Recap: Louisville's Season Ends With Loss to Baylor

Going into this game it would've been impossible to not think about the last time Louisville met Baylor in the Sweet 16 in Oklahoma City.  That was one of the biggest wins in Louisville basketball history.  However, it didn't take long to realize that Shoni Schimmel wasn't walking through that door.  In fact, for awhile not even a Jude Schimmel was showing up.  By the time the Cards were down 30 we probably would've settled for one of their little sisters.

About a week ago Louisville won a game and set assist records.  In this game there was a lot of dribbling and jacking up of three pointers.  Baylor surgically destroyed the Louisville defense.  They scored 21 points off of 12 Louisville turnovers.  After the game Coach Walz said, "They played well.  Unfortunately, we did not.  We did not put up a performance that even resembled anything that I had seen from our ball club the last month."

.@UofLWBB were dejected on the bench as they fall to Baylor 97-63 during #SWEET16 in Oklahoma City. #L1C4https://t.co/tXofFXOLY0 pic.twitter.com/kQ82OY6BoU

— Sam Upshaw Jr. (@CJ_Upshot) March 25, 2017

Asia Durr started off ice cold.  She got her first basket near the end of the 2nd quarter and was 1-11.  After the game she said, "I started off too hyped.  As the game went on, I calmed down.  We started to get a few stops here and there, but we didn't shoot the ball too well."  She finished the game with 21 points.

There's a lot to be optimistic about for the Cards.  They lose two of the team's emotional leaders in Courtnee Walton and Briahanna Jackson, but they return a lot of talent and experience and bring in promising freshmen.  Coach Walz said, "I'm real excited about Kylee Shook and Ciera Johnson, what they're going to turn into.  They're efficient right now."  However, as one of the announcers said during the game, we didn't seem to have anyone this year with an alpha dog mentality.  Many of them have exhibited flashes of it, but nobody has consistently been "that" player. It will be interesting to see if one of the current team emerges as that player next year.

Coach Walz closed the 2016-2017 season by saying, "Unfortunately it's definitely not the way we wanted to end....I'm proud of the young women that I coach.  They've worked their tails off.  They've had a great season.  We're looking forward to getting back in the gym and start working for next year."