Grading Fall Sports -- OKC Challenge -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Grading the Fall Sports

Two of the big three fall women's sports have concluded for UofL with the third having just a few weeks remaining.  At this point we can give grades for these, although volleyball's could still change based upon how they finish the year.

So, Professor Jared has adjusted his glasses, sharpened his pencils and turned his reading lamp on high to look at Cardinal Field Hockey, women's Soccer and Volleyball today. 

Field Hockey

Of all the sports I was disappointed with field hockey the most.  Their exclusion from the NCAA Tournament is debatable but they shot themselves in the foot and can't complain too much without looking back at how they closed he year.

The Cards went 13-6 and finished ACC regular season play 3-3 for a third place finish.  Before the selection show Louisville was ranked 12th.

The first loss was the home opener against Ohio State, where the Cards were up 2-0 at halftime and lost 3-2.  It was an ugly collapse where the defense fell apart.  Their 4-2 loss on the road at Wake Forest was one of the worst losses on the season according to Coach Sowry.  Their chance to avenge that loss in the first round of the ACC Tournament went south fast after leading 2-1 and losing 3-2.  

Louisville outscored their opponents 41-26.  However, those numbers are skewed when you take away five wins by two or more goals.  Those 26 goals averaged 1.37 per game- an outstanding figure for Ayeisha Mcferran.  She has her hands full from an under-performing defense.

Offensively, the Cards often relied on one player to get hot at the right time including Bethany Russ' streak of game-winners or Erica Cooper's four-goal performance.  The offense lacked consistency.

Compared to expectations the final results weren't as great.  Event the high ranking and the third place finish in the conference still wasn't anything other than slightly above average.  The Stick Girls get a C+.

Women's Soccer

Women's soccer did something they hadn't done in half a decade by making the NCAA Tournament.

They also made their first ACC Tournament appearance.

Louisville ended the year 12-7 with a 6-4 conference record.  It was their best results since they moved into Lynn Stadium.

The Cards nearly doubled up opponents in scoring, 37-20.  Only 15 of those came against ACC opponents, the 10 regular season games and sole conference tournament games.  That leaves 22 goals for the eight games including an 8-1 victory to open the season.  Conference play continues to be an uphill battle.

Louisville's defense, led by keeper Gabby Kouzelos, allowed roughly one goal per match.  When you look at how dangerous opponents in the ACC can be and you take away the five-goal performance for UNC that is a good figure to have.

A three-game losing streak to close the year and losing four of the final five turned what could've have been a stellar season into just a great season.
Let's remember that there are a lot of freshmen and sophomores on this squad and the Cards lose just two seniors. The future is bright.


 Women's soccer gets a B+.

Volleyball

With two regular season games left and a potential NCAA Tournament berth remaining
volleyball can't quite get a final grade quite yet.

Louisville is 20-7 on the year and 13-3 in conference play as of right now and are currently just outside the Top 25.

This season has been up-and-down and has been plagued by injuries.  Alexis Hamilton went down before the season, Kelly O'Neil went out for the year early on, Jasmine Bennett spent much of the year injured, Melanie McHenry is now suffering an injury, and Emily Scott just went out for the year.

Some early season road and neutral site losses to ranked opponents weren't bad.  The first ugly loss was being swept at home by Kentucky.  They went quite some time without another loss until they went on the road to an undefeated Pittsburgh team and fell.  Home losses to Syracuse and Florida State recently knocked Louisville out of the rankings and also were just poor performances all around.

Service errors have been a catastrophe this year.  Louisville has almost twice as many service errors as aces, 269-141.  The high-risk, high-reward servers have been up-and-down but the errors have also come from the team as a whole.

Bright spots in the game have included Claire Chaussee stepping up recently to prove to be one of the best freshmen in the ACC, Amanda Green's all-around play, Wilma Rivera's consistency, and being able to lean onto Molly Sauer on the back row.  Players have stepped up when called upon.

The .261 attack percentage is well above opponents' .183, but could still be better.  If you take away the 526 attack errors that percentage goes up to .415 for the Cards.  Most of the errors have appeared to be mental mistakes rather than mishits or slip-ups.

