The women's basketball regular season wraps up this weekend for most teams. For Louisville, their regular season will conclude with a pair of home games- Thursday against Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame.
Louisville welcomes Miami to the KFC Yum! Center for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off today. The early start time is the result of the game being aired nationally on ACC Network. Pam Ward and Stephanie White will be on the call on tv while Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton will continue to cover radio duties on 93.9-FM.
A new jersey will make an appearance for the Cards, as Louisville recognizes and celebrates Black History Month. The jersey will be primarily white with red and black letters and numbers, and the sides of the jerseys will consist of a variety of colors.
Most recently, Louisville defeated Boston College by 10 following a monstrous fourth quarter rally. The win moved Louisville to 20-9 on the year and a tie for fourth place in the ACC at 11-5. Louisville finished the 9-5 in true road games in the regular season this year.
For Louisville, a win tonight would guarantee a top five finish in the ACC and their final position would be decided following their game against Notre Dame on Sunday. The Cards could potentially still be tied for fourth even with a loss tonight, a tie that could consist of four teams depending how other games around the league play out. Just win and not put yourself in that position, right?
Miami enters the game with a 17-10 record and 10-6 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have lost two of their last three including a nine-point loss at Syracuse last weekend. The current Bracketology by Charlie Creme puts Miami as one of the "last four bye" slots and a projected 9-seed.
The Hurricanes have had a productive offensive output this year. They average 71.9 points per game. Their .432 shooting percentage (taken from Miami's website) and 14.7 assists per game both rank fifth in the ACC. They shoot a respectable .307 from three-point range and their .730 free throw shooting is one of the best in the league.
Senior transfer Haley Cavinder leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. Her 68 assists rank second on the team and her 92% free throw shooting is one of the best in the conference.
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Destiny Harden has been the do-it-all player for the Hurricanes. She is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game and she has a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 44 steals.
While Ja'Leah Williams has been an average scorer at 7.3 points per game, her 76 assists lead the team.
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Miami does like to run with some size, with four players ranging between 6'4 and 6'6. Lola Pendade has been the primary post player this year for the Hurricanes.
Louisville has owned the series against Miami, 7-3, and they are 7-2 since Jeff Walz took over. Miami won the most recent match-up, a 61-59 game in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Hurricanes outscored the Cards 23-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Cards had won the previous three games against Miami, two on the road and one at home. The most recent three games in the series all were all a three-point margin or less.
Paulie, Daryl, and I plan to be in attendance for this one. Hopefully Paulie's birthday festivities (he celebrated his birthday yesterday) will continue today with a Louisville win!
Wednesday Pressers
Coach Walz and the six seniors on the UofL WBB squad met with the media Wednesday. The pressers were divided into three segments, and you can listen to them below!
Cardinal Couple Pick Em
We're working on the prizes for the winners and runners-up for the ACC Tournament Pick Em and NCAA Tournament Pick Em, but word on the street is that it's food related and who will say no to a gift card for food?! We would love your participation and even invite your family and friends!
Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared
Guess all I'll say is...HYPED💯😃
ReplyDeleteYes hyped Revenge game last year in the tournament that buzzer beater that's what I remember Go Cards beat the hurricanes.
DeleteDestiny Harden IS back for the Canes and Katie Meier, you remember Destiny, of course and her 15 points to end the game and beat the Cards in the ACC tournament quarters last year. Her and the Cavender sisters a pretty dangerous combo. I hope the crowd shows up huge tonight.. Miami IS dangerous.
ReplyDeletepaulie