By Donnie Niehaus
The University of Louisville women’s basketball team pulled out a 3-point victory over Cincinnati Friday night, but head coach Tom Collen said the team isn’t resting.
“We need to go back to work and have to focus on the next opponent,” he said following the 61-58 victory. Collen said he expected to have his team practice on Sunday.
With a 20-7 record and impressive games on national television, the Cardinals are slowly putting together a winning formula.
Despite their recent winning ways, the C-USA tournament and the NCAA tournament have not been too kind. The Cards haven’t won a C-USA championship, although they were C-USA season champs in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Louisville hasn’t seen action in the NCAA tournament since 2001.
However, this year they enter their final C-USA tournament with legitimate chances of getting Collen his first championship ring. With a solid core led by sophomore Jazz Covington, Collen has constructed a team that is currently second in the conference.
The tournament begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., and the basketball action will be intense. With six teams with 18 or more wins in the tourney, any team has the ability to beat anyone on any particular day.
The frontrunner for the tournament appears to be the DePaul Blue Demons. With only one conference loss and two heartbreaking defeats to national powerhouses Purdue and Tennessee, the Demons have proven their worth this season. Finishing 24-3 and earning the conference champions award, every team sees DePaul as their toughest opponent.
The Cards finished second in conference standings. With impressive victories over TCU, Houston and Charlotte, the Cards have proven they can compete with anyone in the conference. Covington is the Cards’ biggest asset, and one of the conference’s premier players, with a superior ability to score and rebound. If she can stay out of foul trouble, and Missy Taylor and Angel Bradley play to their potential, this is a team that can cause some serious trouble during the tournament.
TCU enters Friday’s tournament determined to bring home the championship title. Led by Sandora Irvin’s 20 points a game, the Horned Frogs have had an up-and-down season. After impressive victories over UCLA and Michigan State, the Frogs suffered defeats from USC and Tennessee. Despite their streaky season, TCU has great firepower in Ashley Davis and Natasha Lacy. If these two get hot, dreams of a championship are not too far away.
Rounding out the contenders for the title are the Houston Cougars. But last year’s tournament champions still have lots to prove. The two-headed Sancho Lyttle and Daphne Andre monster will determine how well this team fares in the tournament. Both of these players have the ability to score from anywhere on the court. Despite a fourth-place finish in conference standings, Houston had impressive wins over Purdue and Northwestern. With this team’s tournament history and potential firepower, they are definite title contenders.
While all teams prepare for the final C-USA tournament as we know it, teams need to remember that it’s March, so anything can happen. Don’t be surprised if Cincinnati, who finished 10th in the conference, winds up with the championship title. Upsets are bound to occur.
