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Cards vs. Stanford preview

Sonja

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Jun 20, 2001
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Louisville women's basketball faces Stanford tonight, looking for the opportunity to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The 9:00 p.m. game will be on ESPN and Cards Radio 790 WKRD-AM.

Stanford is the #1 seed in the Alamo Region, the Cards are the #2.

So, what about The Cardinal ?

Stanford extended its current winning streak to 17 games, leading by as much as 38 in the fourth quarter on the way to an 89-62 win over Missouri State in the Sweet 16. They began the NCAA Tournament against Utah Valley and won easily 87-44.

With the latest win, the Cardinals are now 28-2 and improved to 9-1 in neutral site games. Stanford's last loss dates back over two months to Jan.22, 2021, where Stanford fell 70-66 at then No.6 UCLA.

At the helm is 2021 Pac 12 Coach of the Year Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in women's basketball history with 1,122 career wins over 42 seasons. The Cardinals are averaging 78.9 points per game, while holding opponents to a 53.1 mark.

Stanford limits opponents to a 32.6 field goal percentage, trailing only Baylor in the national rankings. Stanford ranks top-five in the country in rebounds, blocked shots and field-goal percentage defense. Four Cardinal boast double digits scoring averages, led by 14.5 points from Kiana Williams.

Williams' 307 career three-point field goals are a program record, while she also ranks in top-ten with 1,807 career points. Haley Jones leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game, while Cameron Brink ranks in the top 10 and top 20 in the country with a .581 percentage from the field and 2.6 blocks per game, respectively.

The Cards are a double-digit underdog in this one, according to Vegas. What must Louisville do to win? I'll outline four things.

1) Play the defense that they did against Oregon. The Cards took the Ducks out of their rhythm and shut down the scoring, holding Oregon to 30+ points under their seasonal average.

2) Get a good game from Dana. It would be most beneficial to Louisville to have Dana go off for over 20 against the Trees. They'll make that difficult, off course, but Evans is so fast, and so creative -- that'll be a tough task for Williams and the other Stanford guards.

3) Get others involved. Jeff Walz said it and I agree, Louisville will need everyone's best effort tonight against a very talented Stanford squad. Kasa will need to be a defensive factor, Kianna's shooting needs to be spot on, Van Lith must be a factor from mid-range and further and Cochran and Dixon must crash the boards and play defense. Whoever comes off the bench must be a postitive contributor.

4) Eliminate the slow first quarter. Let's face it, if the Cards fall behind by 15-18 early on to Stanford, this one's over. Being patient in the half-court sets, passing, not dribbling and following the scouting report.

This isn't David vs. Goliath, but, it'll be Louisville's toughest test of the tournament. The Cards have faced better, I still think NC State is the best team Louisville will have played this year, and the Cards aren't facing a dominating center like Cunane, or a 6'7" one like Cardoso or Prince. The guards will need to continue their excellent job of going to the boards and blocking out.

Impossible? No. Difficult, maybe so. I DO think the Cardinals can conquer the Cardinal -- we'll find out tonight.

--SONJA--
 
Thank you Sonja for always providing an insight. Sometimes I am not in the know and your posts help with that.
 
Very excellent analysis Sonja; your point about Oregon scoring 30 less point than its average is most insightful. Defending the 4 Cardinal guards is critical, and we have the skill set to do that.
 
I feel this will be the toughest game we will play. If we beat them, I really like our chances to get the crown.
 
Stanford is soft. I was be surprised if they were to beat us. We have the speed and physicality that should be significant advantages.
 
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I would agree with you on Stanford being soft but unlike all the other tournament games they are calling touch fouls in this game.
 
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