If Louisville cleans up their errors all-around and can win their final two regular season games they'll be back in the rankings and will solidify a spot in the NCAA tournament. The ACC doesn't host a conference Volleyball Tournament and that's been a subject of debate on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. I can see both sides of that fact.

 Although this team doesn't appear to be set to advance past the Sweet 16 at best, there is still a chance they could make a Cinderella run.  Right now, volleyball sits at a B.

Got a take on the grading? Agree or disagree? Let us know in the column section. WE always welcome your thoughts and comments! After all, YOU are CardinalmCouple and we never forget that...

OKC Challenge

One thing Louisville softball is known for is their Oklahoma City Challenge (OKC Challenge).  Similar to the baseball College World Series in Omaha, softball holds their College World Series in Oklahoma City. Holly Aprile has kept this tradition and I'm thinking the players are glad she did. 

Their fall challenge consists of a Red team vs a Black team.  The groups compete in physical activities ranging from running stairs at the football stadium to a dodge-ball challenge and everything in between.  Part of the goal is to build up physical strength and stamina while the other part is team bonding.

The team captains are Danielle Watson (Black) and Sidney Melton (Red).  However, come regular season time I would expect to see Megan Hensley and Celene Funke take more of team captain roles.

Donation Month

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!  If you have not had the opportunity to give yet
there's still plenty of time.

Donation month is closing in on the halfway mark.  Whether you can give a dollar or a hundred dollars we will graciously accept anything you have to offer.  Cardinal Couple currently accepts cash, checks (payable to "Cardinal Couple"), or PayPal.

Cash and checks can be mailed to

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY 40291

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville women's basketball -- Honors for Asia and Sam -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ASIA DURR NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

(Photo courtesy of UofLCardGame.com)

ACC accolades for senior Asia Durr out of the ACC's Greensboro headquarters yesterday with the naming of her as ACC Player of the Week. It's the seventh time in her student-athlete career at Louisville the honor has been bestowed on her and she had a pretty incredible week of court-time in the Cards two wins last week. 

In the season opener at WKU, Durr put in 33 points in just 21 minutes of court time as the Cards handled the Hilltoppers 102-80. She scored Louisville's first 11 points in the 22 point-win over Western and went 12-21 from the floor, including 7-15 from three point range.

Against Chattanooga, "Nite-Nite" went for 24 points. 14 of them came during the 30-10 third quarter blitz Louisville used to break away from a seven-point halftime lead. Down in Choo-Choo land, Durr shot 7-14 and 5-10 from trifecta-land. 

Dur was the 2017-18 ACC Player of the Year and has picked up right where she left off in her skills on-court. 61% from the floor in Louisville's first two games. We've got a feeling she'll pick up a few more of these Player of the Week honors as the season progresses. 


DURR, SAM FUEHRING NAMED TO CITIZEN NAISMITH WATCH LIST

Anyone wanna "play a round" with Sam? 

This identification honor of the top 50 in DI women's college basketball includes Asia and senior forward Sam Fuehring . This announcement, from the Atlanta Tipoff Club yesterday, is a on-going, process-of-elimination-type of award. At mid-season, the list will be narrowed to 30. Then, down to 10 on March 4th. A Final Four player list will be released on March 27th. and the trophy awarded to the 2019 winner on April 5th. 

Players who did not make the first 50 list still have a chance to be added to the mid-season list. A "play-your-way-in" opportunity, so to speak. 

2018 winner on the women's side was South Carolina post A'ja Wilson. Kelsey Plum received the 2017 honor...and before that it was three straight years (2014-16) for Breanna Stewart, then two straight years (2012-13) for Brittney Griner.

Out of the 50 nominees, 11 came from the ACC. They were Louisville's Durr and Fuehring, Paris Key (UNC), Tiana Mangakania (Syr), Beatrice Mompremier (Miami), Leanna Odom (Duke) and The Atlanta Tipoff Club consummated their love affair for all-things Irish with five Notre Dame players being nominated (Marina Mabrey, Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Brianna Turner and Jackie Young.) 

