TAMPA, Florida (Courier Journal) - For the University of Louisville women's basketball team to make it back to the Sweet 16, the Cardinals will have to find a way Monday night to overcome an opposing player whom U of L coach Jeff Walz respects as much as anyone in the country.
Walz heaped praised on athletic, high-scoring South Florida guard Courtney Williams on Sunday as the third-seeded Cardinals (26-6) prepared to face her and the No. 6 Bulls (27-7) at 9 p.m. in the NCAA Albany Regional's second round at the Sun Dome.
"Courtney Williams is one of the top two or three guards in the country," said Walz, who knows USF well from Louisville's days in the Big East and American Athletic conferences. "She's as good as I've seen with the pull-up jump shot. Courtney reminds me of Angel McCoughtry with her ability to shoot a pull-up jump shot. You aren't going to stop her. … There aren't many kids I've seen that make the game look as easy as Courtney can."
Williams, a 5-foot-8 junior, averages 20.1 points per game – best in the AAC - while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor. She also averages 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists. USF's media notes trumpet her as "the female version of Russell Westbrook."
Williams has scored at least 20 points 19 times this season, including reaching 34 points twice. In three games against mighty Connecticut, she's tallied 23, 26 and 16 points.
Williams set USF's single-season scoring record with 16 points against LSU in Saturday night's 73-64 first-round victory and now has 685 points this year.
"If you blind-resume some of the other guards in the country and look at her stats, her shooting percentage, her rebounding, her assists numbers and having to guard the best player on the other team every night, I don't think she's gotten the national attention she deserves," USF coach Jose Fernandez said.
Williams averaged 18.3 points against U of L in their three meetings last season, all wins by the Cardinals. As a freshman she had five points off the bench in 2013 when USF last defeated the Cards, 73-62 in Louisville.
Williams said she's always respected U of L and has enjoyed competing in close games with the Cardinals. She called Walz "an amazing coach" whose defenses always keep top players on their toes.
She said it was "humbling" that Walz passed down such immense praise Sunday, including comparing her to McCoughtry.
"That's amazing coming from a man like him who has had so much experience and had so many great players come through his team, Angel McCoughtry, Shoni Schimmel," Williams said. "That's crazy."
Asked what comes to mind when she thinks about Louisville women's basketball, Williams immediately answered, "Shoni Schimmel," the high-scoring guard who Williams had to guard in past seasons.
Williams said the Bulls used box-and-one defenses on Schimmel, and before Williams ever worried about her own offense, her No. 1 goal was to hold Schimmel in check.
Does Williams expect that now the Cards might turn the tables and employ a similar all-out strategy to stop her?
"I hope not," she said with a laugh.
Williams may not be so lucky. Containing her shapes up as priority No. 1 for Walz's crew.
"You'd be fooling yourself if you didn't think Courtney was the best player on the floor for both teams," Walz said. "She's by far the best player on the floor for both teams. I call it how I see it. No offense to my kids; they know I love them. I just like to be honest with them. We know we have our hands full tomorrow night."
Walz said he's all but ready to concede that Williams will score 20 points; he just wants Williams to need a lot of shots to get there. LSU held Williams to 17 points on 7-of-25 shooting, only the second game this season she's shot under 30 percent.
"She's going to get her points," Walz said. "You can't stop her. No one's been able to stop her, including UConn. It's just trying to contain her, trying to make her make tough shots, don't let her get going too fast too early."
He added: "We have to figure out a way to slow Courtney Williams down, which is easier said than done."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.
TODAY'S GAME
NCAA TOURNAMENT
SECOND ROUND
3. LOUISVILLE VS. 6. SOUTH FLORIDA
9 p.m., Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN2 Radio: WKRD-790
