By John Evanko

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team has lived up to every bit of its preseason hype so far this year. The Lady Cardinals are 17-1 and have won 12 straight games, with a 4-0 start in the Big East, since the victory over South Florida.
In Big East play, Louisville first beat DePaul and Seton Hall by a combined total of 47 points before taking on No. 17 Rutgers. The Cardinals defeated Rutgers, 64-59, in front of the third largest crowd in Louisville women’s basketball history.
“The crowd was outstanding,” Jeff Walz, U of L women’s basketball coach, said. “These young ladies give it everything they have every day, and it’s nice for them to be able to go out and play in front of 15,000 [fans].”
The win propelled the Cardinals to a No. 7 ranking, the highest in the program’s history.
Forward Angel McCoughtry led all scorers with 31 points and eight rebounds. The senior leads the team in rebounding and scoring, with 8.7 rebounds and 21.2 points per game, which is second in the Big East.
Senior forward Candyce Bingham is second on the team in those categories, with 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
“This is what we dream of,” McCoughtry said after the game. “Last year we started 0-3 in the Big East and I think we’ve come a long way. I think this is our time.”
As opposed to the mass excitement after the Cardinals defeated Rutgers at home two years ago, the team seemed calm, collected and ready to move on to the next big game.
“We have a higher standard now. We are trying to get our program to the next level, where year in and year out they’re talking about us,” McCoughtry said of the team’s attitude after the Rutgers game. “In order for us to do that we are going to have to win games like we did tonight. This game could have gone either way and I was really pleased with the way we pulled this one out.”
The Cardinals look to stay hot tonight against Cincinnati before taking on No. 1 Connecticut next Monday.
The Cardinals will need to continue to see contribution from young players in order to maintain this level of success. Freshman Monique Reid and Gwen Rucker, along with sophomores Keshia Hines and Desiree’ Bird have combined for an average of 27.5 points per game so far this season.
Because the Cardinals are such a young team, many players have to step into big roles, whether ready or not.
“A month ago, I probably would have been hyperventilating,” Rucker said, only half-jokingly after the Rutgers game. “I think as practice went on, I got more prepared for a big game like tonight was. Also, to know that my teammates had my back helped me feel more confident.”
Rucker, along with the five other freshmen that are part of the No. 12 best recruiting class in the nation, will have to continue to play big minutes for the Cardinals, while seniors Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham look to lead the team into the heart of conference play and prepare them for a run deep into March.