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Louisville women’s basketball deviated from its normal game-opening play: a pass in the low post to Anaya Hardy for a quick layup.
Florida State (9-17, 4-10 ACC) took the look away from the ninth-ranked Cardinals. The only problem is that the Seminoles’ double team left Laura Ziegler open. The senior called for the ball and nailed the shot beyond the arc. One minute later, Taj Roberts found Ziegler in the paint for a layup. After one quarter, Ziegler had either scored or assisted on seven of the Cardinals’ eight made field goals while tallying five rebounds.
The first 10 minutes of Louisville’s ACC game against Florida State is what the Saint Joseph’s transfer has been doing all season. And it yielded a similar result as in all but four of the Cardinals’ games as Louisville (24-4, 14-1) took down Florida State, 88-65, on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.
A day after UofL was projected to be a 2 seed in the first NCAA Tournament Top 16 reveal, Ziegler showed why as she helped the team build a 34-20 halftime lead. She neared triple-double territory by finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Louisville was +28 when she was on the court, covered every inch by contributing in some way. That could range anywhere from bringing the ball up the floor, battling in the post or getting the outlet pass for a 3-point shot.
Ziegler’s versatility is something head coach Jeff Walz saw from her film at Saint Joseph’s. After getting her on campus, he tried her out at the point forward position.
“She passed the ball well," Walz said last week. “And she handles it well enough that at the 4 spot, there aren't many 4 players that are going to pick her up full court. So, the advantage to her then is like, hey, no one's really harassing me a whole bunch. And then when teams start to put guards on her, she's bigger than they are so she can see over them. And now we're making the pass up to our guard who's being guarded by a post.”
Ziegler has been open to any role the team needs her to play and contributes more than just scoring. Her leadership as one of only two seniors on the team has been invaluable. Beyond the intangibles, Ziegler leads the team in rebounds per game (7.2) and is second in points (11.5) and assists per game (2.9).
Her all-around effort has helped Louisville to one of its most successful seasons over the past few years and will continue to be important with the postseason looming.
Louisville is off Thursday and returns to the KFC Yum! Center to host Virginia at noon next Sunday.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville women's basketball, Laura Ziegler roll past Florida State
Continue reading...
Florida State (9-17, 4-10 ACC) took the look away from the ninth-ranked Cardinals. The only problem is that the Seminoles’ double team left Laura Ziegler open. The senior called for the ball and nailed the shot beyond the arc. One minute later, Taj Roberts found Ziegler in the paint for a layup. After one quarter, Ziegler had either scored or assisted on seven of the Cardinals’ eight made field goals while tallying five rebounds.
The first 10 minutes of Louisville’s ACC game against Florida State is what the Saint Joseph’s transfer has been doing all season. And it yielded a similar result as in all but four of the Cardinals’ games as Louisville (24-4, 14-1) took down Florida State, 88-65, on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.
A day after UofL was projected to be a 2 seed in the first NCAA Tournament Top 16 reveal, Ziegler showed why as she helped the team build a 34-20 halftime lead. She neared triple-double territory by finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Louisville was +28 when she was on the court, covered every inch by contributing in some way. That could range anywhere from bringing the ball up the floor, battling in the post or getting the outlet pass for a 3-point shot.
Ziegler’s versatility is something head coach Jeff Walz saw from her film at Saint Joseph’s. After getting her on campus, he tried her out at the point forward position.
“She passed the ball well," Walz said last week. “And she handles it well enough that at the 4 spot, there aren't many 4 players that are going to pick her up full court. So, the advantage to her then is like, hey, no one's really harassing me a whole bunch. And then when teams start to put guards on her, she's bigger than they are so she can see over them. And now we're making the pass up to our guard who's being guarded by a post.”
Ziegler has been open to any role the team needs her to play and contributes more than just scoring. Her leadership as one of only two seniors on the team has been invaluable. Beyond the intangibles, Ziegler leads the team in rebounds per game (7.2) and is second in points (11.5) and assists per game (2.9).
Her all-around effort has helped Louisville to one of its most successful seasons over the past few years and will continue to be important with the postseason looming.
Louisville is off Thursday and returns to the KFC Yum! Center to host Virginia at noon next Sunday.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville women's basketball, Laura Ziegler roll past Florida State
Continue reading...
