USF WBB Takes on Louisville

Inga Orekhova will look to duplicate her debut performance as the Bulls hit the road to take on Louisville (Picture: www.gousfbulls.com)

After a tough loss to Georgetown, the USF ladies, 9-7 (1-1), hit the road to take on another ranked team in the Louisville Cardinals (ranked 16th according to USA Today). The Cardinals, 13-3 (2-1), are 6-0 at home this season while averaging 74 points per game. They are coming off of a strong win over St. Johns (won 72 to 64) and will look to keep it going in front of the home crowd. The Bulls, coming off of that 56 to 66 loss, are hoping that the duo of Orekhova and Wynne can answer the call.

Louisville is without star senior guard Monique Reed (knee) who went down after just 8 games, but they come into the night with a balanced lineup and a bench that has a lot of starting experience as the Cards continue to shuffle the lineup to find the best offensive balance.

Sophomore guard Shoni Schimmel (5-9) is averaging 13.8 points per game (shooting 35% from the floor) including 4.4 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game, and has 35 steals on the year. Senior guard Becky Burke (5-11) is averaging 12.3 points per game (shooting 39% from 3-point range) and pulling down 3.4 rebounds per game.

Freshman guard Bria Smith (5-10) is averaging 11.5 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 44 steals, so look for her on defense. Sophomore center Cierra Warren (6-4) is averaging 8.1 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game, posing a big presence inside for Rowe and McDonald to contend with. Freshman forward Shawnta' Dyer (6-1) is averaging 6.1 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Freshman forward Sara Hammond (6-2) is averaging 4.1 points per game and 4.5 rebounds, getting a few starts so far this season, which will give the Cards more experience depth and size coming off their bench in this game. Junior forward Asia Taylor (6-1) is averaging 3.4 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore center Sherome Vails (6-4) is averaging 2.9 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game.

USF finally got to see Inga Orekhova in the last game and she didn't disappoint, scoring 18 points, all from 3-point range. Coach Fernandez will need her and Wynne to carry the scoring load and for Rowe and McDonald to contend with the size of the Cardinals team.