CRAWFORD | Ziegler sets early tone, Louisville women wear down Florida State 88-65 | U of L Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Laura Ziegler opened the afternoon with a three-pointer before Florida State had adjusted its headbands.

Then she hit a jumper. Then she slipped a pass to Amaya Hardy for a layup so soft it ought to have come with a pillow. Then she blocked a shot. Then she rebounded it. Then she handed out another assist like a woman passing out programs at the front gate.

By the time Louisville finished its 88–65 sentencing of Florida State — verdict delivered, no appeal allowed — Ziegler had left fingerprints on everything except the public address microphone.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

Fourteen points. Eight rebounds. Seven assists.

From the four spot.

Which is like saying your power forward just borrowed the point guard’s car and parallel parked it.

It was Louisville’s 17th win in 18 games. Nobody predicted this in October. Nobody predicted Ziegler would be the one holding the keys, either.

“She puts pressure on you,” Jeff Walz said. “Do you put size on her? Do you go smaller?”

It’s the basketball version of “Would you rather wrestle a bear or outrun one?”

There is no good answer. That’s the trick.

When Walz moved Ziegler to point forward earlier this season, he didn’t issue a press release. He just tilted the chessboard. Suddenly, the Cardinals had a piece that didn’t belong to any traditional square. She handles like a guard, rebounds like a forward and passes like she’s reading tomorrow’s newspaper.

Louisville as a whole assisted on 25 baskets in what was not a special offensive game, just a workmanlike effort. Still, the ball moved like it had dinner plans. In the third quarter, the Cardinals shot 12-of-19 and turned a polite lead into a closing argument.

Laura Ziegler drives for two of her team-best 14 points in a win over Florida State in the KFC Yum! Center on Feb. 15, 2026.
ERIC CRAWFORD

And when Florida State went looking for a weak link, Louisville handed them a bench.

Grace Mbugua came off it for 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and two blocks in 12 minutes, as if she’d been double-parked. The reserves outscored the Seminoles’ bench 45–31. When you have seven or eight players who can score, Walz noted, the defense is overwhelmed with options.

Point guard Reyna Scott finished with 11 points, as did Imari Berry and Skylar Jones. Hardy and Mackenly Randolph had nine each.

Walz, of course, was not entirely pleased. He never is. He thought his team played too fast early, fell in love with quick threes before the shot clock forced Florida State to actually do some work.

“When we went inside-out, we were efficient,” he said.

Translation: Patience is not optional in March.

But what animated him wasn’t the shooting chart.

It was the résumé.

Seven Quad 1 wins. Six of them on the road. Duke, South Carolina and Kentucky were the Quad 1 home opportunities. Louisville lost all three.

So it packed its suitcase and went somewhere else.

“I’m not sure there’s another team that can say that,” Walz said.

That isn’t bragging. That’s Exhibit A.

The Selection Committee has Louisville sitting at No. 7. Walz knows the numbers can wobble. He knows teams behind them have shiny opportunities left. He knows the surest way to quiet the room is to keep winning.

Virginia next Sunday. Georgia Tech on the road, “always a rock fight,” he said. Notre Dame to close.

Then someone mentioned it had been “a while” since Louisville hosted an NCAA regional.

Walz heard it the way a man hears someone say his steak is overcooked.

“It’s been hell,” he said.

Hell.

For the record, Louisville last hosted in 2022.

Twenty-four wins. Four losses. Five straight Elite Eights, not counting a COVID season when Louisville was a potential No. 1 seed.

“People forget what we’ve done here for 20 years,” he said. “Forget the past 10 — it’s been 20 years.”

That’s the burden of sustained excellence. When you’ve spent two decades making March reservations, anything short of a parade feels like a complaint letter.

When you go 24–4 and someone says “it’s been a while,” you clear your throat.

Walz cleared his.

And Laura Ziegler, point forward, chess piece, traffic controller — whatever you’d like to call her — is currently making sure the reminders come notarized. This is a team with enough pieces to make March interesting again. In a hurry.

In Louisville, “a while” lasts about five minutes.

Ask Florida State.