The University of Louisville womens' basketball squad takes to the highway for their first road game in 17 days -- the Wake Forest Demon Deacs host the Cards in Winston-salem for a 2 p.m. tip that'll be shown on the ACC Network.
It's a Demon Deacons squad that is 7-5 on the season and 4-4 in ACC play. The Deacs wins have been over UNC, Miami, Boston College and Va Tech -- losses have come to UNC, NC State, Notre Dame and to Georgia Tech. That 4-4 conference mark has Jen Hoover's squad in seventh place in the conference.
Wake has defended the home court pretty well, with a 3-1 mark in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The last game there for WF, against Ga.Tech, is a bit of a quandary to me -- they were soundly thumped by the Yellow Jackets 73-44, their largest loss by far this season.
Wake averages 68.6 points a contest while giving up 70.3 -- they are one of two teams in the ACC that has a negative in points scored vs. points allowed -- Pittsburgh being the other. For contrast, the Cards are +25.5 in this categoey and that's tops in the ACC.
The Deacs are led by Ivana Raca (pronounced RA-ZA) a senior 6'3" forward from Serbia who averages 16.3 a game, Ivana also grabs 9.8 rebounds a contest, tops for WF, so she's a force that must be reckoned with. Georgia Tech held her to 13 points on 3 for 12 shooting, her third lowest output of the year. Gina Conti leads Wake Forest in assists with 3.5 a game and she's second in scoring for Jen Hoover with 15.1 a game. The Deacs have a third double-figure scorer in Christiana Morra, from Canada, who is good for 10.6 points a game. Morra can be a threat in the low post.
Three pointers aren't exactly Wake's strong point. They only average about five makes a night (12th in the ACC) and are led by guard Jewel Spear, who has hit 22 in 12 games.
It would be a program defining win for Wake if they are able to pull off the upset today but if the Cards reviewed the Ga. Tech game (and you can bet Walz and staff did) they should be able to limit Wake's efficiency, get the transition game into full gear and hopefully have a successful outing on the boards.
For the Cards, it's just a matter of going out and taking care of business on the road against a team that has played NC State and Virginia Tech close. The guard contingent of Van Lith and Evans is arguably the best in the nation (although UConn might argue that) and one would expect the Cards to also pound away at Wake inside with Cochran and Dixon.
It could very well be a game where Walz gets the chance to go deep into the roster and get some significant time for Kasa, Konno, Ahlana Smith, Russell, Parker and maybe even Williams -- something Louisville hasn't been able to do in their last few outings. I'd expect the Cards to end up in the mid-to-high eighties in points and Wake struggle to reach seventy. I'll call it 88-66 Cards.
--sonja--
It's a Demon Deacons squad that is 7-5 on the season and 4-4 in ACC play. The Deacs wins have been over UNC, Miami, Boston College and Va Tech -- losses have come to UNC, NC State, Notre Dame and to Georgia Tech. That 4-4 conference mark has Jen Hoover's squad in seventh place in the conference.
Wake has defended the home court pretty well, with a 3-1 mark in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The last game there for WF, against Ga.Tech, is a bit of a quandary to me -- they were soundly thumped by the Yellow Jackets 73-44, their largest loss by far this season.
Wake averages 68.6 points a contest while giving up 70.3 -- they are one of two teams in the ACC that has a negative in points scored vs. points allowed -- Pittsburgh being the other. For contrast, the Cards are +25.5 in this categoey and that's tops in the ACC.
The Deacs are led by Ivana Raca (pronounced RA-ZA) a senior 6'3" forward from Serbia who averages 16.3 a game, Ivana also grabs 9.8 rebounds a contest, tops for WF, so she's a force that must be reckoned with. Georgia Tech held her to 13 points on 3 for 12 shooting, her third lowest output of the year. Gina Conti leads Wake Forest in assists with 3.5 a game and she's second in scoring for Jen Hoover with 15.1 a game. The Deacs have a third double-figure scorer in Christiana Morra, from Canada, who is good for 10.6 points a game. Morra can be a threat in the low post.
Three pointers aren't exactly Wake's strong point. They only average about five makes a night (12th in the ACC) and are led by guard Jewel Spear, who has hit 22 in 12 games.
It would be a program defining win for Wake if they are able to pull off the upset today but if the Cards reviewed the Ga. Tech game (and you can bet Walz and staff did) they should be able to limit Wake's efficiency, get the transition game into full gear and hopefully have a successful outing on the boards.
For the Cards, it's just a matter of going out and taking care of business on the road against a team that has played NC State and Virginia Tech close. The guard contingent of Van Lith and Evans is arguably the best in the nation (although UConn might argue that) and one would expect the Cards to also pound away at Wake inside with Cochran and Dixon.
It could very well be a game where Walz gets the chance to go deep into the roster and get some significant time for Kasa, Konno, Ahlana Smith, Russell, Parker and maybe even Williams -- something Louisville hasn't been able to do in their last few outings. I'd expect the Cards to end up in the mid-to-high eighties in points and Wake struggle to reach seventy. I'll call it 88-66 Cards.
--sonja--
