q: Louisville 17, Michigan 13

Chelsie Hall has 6 points. Louisville is 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. Emily Engstler has 7 rebounds.

From coach Jeff Walz on the sideline after the first quarter: "Offensively, I think we have to slow down a little bit ... and make the extra pass."

Emily Kiser gives Michigan its first lead, 13-12, and the Wolverines have scored 7 straight. Maddie Nolan has 2 3-pointers, keeping Michigan within 12-11.

4:51 left 1Q: Louisville 6, Michigan 2

Naz Hillmon puts Michigan's first points on the board with 4:51 left and will shoot a free throw out of a timeout. The Wolverines missed their first 8 shots.

Both teams are tight early, with no scoring in the first 2:50 before Kianna Smith's 3-pointer. The Cardinals are called for two charges early.

How to watch Louisville vs. Michigan in Elite 8

Where: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

When: 9 p.m. ET Monday

TV: ESPN

Stream: Qualified subscribers can watch the game on Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.

How Louisville has prepared for Elite Eight stage

WICHITA, Kansas — When Louisville lost its season-opening game to Arizona, coach Jeff Walz knew he had a good team.

A preseason top-10 pick, the Cardinals had most of their players back from last year's Elite Eight team. But the Cards also had new players stepping into big roles like transfers Emily Engstler and Chelsie Hall and freshman Payton Verhulst.

Arriving at Louisville, especially from another program, can be a major adjustment not only to the coaching staff, new teammates and game style, but to the expectations that come with donning a Cardinals' jersey. There's an attitude that comes with being one of the top programs in the country and being circled on every team's schedule.

Coach Jeff Walz, after that loss in the opener, said that takes time for players to realize.

- Read more from Cameron Teague Robinson here

Van Lith vents on Obama's bracket picks

WICHITA, Kan. -- Hailey Van Lith has reached the Sweet 16 with a sour taste in her mouth.

Though the Louisville Cardinals are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, their sophomore star reacted sharply to perceived slights at a Friday news conference, waving her right hand dismissively at the bracket projections of former President Barack Obama and talk show host Jimmy Fallon, and cutting herself off as she sensed anger overtaking her.

"I mean, we're kind of like the Bad News Bears," Van Lith said. "We upset everyone's bracket. We piss people off that we're good. Everyone gets mad when we beat teams...

"We don't need the people picking the brackets. We don't need Barack Obama's bracket, we don't need Jimmy Fallon. We don't need none of that, OK? Look, we are still here. That is what it is. We're going to keep playing Louisville basketball and do us. If you match up with us, you better be ready to play. That's all I'm going to say because we're coming to win. I'm going to get mad if I keep talking, so I'll stop."

- Read more from Tim Sullivan here

Olivia Cochran's role valued by Louisville

Olivia Cochran doesn't get the headlines or national attention some of her teammates get on the Louisville women's basketball team.

Still, everyone around the program knows how important she has been for the team's success and will be again in Saturday's Sweet 16 matchup against No. 4 seed Tennessee.

If you need to ask someone, just listen to coach Jeff Walz' six-year-old daughter, Lucy Walz.

A few nights ago, Lucy was laying in bed talking to her grandmother about the upcoming game on the phone. Lucy told her "I'm just going to tell you, O (Cochran) is going to have to work her ass off," Walz said recalling the story.

- Read more from Cameron Teague Robinson here

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Elite 8 live: Louisville basketball vs. Michigan in March Madness