Game 36: Louisville (Elite 8)

For the second straight year and third time in four years we are among the final 8 teams in the women's college basketball world. Like last year, the fate of the ACC rest in our hands. Brenda is 1-1 in these situations and today's game could be the most important game of her coaching career. Across the way from her stands former assistant Jeff Walz or as I call him Benedict Arnold. If you look at these two pictures you probably can't tell the difference:


Like Benedict Arnold, Walz is known as a great general but was disappointed that instead of being named associate head coach he wasn't named King of Assistant Coaches or Co-Head Coach and thus spent the 2006-07 season looking for work rather than helping this team win another title. And again like BA, he found solace in a team that wears red.

Louisville or the British enter today's game with a record of 32-4 with two of their losses coming to UConn, one to Nevada and one to West Virginia featuring a great Patriot Joanna Bernabei (she left the team to take care of kids). Louisville is know for defense and their relentless pressure. It will essentially be a game of shadow. Here's Kristi, here's a Card. Here's Marissa, Here's a Card. They use their defense to create their offense. One of his favorite calls is Mad Dog in which two-three players swarm the ball handler, hoping to create panic and turnovers.

Arnold is a great motivator as his rag tag bunch has really two players and the team feels that they will never lose. He also knows every nook and cranny about our players. How they react, their moves, etc. It makes them even tougher to scout.

PPG/OPP: 71.5/56.9
FG%/OPP: .433/.368
3FG%/OPP: .332/.265
FT%/OPP: .728/.649
RPG/OPP: 40.7/34.0
APG/OPP: 12.8/11.1
TOS/OPP: 18.1/21.7
STEALS/OPP: 11.0/7.6
BLOCKS/OPP: 3.2/2.9

The Starters
- #35 Angel McCoughtry. Hands down one of the top 5 players in the country and battling Marissa for possible #1 pick in the draft. She can do it all. Leads the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Has made nearly more shots than the next person on the team has taken. Shoots .315 from behind the arc. When she gets hot look out. Can be a head case if things aren't going her way. Heady player who will fly across the lane to get a steal or a block. Must limit her touches and attack her on defense to get her in foul trouble. If you ever wanted to see what it would look like to against a more defensive-minded Marissa, this is your chance.
- #13 Candyce Bingham. 6'1 senior forward. Great complement to Angel. Second on the team in nearly every stat. Has taken only 24 threes all year and made nine of them. Can't leave her open as she will shoot it from there. Loves to bang on the boards and look for position. Must box her out.
- #50 Desiree Byrd. 5'9 sophomore guard. converted shooting guard now playing the point. Taken only 49 threes all year and sometimes has to be begged to shoot the ball because she will be so wide open. Not a big factor on the glass. She must be hounded to throw the system out of whack.
- #15 Tiera Stephen. 5'7 freshman guard. In there as a defensive stopper as she doesn't do much on offense. Averaging only 1.0 point per game and 0.8 rebounds per game. Has taken only 4 threes all year.
- #4 Gwen Rucker. converted volleyball player as a 6'1 freshman forward. Mainly in there to help rebound and block shots. only 68 shots all year, including four from behind the arc (made 2) and shooting .324.

The Bench
- #45 Keisha Hines. 6'2 sophomore forward. The team's main post presence when she is in there. Shoots 54.6 percent from the floor but doesn't shoot 3s. Rebounds at a 4.7 clip. Will get into foul trouble so she must be attacked.
- #33 Monique Reid. 6'1 freshman forward. Started early on the in season but now comes off the bench. Averages 5.9 points per game and grabs 3.9 rebounds. will shoot the 3 if left open, but more likely to attack around the rim.
- #11 Becky Burke. 5'11 freshman guard. The team's main shooting threat off the bench. 103 of her 137 shots have come from behind the arc and shes made 31.1% of them. Can be a streaky shooter and is a head case. Make sure she misses the first couple and she gets gun shy. Not a big help on the glass.
- #14 Janae Howard. 6'1 freshman forward. Plays about 8 minutes a game and will shoot the 3. Not a big help on the glass.
- #23 Mary Jackson. 5'10 freshman guard. Not a deep shooting threat and more likely to take oyu off the dribble than anything else. Has attempted nearly as many free throws as she has shots.
- #24 Laura Terry. 6'1 sophomore forward. Still not recovered from midseason knee injury but can shoot from deep if healthy.

Keys to the Game
- Take care of the ball. The pressure will probably come during warm ups and we need to be smart about passing the ball shorter rather than cross court.
- Attack the trap. Stay away from corners and sidelines and when the trap comes, go through it rather than stand there and accept it.
- Rebound the ball. Louisville will have almost everyone crash the glass and we need to keep them from getting rebounds and put backs as that will allow the Cards to set up their traps.
- Get the ball and go. The quicker we get down the court, the less time they can set up their defense.
- Take care of the ball.
- Someone else must step up. Marissa and KT cannot be counted on to score 50+ every game.
- Shut down either Bingham or Angel. We haven't been successful in shooting down team's dynamic duos, but hopefully today we can at least shut down one of them.
- Play cool and collected. We seemed nervous at the start of the game on Saturday. Just go out and have fun.
- Don't overthink. This one is for the coaching staff. Don't try to think what Walz is thinking. Just let the kids play. It's not about you.
- Eat Kids

In closing, this will be one of the hardest games from me to watch. While I give Walz a hard time for leaving, I know he made the right choice. Plus I learned a few years ago that the staff followed this page from time to time and hence why there are always jabs at him. If I didn't like the guy, I wouldn't have an RSS feed for Louisville on the right. I want Maryland to win with all my heart, but if they lose at least I know I have a team to root for in the Final Four.

Then again the U.S. did beat the British after Arnold switched sides.

Go Terps Continue the March to the Arch.