Evans, No. 2 Louisville women survive test at Virginia Tech
By JIMMY ROBERTSONJanuary 8, 2021 GMT
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) With his team on the verge of losing for the first time this season, Louisville coach Jeff Walz decided not to complicate the situation and instead revert to a strategy that has served him well over the past three seasons.
Just get the ball to Dana Evans and let her take care of the rest.
Evans, the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, scored 22 points, including four in the final 1:07, and No. 2 Louisville slipped past Virginia Tech 71-67 on Thursday night.
Evans, who was coming off a career-high 29 points in Tuesday’s win over UT Martin, hit 11 of 22 shots from the floor and made a critical steal in the waning moments for the Cardinals (9-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who survived their toughest test of the season.
Virginia Tech will be a tall order for FSU. The Hokies lead the ACC in field goal percentage (49.1), 3-point field goal percentage (41.7), 3-point field goals made (80) and rank second in assists (17.14).
Center Elizabeth Kitley (19.1 points) and guard Aisha Sheppard (17.3) make up the second-highest scoring duo in the ACC. Kitley has five double-doubles this season.
Florida State continues to be one of the nation’s best free-throw shooting teams, sitting 12th nationally and second in the ACC at 79.7 percent (63-of-79). FSU is making 7.0 more free throws per game compared to its opponents this season (15.8-8.8). FSU has shot 70 percent or better from the line in each of the previous four seasons.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sunday kicks off another journey into ACC play for the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team. Up first, the Fighting Irish (2-2, 0-0) look to tackle an upstart Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-0) squad. That contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST, inside Purcell Pavilion, streaming live on ACCNX.
1 AWAY FROM 100
Before last season, Notre Dame had been nothing short of dominant since entering the ACC for the 2013-14 season. A 91-5 record in league play and 58 straight conference wins at home, which dated back to 2012 in the Big East. The Irish had won six straight ACC regular-season titles (eight straight when counting the final two years in the Big East) and had won five ACC Tournament crowns.