As we roll into the quarterfinals of the ACC WBB Tournament in Greensboro, we get to see the top four seeds in action today. The #1 seed, our Louisville Cardinals, will start the action off today at noon with a game vs, #9 seed Wake Forest.
Wake Forest defeated North Carolina yesterday and looked pretty good in doing it
Wake Forest 82 vs UNC 71 -- The Deacs' starters put together a solid 40 minutes of play, accounting for all but three of the team's total 82 points. WFU's Gina Conti freshman guard Jewel Spear went 10-15 on the day, 7-10 from 3-pt land and had four of the team's five triples in the first quarter. Ivana Raca went 6-12 for 21 pts, 12 rebounds and went 8-8 at the FT line. Gina Conti was 4-5 for 13 pts, 12 assists and 3 steals. The Tarheels were able to come back from down 15 to get a 2 point lead with 5 min left in the 3Q but their lead lasted all of 3:15 minutes before Wake took the lead back and didn't let go.
We all remember the nail-biter these two had earlier this year. It took Dana Evans heroics to pull out a 65-63 in in Winston-Salem.
The Cards won the first and fourth quarter and beat the Deacs in the final eight seconds of the game. Both teams shot 39% from the field, WFU was 1-11 from 3-pt land in Winston-Salem. Dana Evans hit the go ahead shot on a drive to the basket and a Gina Conte foul put Dana at the line and into the Player of the Year conversation. Dana's steal form Georgia Amoore will live in my memory for a long time.
The Cards were outrebounded 43-32 with WFU senior forward Ivana Raca leading the battle of the boards with 13, Olivia Cochran led Louisville with 11. Evans scored 25 points for Louisville who trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push back in front for good.
Today? The way I see it, the CARDS MUST do these five things to advance to Saturday
1) Rebound, rebound, rebound. Keeping Raca, Scruggs, Morra and the others off the boards is a must. Cochran had a huge rebounding night against them earlier this season, I'd like to see her have another and Liz, Kasa, Hailey and "E" join her.
2) Let Threedom Ring . We've seen how three-point shooters in the tournament so far have had big success connecting from outside. Let's hope that luck passes on to the Cards today. The Cards have a multitude of long range specialists. If the Deacs go to that 2-3 zone, Louisville needs to bury it from beyond.
3) Close the bakery. Conti, Amoore, Raca and Scruggs are all adept at creating opponent's turnovers. Let's hope the Cards aren't a victim of that today and the only turnovers out there are coming when Wake has the ball. Hailey can't have five or six today, Kasa's passes need to be to the right person.
4) Jump out to an early, big lead. The longer the Deacs hang around today, the most encouragement they'll gain. Hopefully, the Cards can build up a sizeable lead and hold it. Your legs feel a lot more tired when you're down by 15 instead of two.
5) Dana. I'll leave it right there. The Cards go as Dana goes. I hope she reaches 25 or more points today. Wouldn't it be nice to see Louisville up by about 20 in the fourth quarter and Dana enjoying the game from the bench?
It should be a fun one, hopefully not a nail-biter and it starts at noon. In other games, FSU and Syracuse tangle at 2:30, NCST plays Va Tech at 6 p.m. and Georgia Tech and Clemson do battle at 8:30.
--sonja--
Wake Forest defeated North Carolina yesterday and looked pretty good in doing it
Wake Forest 82 vs UNC 71 -- The Deacs' starters put together a solid 40 minutes of play, accounting for all but three of the team's total 82 points. WFU's Gina Conti freshman guard Jewel Spear went 10-15 on the day, 7-10 from 3-pt land and had four of the team's five triples in the first quarter. Ivana Raca went 6-12 for 21 pts, 12 rebounds and went 8-8 at the FT line. Gina Conti was 4-5 for 13 pts, 12 assists and 3 steals. The Tarheels were able to come back from down 15 to get a 2 point lead with 5 min left in the 3Q but their lead lasted all of 3:15 minutes before Wake took the lead back and didn't let go.
We all remember the nail-biter these two had earlier this year. It took Dana Evans heroics to pull out a 65-63 in in Winston-Salem.
The Cards won the first and fourth quarter and beat the Deacs in the final eight seconds of the game. Both teams shot 39% from the field, WFU was 1-11 from 3-pt land in Winston-Salem. Dana Evans hit the go ahead shot on a drive to the basket and a Gina Conte foul put Dana at the line and into the Player of the Year conversation. Dana's steal form Georgia Amoore will live in my memory for a long time.
The Cards were outrebounded 43-32 with WFU senior forward Ivana Raca leading the battle of the boards with 13, Olivia Cochran led Louisville with 11. Evans scored 25 points for Louisville who trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push back in front for good.
Today? The way I see it, the CARDS MUST do these five things to advance to Saturday
1) Rebound, rebound, rebound. Keeping Raca, Scruggs, Morra and the others off the boards is a must. Cochran had a huge rebounding night against them earlier this season, I'd like to see her have another and Liz, Kasa, Hailey and "E" join her.
2) Let Threedom Ring . We've seen how three-point shooters in the tournament so far have had big success connecting from outside. Let's hope that luck passes on to the Cards today. The Cards have a multitude of long range specialists. If the Deacs go to that 2-3 zone, Louisville needs to bury it from beyond.
3) Close the bakery. Conti, Amoore, Raca and Scruggs are all adept at creating opponent's turnovers. Let's hope the Cards aren't a victim of that today and the only turnovers out there are coming when Wake has the ball. Hailey can't have five or six today, Kasa's passes need to be to the right person.
4) Jump out to an early, big lead. The longer the Deacs hang around today, the most encouragement they'll gain. Hopefully, the Cards can build up a sizeable lead and hold it. Your legs feel a lot more tired when you're down by 15 instead of two.
5) Dana. I'll leave it right there. The Cards go as Dana goes. I hope she reaches 25 or more points today. Wouldn't it be nice to see Louisville up by about 20 in the fourth quarter and Dana enjoying the game from the bench?
It should be a fun one, hopefully not a nail-biter and it starts at noon. In other games, FSU and Syracuse tangle at 2:30, NCST plays Va Tech at 6 p.m. and Georgia Tech and Clemson do battle at 8:30.
--sonja--