The SEC ended up with 10 on the list (Maci Morris from UK one of them), the PAC 12 had nine players listed (former Card and current USC player Mariya Moore listed), eight from the Big 12, five from the Big Ten, four from the AAC (including three from UConn), two from the Big East and one from the MAC. 

Where is Arica Carter's name? It should definitely be on this list. Five Notre Dame players and no Arica? The Atlanta Tipoff Club has been taking lessons from the NCAA in Cardinal- hating, it would appear.  

Jazmine Jones is not one of the fifty players in the nation? How much alcohol do they drink at this club before they vote? 

Only two of the four players from a team that beat Notre Dame twice last year get picked while five Irish make the list? 

I am stunned, outraged and disappointed. 

Maybe we need Jeff Brohm to make a "I hear the noise like everyone else" type comment on this inconceivable, ludicrous and puzzling omission. 

Nevertheless, congratulations to Sam and Asia and "go for the 30!" To Arica and Jazzy, get named to the 30 at mid-season! 

In case you ever wondered about the name "Citizen" in front of the award, it does not refer to "citizens" of cities or countries, as we usually use that word. Citizen is part of Citizen's Eco-Drive Technology..a process that involves the gathering of light from any source and converting it into energy. 

Interesting. I'll see if I can get Worldwide or Case to explain it to me on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on Saturday...


DONATION MONTH

A special 'Thank You!" to those who have donated to CARDINAL COUPLE during our November Donation Month drive so far. Anne Frank came up with the phrase, "No one has ever become poor by giving." We give you daily news, commentary and thoughts on UofL women's sports here at CARDINAL COUPLE. We would humbly appreciate anything you can give financially to ensure we are able to do this in 2019. 

It's not too late to get involved. Donation through Pay-Pal is an option or you can send a check to us. 

CARDINAL COUPLE
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paulie
xxxxx
  

Volleyball Wins Again -- A New Era -- An ACC Championship -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Sweeps Wake Forest

They weren't perfect but the VolleyCards did it again, this time getting a 3-0 victory on the road at Wake Forest.  As Worldwide mentioned on the show Saturday, the Demon Deacons weren't a huge threat but you can't ever overlook anyone.

It wasn't until the final stretch of the first set that Louisville was able to pull away, winning 25-16.  Wake Forest kept things close for quite some time, bringing the score within 18-16 before the Cards used a 7-0 run to close out the set.

In the second set, Louisville used a 6-0 run to pull ahead 10-4 as the teams spent most of the remainder of the set trading points.  Most of Wake Forest's points in the back half of the set came on Louisville service errors, but the Cards won, 25-18.

The third set was the closest of the match although the Cards seemed to have control, winning 25-20.  Louisville never trailed in this set and lead by as much as seven.  Wake Forest tried to rally with a 3-0 run, but a service error of their own halted that and helped Louisville claim the final two points.

Claire Chaussee hit double-digits in kills with 10, but nine attack errors put her percentage well
below .100.  Jasmine Bennett and Amanda Green each totaled 11 kills with Bennett posted a .526 percentage.

Of their 55 points (75 points from three sets subtracted by Wake Forest's service and attack errors) 46 of them came on assists, a high percentage.  Wilma Rivera had 33 of those assists and Molly Sauer added 11.

Sauer also finished with 17 of the digs with Mia Stander contributing 10 more.  Sauer's digs on the year have reached 432, more than double the next closest player on the team- Melanie McHenry.

Wake Forest was held to .097 on the match.  They actually hit -.048 during the second set (wow!).

The Cards improve to 20-7 on the year and are 13-3 in the ACC.

Louisville will head to South Bend to face Notre Dame on Friday before having a week off to return home to host Georgia Tech on Senior Day on Black Friday.

The Cards have a few student/athletes that they need to get back onto the floor that have been essential contributors, but the group that is getting wins and performing fairly well are reason enough to get out to Cardinal Arena once they come home to play.


