LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It is a story you are a bit too familiar with this season: Louisville women's basketball hung on for another close win that likely should have been less stressful.
After watching a 14-point lead evaporate over the course of the 4th quarter at SMU, Cardinals fans could feasibly fear losing their third ACC game. But star freshman Tajianna Roberts scored four of her team-high 22 points on back-to-back possessions late to put her team back in front 76-75 with less than a minute to play, and the Cards hung on for an 80-75 victory.
Senior guard Jayda Curry was clutch with her 15 points and forward Nyla Harris added 14 points while shooting a perfect 6/6 from the free throw line. But this effort comes just four days after Louisville saw a 17-point lead vanish late at Virginia.
While Jeff Walz's team still found a way to beat the Cavaliers 68-65, he knows this can't continue.
"It's better than having a double-digit lead and losing," Walz said. "And the thing about it, you can sit here and go through all these ball games throughout our league. I mean, even on the men's side, you're seeing great games. Teams are up 12 or 13 and they cut it to one or two. I'm just not happy with what we're doing. We're not playing smart basketball."
It showed in inconsistent spurts, similar to how you would describe watching this team so far this year. The defensive end of the floor is not up to Walz's usual standard, as SMU star Nya Robertson went off for 32 points to help her team come back. The Mustangs shot 47% from the field and 44% from three.
While his group was still able to force 21 turnovers, Walz laments an inability to stay true to a scouting report. He saw it in the way the Cardinals did not do a good enough job of consistently forcing Robertson to go left when she typically likes to attack to her right.
"I just challenge our kids. We all got to get better," Walz said. "But we're watching a ton of film to try to put a game plan in place. I go, 'Let's see if we can execute it, and then if it doesn't work, we'll adjust.'
"But right now, at moments like this, we're just throwing mud up against the chalkboard and hoping something sticks. That's not a good plan for for long-term success."
What is though is some of his freshmen continuing to show growth. Four of those first-year players (Roberts, Izela Arenas, Imari Berry and Mackenly Randolph) played double-digit minutes on Thursday night. Arenas continues to show more of a spark, scoring 11 points in 24 minutes.
"The depth isn't that important," Walz said. "It's the quality of depth. And I thought our freshmen have really started to take that next step forward in understanding the importance of every possession. And I thought they all did a really good job."
He will need more than just standout performances from his younger players to pull off an upset of No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center. Led by star guards Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles, the Fighting Irish are 18-2 on the season and a perfect 10-0 in ACC play after beating Virginia Tech on the road 77-61. If you include the Irish, the Cardinals will face five of the ACC's top teams over the next six games.
"We just got to get better execution wise," Walz said. "We're just not getting it done at the defensive end and that's what we have to improve on."
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