Louisville Cardinals
ACC (25-6, 12-4)
Louisville has done a nice job in their first year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and have stayed within the top ten for most of the season. The tougher conference schedule should pay more dividends for Louisville as they will be better prepared to deal with tougher opponents in the Sweet 16 and beyond in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 12/4 Iowa (85-52), 12/21 at California (70-57), 2/15 North Carolina (75-66)
Bad Losses: 1/22 at Florida State (63-68), 2/2 at Duke (58-66), 3/1 at Virginia (59-75)
Coach: Jeff Walz
Why They Can Surprise:
The Cardinals have plenty of experience and depth, especially in the backcourt as seniors Bria Smith and Jude Schimmel will lead the way along with freshman Mariya Moore, who has been outstanding as well in her first season. The trio does a nice job of creating havoc defensively and average in the neighborhood of ten plus steals per game. They also do a nice job at the offensive end. Louisville is one of the more efficient teams in the country when it comes to shooting. The Cardinals are also very dominant on the glass and that will be a very critical key to success for Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. Senior forward Sara Hammond is the best rebounder on the team and is very capable of dominating on the glass on any given night.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The inability to be truly elite from behind the three-point arc is a definite question mark that could cause some problems for the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament. Free-throw shooting is also a big issue as Louisville shoots just a little over 60 percent from the foul line on the season. The inconsistency at times offensively as a whole is going to be something else to keep an eye on because there have been games where the Cardinals, while winning thanks to their defense, have had a rough battle trying to score points. They are going to have to aggressively attack offensively to create easy shot opportunities in order to truly make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters:
Bria Smith, Senior, Guard, 8.2 ppg, 3.1 apg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 spg
Jude Schimmel, Senior, Guard, 7.1 ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.2 spg
Mariya Moore, Freshman, Guard, 13.8 ppg, 3.7 apg, 4.5 rpg
Myisha Hines-Allen, Freshman, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Sara Hammond, Senior, Forward, 10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Shawnta’ Dyer, Senior, Forward, 8.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Sheronne Vails, Senior, Center, 2.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg
Arica Carter, Freshman, Guard, 2.4 ppg, 1.5 apg
Emmonnie Henderson, Sophomore, Forward, 6.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.0 (29th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.2 (37, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.6 (19, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.7 (78, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 3.8 (287, 15)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.8 (140, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 64.5 (293, 15)
Rebound Margin: 8.0 (21, 4)
Assists Per Game: 17.8 (8, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.2 (53, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA First Round win over Idaho
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Iowa
2014 NCAA Third Round win over LSU
2014 NCAA Quarterfinal loss to Maryland
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Middle Tennessee
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Baylor
2013 NCAA Regional Final win over Tennessee
2013 NCAA National Semifinal win over California
2013 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Michigan State
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Maryland
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Vanderbilt
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Xavier
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Gonzaga
2010 WBI First Round loss to Bradley
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Liberty
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over LSU
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Baylor
2009 NCAA Regional Final win over Maryland
2009 NCAA National Semifinal win over Oklahoma
2009 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Miami of Ohio
2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Kansas State
2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Kentucky
2007 NCAA Round o 64 win over Brigham Young
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Arizona State
*all team stats through 3/5
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
