Brown: Louisville basketball's seniors will play key roles for Jeff Walz in postseason run
Louisville women’s basketball held a unique senior night on Thursday, recognizing Sydney Taylor, Kiki Jefferson and Nina Rickards prior to their 70-55 win over Florida State.
It's senior night in name only, as the trio was presented as the "graduating class," seeing as how they're all graduate students. Taylor (UMass), Jefferson (James Madison) and Rickards (Florida) each played four seasons elsewhere before coming to Louisville.
Jefferson and Taylor specifically became Cardinals for the same reason — to taste postseason success. They’ll each play a vital role if U of L can reach a sixth straight Elite Eight or coach Jeff Walz's fifth Final Four. But in order to reach that potential, they'll have to show a toughness that they might not even know they have.
"They played, but they've never played it the level that we're playing at right now," Walz said. "And that's not a knock on JMU, because they've got an unbelievable program, or UMass or anybody like that."
Walz pointed out Taylor only played against three ranked opponents in her entire career at UMass. U of L has faced five ranked opponents this month, and the Seminoles were just outside the polls receiving votes.
The Cards have had a string of big games and big moments, and Walz said they were mentally and physically tired headed into the season finale against No. 17 Notre Dame. But that is also why he was so pleased with the effort they showed against the Noles in bouncing back from Sunday's loss to Virginia.
Jefferson played with a sense of urgency from the start as Louisville jumped to an 8-0 lead. U of L made its first four shot attempts from the field, three of which were created by Jefferson assists. She finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Taylor, who tied Olivia Cochran with a game-high 16 points, made at least three 3-pointers for the third straight game. They each came during a stretch in the second quarter that ultimately helped the Cards decide the outcome before halftime.
Jefferson and Taylor combined for every point during a 14-0 second-quarter run. Jefferson made consecutive baskets, then Taylor pumped in the next 10 points. The spurt broke open a tied game, and the Cards never let their lead dip under 12 points again.
"For them to know they want to come here and win, it helps a lot because they have that mindset," U of L forward Nyla Harris said. "Even though sometimes things get hard, they still have that mindset that they want to help us win."
Louisville doesn't have the single, uber-talented player who can elevate the entire team like some of its past Final Four rosters had. It's critical that Jefferson and Taylor play with the kind of consistency that can make the Cards hard to guard with their balanced scoring. (With Cochran's performance Thursday, they now have five players averaging double-digit scoring in ACC play.)
Jefferson and Taylor are playing like they understand what their postseason assignment will entail. They've elevated their respective games and posting some of their best performances late.
Taylor averages 10.7 points for the season, but over the past three games she's upped that to 20.6 points including her season-high 31 points in their win over Georgia Tech. Jefferson had her first double-double of the season against Virginia with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"They came here for a reason, and we've been emphasizing we want to make a deep run," Cochran said.
Jefferson and Taylor are showing they're up to the task with the kind of effort it's going to take to help the Cards get where they want to go.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville WBB: Senior class will play vital roles in postseason run
