Let’s not call Florida State’s 68-63 win over the University of Louisville women’s basketball team an upset shall we.
Not when both teams had won 17 games going into the contest with three losses between them and the game is on the Seminoles’ home court. The upset word is used all too frequently and wouldn’t accurately describe what happened.
It would be correct to describe UofL Coach Jeff Walz as being a little more than upset after Florida State jumped out to a 21-1 lead, forcing him to use three timeouts in the first half to get his team back in the game. The Cardinals would miss their first six shots and turn the ball over six times during the first eight minutes.
Sara Hammond also would be knocked to the court in the first minute, laying motionless for almost a minute, missing the next 16 minutes. Responding to a desperate situation, turning up the defensive heat, the Cardinals were able to claw their way back into the game and cut the deficit to three points at the half.
Walz was steamed after the game, indicating that some UofL players have been too full of themselves lately, what with the lofty No. 4 national ranking and the 17-1 won-lost record. “Going through the motions in practice … not putting forth the effort necessary to get better,” he said.
He had warned last week that a less-than-stellar effort in practice was going to catch up with his team. Too many times, it seems, it takes a loss or two to force teams to get focused. Florida State was more than happy to oblige.
Hammond would score 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half, and UofL would own a 60-54 lead with six minutes remaining. However, the Cardinals couldn’t buy a basket the rest of the way.