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It was a season of learning and growing.
Louisville women’s basketball had more freshmen this year than the program has had in more than a decade. Having four top-25 nonconference opponents, playing one overseas in the season opener, as a preview to a loaded ACC schedule was a trial-by-fire moment for the eight newcomers and was costly. The loaded schedule played a part in the Cardinals getting a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their lowest since 2012.
Louisville fell short of making the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five seasons after falling to second-seeded TCU in the Round of 32 on Sunday. But the Cardinals still managed to turn a 6-5 start into the program’s 15th straight 20-win season and 17th overall in Jeff Walz’s 18 years at the helm.
Freshman guard Taj Roberts played a vital role in the process and was the team’s leading scorer at the beginning of the season. Her adjustment to the college level came quicker than her peers. She earned five ACC Rookie of the Week honors and a spot on the conference’s second team.
Izela Arenas and Mackenly Randolph, who started the first nine games of the season, showed improvement during the postseason. Both saw increased minutes during the final stretch of the regular season and performed well in the ACC Tournament. Randolph recorded career highs of 34 minutes and 13 points during the conference tournament quarterfinals. A week after totaling a career-high 14 points against Clemson during the regular season, Arenas had a career-high 35 minutes against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament second-round victory.
But one of the biggest developments that was key for Louisville’s success down the stretch was the emergence of Jayda Curry. The senior guard has always had the green light from Walz to shoot the ball but didn’t always take it. During the Virginia game, Walz gave her an ultimatum: shoot or get benched for the rest of the season.
“She played herself into first-team all-league in a league that's pretty darn tough to become a first-team player, and she's doing it efficiently,” Walz said. “It's not like she's scoring 15 or 16 a night, taking 28 shots. She's shooting a very high percentage for us. She's passing the ball well. She's gotten better at the defensive end as well. So, I'm just excited for her because I really believe she knows that she has more in her. As she continues on with her career, she sees that OK, she can take her game to the next level.”
Curry went from averaging 11.2 points and 9.5 shots per game before playing the Cavaliers to 16.6 points and 12.4 shots per game after that. That included a season-high 24-point performance that helped Louisville pull off a 70-62 road win over Duke, ranked 11th nationally at the time, on Feb. 20.
"Last year – I talked about a lot – was a big transition period for me, and I went through the ups and downs of that,” Curry said. “This year, still has its ups and downs, but I think I grew more as a leader, as a senior, and things of that nature, skill-wise, always trying to get better in that department. But I think mentally, for me, was the biggest area of growth, and something that I felt like I worked on from last year that has shown that it's improved a lot this year.”
Curry missed the ACC Tournament with an injury but was ready to go for the NCAA Tournament, where she recorded her first victory. The guard totaled 13 points, which included six points in the final three minutes, to lift the Cardinals to a 63-58 first-round win over Nebraska.
But Louisville’s tournament ended in the first weekend after the team fell to TCU in the second round, 85-70.
This story will be updated. Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Jeff Walz set up Cards for sustained success
Continue reading...
Louisville women’s basketball had more freshmen this year than the program has had in more than a decade. Having four top-25 nonconference opponents, playing one overseas in the season opener, as a preview to a loaded ACC schedule was a trial-by-fire moment for the eight newcomers and was costly. The loaded schedule played a part in the Cardinals getting a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their lowest since 2012.
Louisville fell short of making the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five seasons after falling to second-seeded TCU in the Round of 32 on Sunday. But the Cardinals still managed to turn a 6-5 start into the program’s 15th straight 20-win season and 17th overall in Jeff Walz’s 18 years at the helm.
Freshman guard Taj Roberts played a vital role in the process and was the team’s leading scorer at the beginning of the season. Her adjustment to the college level came quicker than her peers. She earned five ACC Rookie of the Week honors and a spot on the conference’s second team.
Izela Arenas and Mackenly Randolph, who started the first nine games of the season, showed improvement during the postseason. Both saw increased minutes during the final stretch of the regular season and performed well in the ACC Tournament. Randolph recorded career highs of 34 minutes and 13 points during the conference tournament quarterfinals. A week after totaling a career-high 14 points against Clemson during the regular season, Arenas had a career-high 35 minutes against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament second-round victory.
But one of the biggest developments that was key for Louisville’s success down the stretch was the emergence of Jayda Curry. The senior guard has always had the green light from Walz to shoot the ball but didn’t always take it. During the Virginia game, Walz gave her an ultimatum: shoot or get benched for the rest of the season.
“She played herself into first-team all-league in a league that's pretty darn tough to become a first-team player, and she's doing it efficiently,” Walz said. “It's not like she's scoring 15 or 16 a night, taking 28 shots. She's shooting a very high percentage for us. She's passing the ball well. She's gotten better at the defensive end as well. So, I'm just excited for her because I really believe she knows that she has more in her. As she continues on with her career, she sees that OK, she can take her game to the next level.”
Curry went from averaging 11.2 points and 9.5 shots per game before playing the Cavaliers to 16.6 points and 12.4 shots per game after that. That included a season-high 24-point performance that helped Louisville pull off a 70-62 road win over Duke, ranked 11th nationally at the time, on Feb. 20.
"Last year – I talked about a lot – was a big transition period for me, and I went through the ups and downs of that,” Curry said. “This year, still has its ups and downs, but I think I grew more as a leader, as a senior, and things of that nature, skill-wise, always trying to get better in that department. But I think mentally, for me, was the biggest area of growth, and something that I felt like I worked on from last year that has shown that it's improved a lot this year.”
Curry missed the ACC Tournament with an injury but was ready to go for the NCAA Tournament, where she recorded her first victory. The guard totaled 13 points, which included six points in the final three minutes, to lift the Cardinals to a 63-58 first-round win over Nebraska.
But Louisville’s tournament ended in the first weekend after the team fell to TCU in the second round, 85-70.
This story will be updated. Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Jeff Walz set up Cards for sustained success
Continue reading...
