Shoni Schimmel led Louisville to the upset win against Baylor four years ago.

On Friday night, all eyes will be on the Oklahoma City Region matchup between #4 Louisville and #1 Baylor. The Lady Bears will be seeking revenge for their loss to Louisville in their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball tournament in 2013.

It was Britney Griner’s senior year and, if anyone could beat the juggernaut that was (and still is) UConn,  people were betting on Baylor. Baylor had routed most of the teams it faced in 2013, losing only to Stanford by two early in the season. The Lady Bears had a 33-1 record coming into the Sweet Sixteen game against Louisville in the Oklahoma City regional and were looking ahead to a match-up with Tennessee.

But Baylor hadn’t counted on Shoni Schimmel, the Cardinals gutsy Native American guard, who grew up playin Rez ball on the reservation of the  Confederated Tribes of Umatilla in Oregon. Shimmel was the first from her tribe to earn an athletic scholarship, and she fit right in with the run-and-gun style Coach Jeff Walz liked to play.

But it was her three-point shooting that helped Louisville take a 10-point lead at the half (along with their dogged double teams on Griner). Schimmel helped increase the lead to 19 points in the second half with another three-pointer and a highlight-reel drive from one end of the court to the other. The drive featured a behind the back dribble at halfcourt and a no-look, leaping, lay-up with her back turned to the basket and with Griner’s hand swatting at air. Schimmel fell to the floor but popped back up to face Griner underneath the basket. Teammates intervened and Schimmel made her free throw to make it 64-48.

Just how vital Schimmel was to the victory became apparent when she fouled out at the four-minute mark — after scoring 22 points. Baylor came clawing back and actually went ahead with nine seconds left. But two foul shots by Louisville sealed the one-point victory.

Louisville went on to beat Tennessee and California to set up its meeting with Connecticut in the championship game at the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Final Four in New Orleans. That the magic ended for the Cardinals that night (Connecticut won by 33), doesn’t diminish what the team accomplished.

Asia Durr led Louisville past the Lady Vols

Jeff Walz is in his 10th year with the Cardinals

This is Louisville Coach Jeff Walz’ seventh Sweet Sixteen in the 10 years he’s been coaching Louisville. It would be his team’s fourth trip to the Elite Eight if the Cardinals knocked off Baylor. Can they do it again? It might depend on the exploits of Louisville’s  5-10, sophomore guard Asia Durr, who writes with her right hand and shoots with her left. Durr, who had Baylor on her short list of schools to consider two years ago before choosing the Cardinals, is leading the team in scoring with 19 points a game. As tough to guard as Schimmel was, she can explode to the hoop off the dribble or pull up  beyond the arc where she’s shooting 40 percent on three-point shots. Ice cold in the first half against Tennessee, she heated up in the fourth quarter to lead Louisville to their 75-64 win in the round of 32. Durr ended up with 23 points.

Louisville’s Mariya Moore was a big factor against Tennessee

Louisville’s 6-0 junior Mariya Moore picked up the slack against Tennessee before Durr heated up. With Louisville trailing 47-46 entering the fourth, Moore scored eight points to get Louisville a lead that would last. She ended up with 19 points, seven more than her season average.

Meanwhile, Baylor’s potent offense has four players who routinely score in double figures:  Kristy Wallace , Alexis Prince, Nina Davis and 6-7 sophomore post Kalani Brown. Wallace and Prince scored 16 points each, leading Baylor to the Sweet 16 for the ninth year in a row after an 86-46 win over California on Monday night.

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey is likely spending the week getting ready to defend Louisville’s rain of threes.  Three-pointers did the Lady Bears in two weeks ago against West Virginia in the Big-12 Championship game. The loss snapped the Lady Bears’ seven-game winning streak, but it might have been the wake-up call the Bears need to withstand another upset-minded Louisville team.