Jeff Walz is hoping fans of University of Louisville women’s basketball to show up en masse Friday as UofL begins play in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time against a good Georgia Tech team at the KFC Yum! Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
“Louisville fans have wanted to be in a Big Five Power Conference for a long time and we are finally there. The ACC is going to be a challenge,” he said during a Thursday press conference. “Every single night you have to come prepared to play. There are no guaranteed wins. The Big East was a great conference but from top to bottom the ACC is probably tougher.”
The first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a special gift commemorating UofL’s first game in the ACC.
Georgia Tech arrives with 10-4 won-lost record and is led by 6-foot-2 Kaela Davis who is currently averaging 21.2 points per game.
“Davis is an outstanding player. She put up 33 points the other night and has scored 30 or more the last two games. She’s taking 25 or 30 shots a game. She is a big-time player and we’re going to have to do our best to try to contain her. She’s going to score but if she’s going to get 30 points, we’ve got to make her take 35 or 40 shots. It can’t be on 18 shots. If someone scores 30, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if they’ve had to take 35 or 40 shots to get those points.”
Davis is the daughter of Antonio Davis, who formerly played for the Indiana Pacers and was president of the NBA Players Association.
The game will telecast on ESPN3.com, with Gary Vogel and former UofL assistant Sara White calling the action. The Cardinals travel to Pittsburgh Sunday for 2 p.m. game, also available on ESPN3.com