Preview:
When I looked ahead at the North Carolina--Notre Dame--Louisville stretch it seemed daunting, but Louisville seemed to be the least out-of-reach opponent. After our humiliating beat-down on Thursday and the possibility that we have lost Nunu, everybody seems out-of-reach.
Louisville is 16-7. They are unranked, although they are receiving a sprinkling of votes in the coach's poll. Massey has them at 30 with offense and defense roughly equal. They just beat Cal 70-63, and previously lost to Notre Dame 89-71. Their best win was over 26 Georgia Tech. Six of their seven losses were to teams in the top 20. Their only "bad" loss was to #40 Virginia Tech.
Louisville has 4 starters who average 10-13 ppg, so they are a relatively balanced team and do not rely on a single superstar.
Their leading scorer is 5'10" freshman guard Tajiana Roberts (from San Diego.) Roberts is scoring 13 ppg. She leads the teams in made threes but shoots them at only 31%.
Their second leading scorer we have seen before. In her second year at Louisville is Cal transfer Jayda Curry. Jayda is averaging 12 ppg which she makes from all over the floor, 33% from three point range and 92% from the free throw line.
6'3" Grad student forward Olivia Cochrane gives Louisville a very effective post presence as well as 11 ppg, rebounding, and a well rounded stat line. She has played four full years, starting nearly every game--before this year. An enormous amount of experience. I guess this is her Covid year?
6'2" junior Nyla Harris gives Louisville a traditional 2 forward look. Harris scores 10 ppg.
Jaleah Williams is a 5'9" senior point guard who just transferred in from Miami. She is a poor three point shooter but does hit 6 or 7 ppg.
Coach Jeff Walz plays another 5 players at least 10 minutes each, so the rotation is deep.
If Nunu is healthy then we match up reasonably well with Louisville. Our talent level is sufficient to be competitive with this team in a way were not in several of our losses this year. I would still think the odds are stacked against us--playing at their place, but we need to see how our team reacts to its humiliation at Notre Dame. Will it redouble its effort or give up on the season?
I wonder if Kate will change the starting lineup. If Agara is out then she will have to. But maybe Umeh starts in place of Demetre? Why not?
When I looked ahead at the North Carolina--Notre Dame--Louisville stretch it seemed daunting, but Louisville seemed to be the least out-of-reach opponent. After our humiliating beat-down on Thursday and the possibility that we have lost Nunu, everybody seems out-of-reach.
Louisville is 16-7. They are unranked, although they are receiving a sprinkling of votes in the coach's poll. Massey has them at 30 with offense and defense roughly equal. They just beat Cal 70-63, and previously lost to Notre Dame 89-71. Their best win was over 26 Georgia Tech. Six of their seven losses were to teams in the top 20. Their only "bad" loss was to #40 Virginia Tech.
Louisville has 4 starters who average 10-13 ppg, so they are a relatively balanced team and do not rely on a single superstar.
Their leading scorer is 5'10" freshman guard Tajiana Roberts (from San Diego.) Roberts is scoring 13 ppg. She leads the teams in made threes but shoots them at only 31%.
Their second leading scorer we have seen before. In her second year at Louisville is Cal transfer Jayda Curry. Jayda is averaging 12 ppg which she makes from all over the floor, 33% from three point range and 92% from the free throw line.
6'3" Grad student forward Olivia Cochrane gives Louisville a very effective post presence as well as 11 ppg, rebounding, and a well rounded stat line. She has played four full years, starting nearly every game--before this year. An enormous amount of experience. I guess this is her Covid year?
6'2" junior Nyla Harris gives Louisville a traditional 2 forward look. Harris scores 10 ppg.
Jaleah Williams is a 5'9" senior point guard who just transferred in from Miami. She is a poor three point shooter but does hit 6 or 7 ppg.
Coach Jeff Walz plays another 5 players at least 10 minutes each, so the rotation is deep.
If Nunu is healthy then we match up reasonably well with Louisville. Our talent level is sufficient to be competitive with this team in a way were not in several of our losses this year. I would still think the odds are stacked against us--playing at their place, but we need to see how our team reacts to its humiliation at Notre Dame. Will it redouble its effort or give up on the season?
I wonder if Kate will change the starting lineup. If Agara is out then she will have to. But maybe Umeh starts in place of Demetre? Why not?