By Derek DeBurger
Louisville women’s basketball’s biggest test on their schedule is in Raleigh, where they head down Monday to play the No. 5 NC State Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack beat UConn earlier this season; the same UConn team that beat Louisville by 24 in Dec. You don’t like to put too much emphasis on one game, but this game will judge what the outlook for the rest of the season can be.
Beyond just the talent, NC State proves to be a big matchup problem with how Jeff Walz-coached teams play—they’re a very big team. Everything goes inside-out for the Wolfpack, placing a lot of weight on their bigs’ shoulders. River Baldwin grabs 7.1 rebounds a game and gets 1.3 blocks a game, and at 6’5” she alters a lot of shots that don’t get recorded on a stat-sheet. River helps anchor a defense that only allows 59 points a game, gets seven steals, and 4.5 blocks as a team. In being such a big team, the Wolfpack are amazing at attacking the glass gathering 44.6 rebounds a game which is the 15th best in the country.
Offensively, the Wolfpack are led by guards Aziaha Williams and Saniya Rivers, averaging 15.2 points and 2.6 assists and 12.8 points and 4.7 assists, respectively. After Williams and Rivers, the Wolfpack has four other players averaging over nine points a game. The top six scorers combine to average 71.3 of their 77 points a game. The starting unit and the first woman off the bench are extremely in sync, racking up 14.5 assists a game.
It’ll be a difficult assignment, but Louisville will need to try and get NC State to go deeper in their bench than they would like in an attempt to disrupt the rhythm this team has developed.
Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris have had a great year together, and they will most likely have to have their best game of the year to negate the height and aggressiveness from the Wolfpack.
For the first time in a while, I expect a loss for the Cards. In a game they’re not supposed to win, maybe the Cards can steal one on the road.
File Photo // Vinny Porco, The Louisville Cardinal
