By Trevor Joelson

Most people this time of year have been expecting headlines from the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, but recently the women’s team has been stealing the show. The Cards are near perfect, with a 16-1 record. Their only loss of the season was an upset from the Providence Friars, who are still unranked.

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to the growth of sophomore Angel McCoughtry who hails from Baltimore, Md. She attended St. Francis High School where she led her team to 26-3 record and a Catholic League Championship her senior year. From St. Francis McCoughtry went to Patterson Prep school. She helped lead Patterson to a National Association of Christian Athletes National Championship, the first in school history. She averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists per game.

As a freshman at U of L, McCoughtry played in all 29 games, leading the team in rebounds while averaging 9.2 points per game. She was named to the Big East All Freshman team. While many expected McCoughtry’s success to continue, few expected the type of output she has contributed to start off the 2006-2007 season. Through 17 games she is leading the Big East in scoring at 21.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. She has already been named the Big East player of the week three times.

“Angel McCoughtry has gotten to the point where even when I think she plays bad she gets a double-double,” said Louisville women’s basketball head coach Tom Collen.

On Dec. 29, McCoughtry surpassed Jody Martin’s 12-year single game scoring record of 40 points by putting in 41 against Eastern Illinois. She scored 29 of her 41 points in the first half and shot 14 of 26 from the field for the game.

“I don’t look at stats. I just look at the scoreboard,” said McCoughtry. “I don’t keep up with scoring at all.”

Don’t let McCoughtry’s stats fool you; Louisville is by no means a one-woman team. Four other players have helped the Cardinals this season. Senior center Jazz Covington is still on the radar.

“[Covington] has established herself as one of the best players in the history of our program,” said Coach Collen

Covington was a unanimous selection for the preseason All Big East team and was one of 25 girls placed on the 2007 Wade Trophy watch list, honoring a group of the nation’s best female basketball players.

Another senior that is impacting this year’s squad is guard Helen Johnson. Johnson is the Cardinals top outside threat, shooting over 38 percent from beyond the arc. She scored a career high 26 points against Memphis earlier this season.

Yuliya Tokova, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Ukraine, is also doing well. Tokova leads the team in blocks this season. In 17 games she has tallied 34 blocks to go along with her average of 9.1 points per game.

Sophomore center Chauntise Wright has also been averaging 9.3 points per game off the bench, while still shooting just under 60 percent from the field.

All of the Cards’ hard work has paid dividends. As of the new year, they are ranked No. 13 in the nation by the Associated Press poll. This year marks the first time that Cards have cracked the top 25.

“I think it is a good motivator, a good pat on the back for our players and for our staff that we’re doing things right,” said Collen

The fans are also taking notice of the team’s success. The ladies played rival Kentucky in front of a record crowd of 12,342 fans. Fans did not leave disappointed as the Cards topped the Wildcats 83-75 in what Collen called one of the greatest women’s college basketball games in the history of the state of Kentucky.

Next up for the women’s team is two away games against Georgetown University and University of South Florida. If you would like to see the women’s basketball team in action they will be taking on Big East foe Rutgers in a televised game on Jan. 21 at Freedom Hall.

The athletic department makes student tickets and parking available for free.