If Louisville women are to make the Final Four and make a run at a national championship some things must change. I don’t claim to be an expert but I do think a couple things need to happen.
First, Louisville must defend the post much better. Louisville has freshman Olivia Cochran and junior Elizabeth Dixon a transfer from Georgia Tech to defend the middle. This where the Cardinals are exposed the most, as was obvious in the loss to North Carolina State. The Cardinals had no answer for 6-foot-5 Elissa Cunane who scored 16 points in her first game back from injury. She never missed a beat. NC State would score 36 of its 74 points in the paint and out-rebounded the Cardinals 44-29.
Second, UofL relies too much on perimeter shooting. The Cardinals do get the ball inside to Olivia Cochran and Elizabeth Dixon but not nearly often enough for a team that hopes to compete for a national championship. The Cardinals (20-1, 13-1) have good 3-point shooters in Evans, Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith. But the NC State loss is what happens when a couple of them have an off night.
The Cardinals were essentially trading baskets Thursday with a struggling Pittsburgh team before Evans got started near the end of the first half. She would score 29 points again in the 82-58 road win. Another UofL win but Pitt’s 21 offensive rebounds are a cautionary statistic. Fortunately the Panthers were not making many putbacks.
Pitt had no answers for Mykasa Robinson who was filling the stat sheet. She had six points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. The Cardinals would score 21 points off of 20 turnovers.
Just two regular season scheduled games remain. Sunday at Florida State and the following Sunday, Feb. 28 at Notre Dame. Both will be difficult, especially if the Cardinals don’t find some more consistent answers inside.
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Random Thoughts: I can’t figure how Louisville for the most part had its way with North Carolina at home and then NC State losses at Carolina, on Feb. 7. I know it’s a rivalry and it was on the road. NC State was obviously playing on a different level against the Cards, playing for the upset, letting it all hang out.
The ACC Tournament will have a lot of good teams. The Cards, Wolfpack, Seminoles and Tar Heels. Georgia Tech and Wake Forest are dangerous if they are playing well and can stay Covid free.
I watched Connecticut and South Carolina slug it out a few weeks ago. UConn won in overtime. UConn is huge and South Carolina is very quick. It was a llw scoring defensive struggle. I look at those two teams and have to wonder if the Cards can match up.