Cincinnati Bearcats women's hoops opens season at No. 7 Louisville

It won't take long for University of Cincinnati women's basketball coach Michelle Clark-Heard to find out what she has in her 2022-23 Bearcats. Cincinnati opens the season Monday at Louisville (5 p.m. on ACC Network/ESPN+).

The Cardinals, who are ranked No. 7 and No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports coaches polls, respectfully, reached the Final Four last season in the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion South Carolina.

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Louisville compiled a 29-5 record last season. The Cardinals earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four tournaments, the only program in the country to accomplish that feat.

"I'm excited for our girls," Clark-Heard said. "I'm excited for them to be in that environment and to have that experience. When you're a basketball player and you're always reaching to be the best version of yourself, you want to play in environments like that."

Clark-Heard, a Louisville native, has not only elected to start the season against her hometown team and one of the sport's juggernauts, she's also chosen to face the program she helped build.

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"I feel very fortunate that (Louisville coach) Jeff Walz will go anywhere and play anybody," said Clark-Heard, who spent five years at Louisville (2007-12) as one of Walz's assistants. "I was a part of a lot of stuff that they started. I was a part of that first Final Four (2009). So it's going to be a great experience for me."

Monday won't just be a homecoming for Clark-Heard. Cincinnati will also take the court with two other Louisville natives in sophomore forward Taziah Jenks and Rend Lake College senior transfer guard Dais'Ja Trotter. The Bearcats also have junior forward/center Malea Williams, who started her career at Louisville.

"I'm excited, but it's never about me," Clark-Heard said. "It's always about putting (the players) in a position where we can be the best. There's going to be a lot of learning curves in that game. Jeff's a great coach. They've got a great program. But I'm also really excited for our girls because I think we've worked really hard to get to where we are right now."

Louisville is the longest-standing rivalry for the UC women's program. Monday will mark the 69th meeting between the two schools. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 41-27, including a 22-9 mark in Louisville. The last meeting on March 1, 2014, ended with Louisville handing the Bearcats a 75-51 loss at Fifth Third Arena.

Louisville has won six straight in the series. But Clark-Heard is more focused on the present, not the past.

Since opening her tenure at Cincinnati with back-to-back 20-win seasons, Clark-Heard has had trouble leading the Bearcats back into the winner's circle. Clark-Heard and the Bearcats have suffered back-to-back losing campaigns and finished 11th out of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference last season.

Cincinnati was picked to finish ninth in the AAC this season, its last in the American before moving on to the Big 12 Conference.

"I think as I've grown and learned more and more, I think it's about enjoying the process," said Clark-Heard, who has won each of her four season openers at Cincinnati. "I think that's something I've really tried to focus on from spring, summer to now. So I'm excited about this group that we've put together. I'm excited about the returners and their growth. We've got a lot of challenges ahead of us. We start out at Louisville. Our schedule is really strong. But I know It's going to definitely prepare us for the conference, and that was the most important thing. We want to be able to do some great things in the AAC and leave this conference in a great standing."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati basketball: Bearcats women's hoops opens at Louisville