The No. 17 Louisville Cardinals face the No. 5 UCLA Bruins and Kiki Rice in a season opener on Monday, November 4, 2024 (4/24/11) at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV, which offers half off your first month.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: Women’s college basketball

WHO: Louisville vs. UCLA

When: Monday November 4 (24/4/11)

Where: Adidas Arena

Time: 2:30 PM ET

TV: ESPN2

Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)

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Here’s a story on women’s basketball via the Associated Press:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – This women’s basketball foursome is no stranger to playing under bright lights on big stages. But this time it’s Paris.

The City of Lights will be a completely different venue and experience when No. 3 USC, crosstown rival and No. 5 UCLA, No. 17 Louisville and No. 20 Ole Miss take the court Monday in the Aflac Oui-Play doubleheader to kick off the college basketball season for ladies.

Just months after a thrilling Olympic gold medal match between Team USA and host nation France cemented the game’s burgeoning appeal, this ranked quartet is eager to keep that momentum going.

“It’s a really good opportunity for us,” Ole Miss guard Kennedy Todd-Williams said. “Big lights, you know, really big game. We came here to compete and show who we are. The first competition of the season, so we are really looking forward to this opportunity for everyone to compete at a high level.”

Ole Miss and USC, featuring Associated Press All-America selections JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen, will meet in the opener at Adidas Arena. UCLA will take on Louisville in the nightcap. The doubleheader follows last year’s debut between South Carolina and Notre Dame, which the Gamecocks won 100-71 to start an undefeated run en route to their third national title.

They claimed the championship against Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark, a showdown that generated a larger TV audience than the men’s championship amid record NCAA tournament attendance. Watkins’ breakout freshman season helped the Women of Troy earn a No. 1 seed before falling to UConn in the Elite Eight.

“There’s just a sense of urgency to go beyond where we went last year,” Watkins said during the team’s media day. “It’s just exciting to open and be the first game on TV. The most important thing is to win, that’s always the most important thing. I’m excited to get that first dub (win) with the team.

The WNBA also reaped benefits from the presence of Clark and Angel Reese, culminating in a crowd of 2.2 million for the decisive fifth game of the WNBA Finals between champion New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx and at least 1 million for the other four.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz appreciates the increased attention, especially compared to what it was not too long ago. The 18-year Cardinals veteran has also seen strong interest abroad while coaching several U.S. Women’s National Teams last summer and loves being on that stage with a game that counts.

“Our women’s game here has grown exponentially over the last year and a half, and a lot of that is clearly down to talented players,” he said last month before heading to France shortly afterwards. “It’s great now because people can see how talented and gifted these players are. … I think it will continue to grow internationally because of that. It’s fantastic. I love the opportunities I have had to coach internationally, (with) a slightly different style of basketball.”

While all four other big matchups await after they return to the United States, they want a good performance as a springboard to bigger things in a landscape that has been reshuffled by realignment.

For example, USC and UCLA moved from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten. Louisville’s Atlantic Coast Conference grind now includes Pac-12 transfers Stanford and Cal, and American Athletic’s SMU. Ole Miss has to deal with Texas and Oklahoma moving from the Big 12 to the SEC and also getting past the Gamecocks.

UCLA coach Cory Close is looking forward to Louisville pushing her Bruins on both ends of the floor.

“It sets the stage and a standard for us,” said Close, who has worked with Walz on many national programs. “We have a very talented team, but we are not playing at that level yet and they will hold us accountable.”

The matches will be played in the fairly new 8,000-seat stadium for the Paris Basketball of the Euro League. That will be an experience with Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.

“This is something you dream about your whole life,” said Merissah Russell, a graduate guard from Louisville. “It is everyone’s dream to play in top matches. … It will be fun to not only play in Paris, but also to see what is happening in the rest of the world.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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