Bobby Petrino Fired as Football Head Coach

Men's sports has never been a primary focus here at Cardinal Couple, but football has been making
headlines for all the wrong reasons this year.  Louisville announced yesterday that Bobby Petrino was fired from his position effective immediately.  The buyout is estimated at $14 million.  Quarterbacks coach Nick Petrino, defensive line coach L.D. Scott, and director of operations Andrew Wagner were also relieved of their duties.

Associate head coach and safeties coach Lorenzo Ward has been promoted to interim head coach although there is now a nationwide search for a new coach.

"We want to thank Bobby for guiding our football program to some of the better seasons we have had historically at UofL during his two separate tenures here," said Vince Tyra.  "However, at this team we feel the program needs different leadership and we owe it to our student-athletes and fans to get this turned around."

Petrino's second stint in Louisville is one that we'll need plenty of alcohol to forget.  He is 1-11 against top 25 opponents and is 1-3 in bowl games.  Louisville is 2-8 and winless in the ACC this year.

*The following commentary on Bobby and Louisville Football may not reflect the views of the rest of Cardinal Couple and are personal opinions of Jared Anderson*

Thank goodness he is gone.  The deplorable record, the embarrassing attendance, and the mass exodus of players, which some might be salvaged, show how bad this year has been.  It also shows how great of a quarterback Lamar Jackson truly is.

This was a wise decision by Tyra and a great move as the leader of Louisville Athletics.  He is still cleaning up messes that Tom Jurich left behind including a men's basketball scandal that wrecked the name "Louisville" and a lacrosse scandal that should have been addressed years ago.

I still am a fan of Jurich and everything he has done for this university.  This athletics program became one of the top in the country and he was a leader in Title IX for UofL sports.  How many schools have separate facilities for field hockey, lacrosse, and volleyball?  Several women's sports weren't even around when he first arrived.

However, his time at Louisville appears to have been a little too long and the Petrino 2.0 era was just  one of the final of many mistakes made on this staff.

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," -Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight Rises

With these changes and a completely different atmosphere and mood we should see a completely different look by the team these final two Saturdays including motivation and pride.  Now is the time for fans to fill Cardinal Stadium to support the players and the program.


Men's Soccer Wins ACC Championship

Once again, this isn't women's sports related but we should give credit where credit is due. We know that a lot of the Louisville women's sports fans are also fans of the men's programs.

Coach Lolla and his men's soccer team won their first ever ACC Championship, defeating #4 ranked and 2-seed North Carolina, 1-0.

The Cards also defeated 16th-ranked Notre Dame and top-ranked Wake Forest along the way to claim the title.

Louisville is now in good shape to be named a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight time, which will also earn them the right to host through the quarterfinals.


Donation Month

We are just over one-third of the way through November, or as we like to call it, Donation Month.

We will graciously accept any donations: cash, check, PayPal, you name it! We know there are a lot of very worthy causes to donate your dollars to. We aren't asking you to change your donation patterns. We're just humbly asking you add a small bit to that pattern to give us a hand.


If you choose to mail in your donation (preferred method) please address it as the following:

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY 40291

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

The End of the Fall is Nigh -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

November is Donation Month for Cardinal Couple. If you would like to help us continue what we do here -- in 2019 -- please send whatever amount you want to. You can use Pay-Pal, but, if possible, we're prefer you to mail your donations to:



CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY  40291

Thank you!  

*********BREAKING NEWS**********

Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra fired Bobby Petrino Sunday morning after a 2-8 start to the season. Here's what he had to say about the move.

“We want to thank Bobby for guiding our football program to some of the better seasons we have had historically at UofL during his two separate tenures here,” Tyra said. “However, at this time we feel the program needs different leadership and we owe it to our student-athletes and fans to get this turned around.”

Tyra had talked throughout the season about his hope for a turnaround under Petrino's leadership. He had said he didn't want to make a change during the season, but events of the last couple of weeks made an immediate decision more necessary.

“I did not have the confidence that it was going to happen next season without a change and it needs to start happening now," Tyra said. "We expect to determine a new head coach soon to restore our football program to national prominence.”

