Preview: Louisville faces deliberate Georgia Tech

Louisville women’s basketball takes a two-game winning streak to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion Feb. 20. The Cardinals (23-3 overall, 12-2 in the ACC) defeated Notre Dame on Sunday after edging fourth-ranked NC State in Raleigh last week to end a two-game losing streak.

Georgia Tech (17-9 overall, 8-7 in the ACC) has won three of its last four games, including a victory over fourth-ranked NC State on Sunday. With three losses coming in overtime, Georgia Tech has played competitively against any team in the ACC.

The Yellow Jackets lead the conference and ranked fourth in the nation with 51.8 points per game allowed. Louisville coach Jeff Walz wants his team to take advantage of its limited opportunities offensively.

“You have got to value the basketball, you got to be efficient because you aren’t getting the number of possessions against Georgia Tech because of how they play,” Walz said.

With a deliberate offensive attack, Georgia Tech has four scorers that average double figures. Walz said Georgia Tech won’t rush anything offensively.

“They want you to have to defend for 25 seconds of the shot clock to see if you will breakdown,” Walz said. “We are going to have to focus on the defensive end to make sure we are on point, make them shoot over us.”

Francesca Pan is Georgia Tech’s leading scorer with 12.9 points per game. Forward Lorela Cubaj and point guard Kierra Fletcher each average 10.1 points.

Pan scored a career-high 30 points against NC State on Sunday. The 6-foot-1 guard has scored 20 or more points in six games this season.

“We will have to make sure we know where she is at all times, that’s one thing, you can’t lose her in transition,” Walz said. “You have to do a really nice job of keeping her off the glass.”

Elizabeth Balogun and Elizabeth Dixon, a pair sophomores, return to Georgia Tech after transferring to Louisville this offseason. Balogun and Dixon were both included on the All-ACC Freshman team last year, but came to Louisville during Georgia Tech’s offseason coaching changes.

“They had their year there, they had some ups and downs just like every player does at any place they play,” Walz said. “There are no ill feelings toward Georgia Tech, for them, they wanted a fresh start. There was a lot of uncertainty.”