Louisville women’s basketball notches 60-42 win over Oregon to advance to 6th Elite 8 in 14 years.
For the fourth straight game, the Louisville women’s basketball team has bested the Oregon Ducks. Given how the Cardinals have been playing, this game didn’t stack up well on paper. The first quarter was a good feeling out period where both teams tried to instill their game plans. It was a low-scoring first quarter as it ended 10-8 with the Cards leading the whole way except a 2-2 tie. Louisville came out hot and started the second quarter on a 15-2 run to extend their lead to 15 points. Louisville kept the good defense going and finished the first half up 29-14.
The second half started out the same way the first half ended, with Louisville taking their biggest lead of the game at 18. Oregon then went on an 11-2 run to cut the Cardinal lead to 9. The two teams would then trade baskets for the rest of the quarter, and Louisville would take a 43-33 lead into the final quarter. Oregon came out and scored the first 4 points in the final quarter, then Louisville would score the next to extend their lead to 19 points at 56-37. Louisville would go on to win the game 60-42 and advance to the Elite Eight to face the No. 1 overall seed Stanford Cardinal.
Here are a couple of takeaways from the Sweet Sixteen win over Oregon
Dana Evans showed up when it mattered most
Dana Evans has had three very out-of-character games in a row. Evans scored 15 points in the ACC Championship on just 7-21 from the field, and 1-6 from three. Evans would follow that up with 15 points in the first round on 6-16 from the field, and 1-8 from three. In the second round, Evans scored 14 points on 5-17 from the field and 2-13 from three. All this from a player that averaged over 20 points per game, over 40% from the field, and over 35% from three-point range during the season.
The Sweet Sixteen however brought the best out of Evans. The senior scored a game-high 29 points on 11-21 from the field and 3-8 from three. I think before Sunday’s game the pressure of the senior season had finally caught up to her. I believe Evans has been pushing and trying too hard out on the court. Evans hasn’t been letting the game come to her like she normally does. The Sweet Sixteen saw her let the game come to her and saw the results of that.
Louisville installed the perfect gameplan to stifle the Ducks
Oregon during the season has been a slow paced half court offense. The Ducks aren’t a particularly deep team so the slow pace really helps them to keep their main players on the floor, and not get tired. It also helps them to set up their defense, and outscore their opponents by 11 points on the season. Jeff Walz and the Louisville Cardinals wasn’t having any of this, and they made Oregon play their game.
Louisville came straight out of the gate and knew they wanted to run, and so that’s what they did. Louisville knew they had deeper talent on their team than Oregon did, so they knew they could run Oregon out of the gym. Coach Walz had to know that they needed to run because they couldn’t let Oregon get up on them the way Marist and Northwestern had at the beginning of the game. Oregon was really put off by this, and they got tired quickly. As Oregon got tired in the second half, Louisville piled it on and put them away. Louisville is going to have to do this same thing in the Elite Eight to be able to outlast Stanford.
The number one overall seed lays in wait in the Elite Eight
Tuesday night Louisville women’s basketball will face its biggest test of the season. That test will be the number one Stanford Cardinal, and head coach Tara VanDerveer.
The Cardinal scores 78.9 points per game and only allows 53 points on the season. Stanford shoots 46% from the field, and 38% from three. Its defense only allows the opponent to shoot 32% from the field and 26% from three. Stanford brings four players that average in double figures on the season.
The Cardinal has three players that shoot over 40% from three-point range, and six more that shoot over 30% from three-point range. Stanford is going to be a tough matchup for Louisville, but the Cardinals have the depth to take care of business.
The key to the game is going to, once again, be for Louisville women’s basketball to get out to a solid start. Louisville dominated Oregon from start to finish, allowing the Cards to dictate the pace of play. Jeff Walz’s squad will look to do the same on Tuesday with yet another Final Four on the line.
You will be able to catch Louisville and Stanford matchup in the Elite Eight Tuesday on ESPN at 9:00 pm.
