Despite the Lady Cards’ 2013 Cinderella tourney run coming to an end a game short after a lop sided loss in the National Championship, the team without question proved that they are and will be a force to be reckoned with in women’s basketball; with upset victories against some of the best teams in the league this year coach Jeff Walz, who spent much of his formative years in Kentucky really seems to be building a program that will rival the legacies in women’s basketball.
Walz has been at Louisville since 2007, but began his coaching career as an assistant at Western Kentucky, he then continued as an assistant at Nebraska, Minnesota, and Maryland.
Despite often being in the hunt for major accolades the Lady Cards are often overlooked; as the focus shifts to their male counterparts.
But, the Lady Cards have become staples on the women’s basketball scene since their inaugural season in 1975, since that time the Lady Cards have won twelve conference titles and appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments; twice going to the final four, the most recent of course being this year.
The team boats six All-Americans, Bria Smith, Shoni Schimmel, Angel McCoughtry, Jazz Covington, Sara Nord, and Jill Morton.; in addition the team has had two players go to the WNBA; Lisa Harrison who played for the Phoenix Mercury prior to her retirement, and number one draft pick Angel McCoughtry who has been a superstar for the Atlanta Dream since her draft in 2009. In addition, McCoughtry led the Women’s US team to a gold medal in the 2012 summer Olympics.
Currently the team has a .600 career record; at 664-442; however all indications say that that will increase in coming seasons.
Image courtesy of the Louisville Cardinal
