LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – It has been a season of lessons learned and challenges faced for the Louisville women’s basketball team, but after an injury-shortened ACC Tournament run, they’re healthy and eager to get started in the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville (21-10) earned a No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed Nebraska (21-11) on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. Game times will be announced on Monday. The winner will face either No. 2 seed (and No. 6 ranked) TCU, and former guard Hailey Van Lith, or No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickenson.
The Cardinals bowed out of the ACC Tournament with a loss to eventual winner Duke, but played the game without leading scorer Jayda Curry or top reserve Merissah Russell. Walz said at a watch party at Hurstbourne Country Club Sunday night that both players will be ready to go in Texas.
When their destination was announced, Louisville’s players leaped out of their chairs and cheered and danced. For seven freshmen, it’s the first NCAA Tournament trip. For Walz and his veterans, it wasn’t the kind of dominant year some have experienced in the past, but Walz said the ending was derailed by injuries at the end.
“I truly believe if we had had both of them healthy for the ACC tournament, there’s a really good chance that our outcome and that Duke game would have been a different outcome,” Walz said. “You know, we had won four or five against Duke. We’d played extremely well against them. If we’d had everybody healthy for that game, I really think the outcome would have been different.”
Walz said he and his returning players have used a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament last season as motivation. Louisville would’ve faced Van Lith at LSU in last season’s tournament, if not for a first-round loss to Middle Tennessee.
“We’ve built something here at Louisville that has never been here before,” Walz said. “You know, to lose in the first round last year like we did, had never been done (under Walz). And I explained to them, some firsts aren’t good, and it was a first, and we’ve got to make sure that does not happen again. Our kids are prepared. We’ve had a great week of practice since the ACC tournament. You know, it’s spring break. A lot of coaches sent kids home on spring break. We took two days off and we’re back at it, and our kids wanted to be back at it. So now we’ve got an opportunity. We know who we’re playing. We’ll take tomorrow off, and then we’ll sit there, Tuesday, Wednesday and prepare for a Nebraska team that I’ve got a ton of respect for.”
Walz was an assistant coach at Nebraska under Paul Sanderford from 1997 to 2001. The Huskers reached the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament before losing to top overall NCAA Tournament seed UCLA 85-74.
It’s one of two common opponents Louisville and Nebraska have from this season. UCLA beat Nebraska 91-54 in their regular season meeting. Louisville lost to UCLA 66-59 in its season opener in Paris. Both teams also played Georgia Tech this season. Louisville beat the Yellowjackets 69-60 in Louisville. Nebraska lost to them 72-61 in Atlanta.
Having been an assistant at Nebraska, Walz said he’s very familiar with its coach, Amy Michelle Williams, who is taking the program to its second straight NCAA Tournament and fourth in her nine seasons there.
“I coached there for four years,” Walz said. “Amy, who is their head coach, was actually a senior our first year there when I coached. So, I know Amy extremely well. She does a great job. She really has worked her way through this profession, and did a great job at South Dakota. And now she’s at Nebraska, where she played. And I understand the passion and the commitment she has. When you’re coaching the place you played, the urgency and the importance it has is top notch. So, I know we’re going to have a unbelievable game the first round.”
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