Sidney Taylor became a reserve on Thursday night for the first time since his freshman year at the University of Massachusetts.
After Virginia Tech routed Louisville women’s basketball, Jeff Walz changed the lineup, benching Taylor and Kiki Jefferson and giving Elif Istanbulioglu and Melissa Russell their first career starts.
Taylor only spent the first 2 hours and 11 minutes on the bench before the game started, and made his first 3-point shot 10 seconds after taking the floor. Being benched seemed to ignite a fire under Taylor, but he recorded a season-high 31 points and four assists in the 20th-ranked Cardinals’ 80-62 road win over Georgia Tech. It was Louisville’s second straight road win and improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against Georgia Tech (15-13, 6-10, ACC). Taylor fearlessly pulled up to the logo time and time again, making seven of the Cardinals’ season-high 12 3-pointers and helping his team shoot 54.5 percent from long range.
As Louisville (22-6, 11-4) enters its final regular-season game, each game becomes more important for seeding in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Walz believes if the Cardinals can win three of their final four games of the regular season, they will have a better chance of making the NCAA Tournament. According to the latest ESPN Bracketology, the Yellow Jackets are aiming to be one of the next four teams to reach the postseason. Louisville lost to No. 3 seed Virginia Tech on Sunday, dropping from the No. 4 seed to the No. 5 seed.
The Cardinals sit fourth in the ACC standings and qualify for a double-bye into the conference tournament as a top-four seed.
“We know what’s at stake, but in my opinion, I want them to understand what the next four games are going to be playing for,” Walz said Wednesday. “If we win all four games, it’ll be interesting to see where we finish in the league. But we’re not passing on anyone. … Although we’re looking at the big picture , at the same time our kids are focused on Georgia Tech…for sure.”
Taylor turned up his game, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting (including five 3-pointers) in the first half. Nina Rickards and Jada Curry later fouled out, but her presence in the backcourt was needed as both had three fouls in the first two minutes of the second quarter. The Cardinals also took advantage of their depth with Lele Love coming in to help. Love returned to Georgia Tech after transferring to Louisville 13 months ago. She clocked 11 minutes on Thursday.
Turnovers were once again an issue for the Cardinals, but they were effective in setting the tempo and moved the ball well, totaling 19 assists on 29 field goals. Louisville also gave up a 14-2 run to Georgia Tech at the start of the fourth quarter, but got to the free throw line three times in less than a minute to stop the Yellow Jackets from coming back.
Louisville is coming to KFC Yum! He will be a mainstay for the next two games, starting Sunday at noon against Virginia State and next Thursday against Florida State in the final regular season home game at 8 p.m.
This story will be updated.
Contact Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her at @Alexis_Cubit on X.