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Louisville remained focused during final stretch

Cardinals atop ACC with one-game lead heading into final four games
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Lack of focus won’t be something that plagues Louisville women’s basketball during the final four games of the regular season. With a one-game lead over NC State for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Louisville doesn’t plan to overlook any upcoming opponents.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz thought his team played with urgency and gave Notre Dame respect in the Cardinals’ 82-49 victory at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday. The Cardinals travel to Atlanta with a two-game winning streak to play Georgia Tech Feb. 20.

“We understand what is at stake, it doesn’t matter who we are playing,” Walz said. “We are one game up with a chance to win the ACC regular season title with four games left. If that doesn’t give you enough motivation to go out and play hard, I don’t know what will.”

Walz expects NC State to win its remaining four games. The Wolfpack play at Miami Feb. 20 before hosting Duke and Syracuse. NC State ends the regular season at Virginia March 1.

The Cardinals, who hold a tiebreaker edge over NC State after a victory in Raleigh Feb. 13, finish the season with a road trip to Pittsburgh and a pair of home games against Boston College and Virginia Tech.

“Knowing the fact that we only have a one-game lead in the conference race, it’s simple to worry about the next game,” Walz said. “If we were up three games with four games to go, you might get a little carried away at times.”