LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A University of Louisville women’s basketball team that has looked defensively challenged for much of the season showed a dramatically different look when it came to stopping Florida State, the ACC’s top scoring team.
The Cardinals were solid containing the ball, communicated well and in general shut down a Seminoles team that was averaging 81 points per game. The result was a 70-55 win in front of KFC Yum! Center Crowd of 7,932 for the team’s home finale. The point total was the second-lowest of the season for Florida State.
I asked Walz what accounted for such a swift change.
“Well we had a nice talk,” Walz said. “You know, we encouraged them.”
If only it were that easy.
A lengthy team discussion did figure into a renewal of commitment for the Cardinals’ players. On the team’s off day Tuesday, a lengthy team discussion ventured into areas of effort and individual frustrations and challenges. Nyla Harris said an already-close team came away even closer.
“I think the conversation that we had on the day we didn’t have practice helped because . . . we needed to know where everyone’s heads were at, in order to move on,” Harris said. “. . . And I think it showed today. We trusted each other more and we were communicating more.”
Louisville coach Jeff Walz and graduate Sydney Taylor hug near the end of Louisville's win over Florida State.
The Cards jumped out to an 8-0 lead but did the bulk of their damage in the second quarter, when they outscored FSU 25-10 behind a 10-point effort from Sydney Taylor, who made all three of her three-point shots in the period.
Louisville pushed its lead to 22 late in the third quarter. Olivia Cochran led Louisville with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Taylor also finished with 16 points. Harris had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Kiki Jefferson added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Louisville outrebounded Florida State 57-32.
The win locked up at least a No. 5 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament for Louisville, which can finish even higher with a win at Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon.
Walz was more concerned about his team putting forth good effort after a Sunday home loss to Virginia, in which he didn’t feel the effort was satisfactory.
“Virginia we didn't play hard at times, and that's unacceptable,” Walz said. “I told them, when our fans are questioning how hard we play, that doesn’t happen here. One thing we always are complimented on is, ‘Your kids play hard.’ So we had to fix that. And I thought today we fixed it. Now we’ve got to make sure it continues Sunday.”
Louisville improved to 23-7, 12-5 in the ACC. Florida State fell to 20-9, 11-6.
“I thought we played about 37 minutes of pretty good basketball,” Walz said. “. . . The first three minutes of the fourth quarter was not good. It’s not like it was terrible, but if you build a big lead you want to sustain or extend it. And we gave up a little run. . . . We had too many turnovers. We need to play smarter. . . . But I was very pleased with the effort.”
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
