UofL women's basketball ready to take next step

By: Raashaan Myers

     The University of Louisville women's team got off to a rocky start to begin their much anticipated 2015-16 season welcoming in the nation’s #1 recruiting class as well as returning a couple of budding stars in former McDonald's All Americans in Mariya Moore and Myeshia Hines-Allen. And while this edition of the Cardinals are blessed with a tremendous amount of talent as well as a superstar talented UCF transfer Briahanna Jackson we also need to consider that they are extremely young that the learning curve has been significant.

     Entering the national polls as the #8 team in the country much was expected from this team early on and maybe unfairly so considering the amount of youth coming in as well as a difficult offseason surgery for #1 rated player Asia Durr who has had an extremely slow healing process. But while the Cardinals have gotten off to a tough 3-5 start playing against an extremely loaded early schedule they are showing a ton of improvement since game 1 playing against some of the nation's best teams including a tough loss in Rupp Arena to undefeated #8 Kentucky.

     And with all the adversity they have faced the Cards have begun to turn a corner as a team. Just 2 weeks ago head coach Jeff Walz was talking about the possibility of Durr redshirting due to her slow healing process then she made a surprise appearance on the road in East Lansing against #19 Michigan State scoring 20 points off the bench. This was just a preview of the immense talent Durr brings to the table and her impact is unquestionable. Of all the things that UofL can improve on Durr is the most important because of her tremendous skill level. While coming off injury Durr has seemingly picked her spots out on the court only attacking sporadically. Well the Cards need to have the ball in her hands as much as possible and she needs to stay in attack mode. She has the ability to not only make plays for herself but her quickness and ball handling can put pressure on the defense to get shots for others. As she continues to get closer 100% the whole team will reap the benefits.

     This UofL team has 4 bonafide stars in Moore, Jackson, Durr, and Hines-Allen and as they get more time on the court together and learn how to play off one another the offensive continuity and chemistry will improve as well. Each has the ability to make plays for themselves and others and can really amplify each other’s abilities. To supplement that group will need an aggressive Cortney Walton on the offensive end to replace the low block scoring that has been sorely missed from Shawnta Dyer. Walton has the low post skills as well as the midrange shot to become an extremely effective scorer with continued confidence and aggressive mindset. Freshman Sam Feuring has also shown some flashes of offensive acumen and a fearless aggressive mentality on the court as well that could lead her to a very good 2nd half of the season.

     The other area of improvement that has shown signs is on the defensive end of the court. To start off the season UofL was allowing opponents to shoot over 45% from the field which is a formula for disaster if you want to be one of the best teams in the country. Well the team has really begun to dig in on the defensive end of the floor utilizing their superior quickness and speed on defensive to wreak havoc. With two lightening quick guards in Arica Carter and Taja Cole I would love to see that tandem become the women's version of the kamikaze kids on defense as Peyton Siva and Russ Smith did for the men's team. They have the ability to become two of the best on ball defenders in the ACC.      

     Despite their 3-5 record I am really beginning to see this young Cardinal team turn a corner and if they continue on their current rate of improvement we will start to see the team that people were expecting come February. But this will take continued focus and development from everyone on the roster as well as attention to detail. But like the men's team watching this young team grow and improve while frustrating at times will be fun to see.

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