Action Yesterday

Only one sport was in action yesterday, Swimming and Diving was competing in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge up at Purdue in West Lafayette.  This isn't specifically a UofL event, but it truly is an event between the conferences.  Coaches are named for the conference teams, with Arthur Albiero being an Assistant Coach for the ACC squad, and all-star participants are selected from conference schools to compete on behalf of the conference.  11 UofL athletes were picked to compete, a veritable who's who of Cardinals Swimming and Diving with Mariia Astashkina, Sophie Cattermole, Mallory Comerford, Molly Fears, Alina Kendzior and Grace Oglesby on the women's side...nearly all names that have been mentioned here at Cardinal Couple a number of times before.

Perhaps the least frequently mentioned name is Mariia Astashkina, from Moscow, who is competing primarily in the breast stroke in her sophomore season as a Cardinal swimmer.  Five guys are representing the ACC as well, again, mostly names you've heard before if you follow the Swimming and Diving to any significant degree; Marcelo Acosta, Nick Albiero, Andrej Barna, Zach Harting and Evgenii Somov.

After the first day of swimming, the Men are neck and neck with the Big Ten at 85 points, and the ACC at 82.  The women's battle is not as close, with the Big Ten in the lead 123-44.  The event continues today.

Action Today

Rowing is participating in the latest of the wonderfully named rowing events, the Rivanna Romp, in Earlysville, VA.

Men's Soccer is competing at noon for the ACC Championship.  They tangle with North Carolina, in Cary NC.  This matchup is a 4 seed, Louisville, vs the 2 seed Tarheels.  In national rankings, UNC is #4 in the coach's poll, while UofL sits in 10th.  This one gets a bit of a step of from the typical ACC Network Extra and will be on ESPNU.

Also in action today, a bit of an injury depleted UofL Volleyball squad will be taking on Wake Forest at 1 p.m.  This one is available on the ACC Network Extra.

A quick run down on the injuries that we're aware of.  Alexis Hamilton has been out all season, going down with an ACL tear right before the season opener.  Kelly O'Neil has been out for an extended period already with a back injury, details are not known.  And in the past week, Emily Scott and Melanie McHenry have both been either out, or at least on limited playing regimes due to knee injuries (we have a report of a stress fracture for Scott, and a strained patella tendon for McHenry, neither are anything official).  

The positive aspect of this has been that these injuries have been spread around among different positions, hitting an outside hitter, a middle hitter/blocker, and two defensive specialists.  Starting the season, we were commenting on the depth of the team, with discussions about who will get playing time both in the middle between the triumvirate of Jasmine Bennett, Emily Scott, and Piper Roe, and on defensive with what seemed to be the absurdly high number of DSes on the roster.  Jasmine Bennett went out for a bit with a strained abdomen a little while back, but has returned to 100%, only for Emily Scott's sidelining with a knee injury, so we've been glad to have 3 middles that were ready and capable of playing at a D1 volleyball level.

Along with the departure of Maggie Mullen from the team, the injuries at DS have left the team eyeing the remaining DSes closely.  Freshman Mia Stander has stepped up and proven herself capable of taking on the role beyond any shadow of a doubt.  Akela Yuhl, sophomore, has stepped up and filled the role well, and we still have Natalie Palastro who could step into the role as well, so we're still in a good situation for DSes, but I certainly wouldn't want to lose any more to injury.

Today might be a good day to spread some of the playing time around and develop some of those
extra players that have spent time in the wings ready to step up when their number is called.  Wake Forest sits in the bottom quarter of the ACC rankings at 4-11 in conference, 9-18 overall.  Wake has dropped decisions against Air Force, UNC Greensboro, and Ohio University.

The VolleyCards are the lone "fall sport" that we regularly cover that is still in action...with WSOC and Field Hockey finished for the season.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Three of the knuckleheads graced the magnificent media mansion on Mellwood yesterday.  Paulie, Jared, and I held down the fort and had a good discussion where we wrapped up the Field Hockey and Women's Soccer seasons.  And, yes, we even griped a bit about people getting the name of our teams wrong.  We aren't "The Cardinal", that's Stanford, and we aren't "The Lady Cards".

We discussed Volleyball, Women's Basketball, and even had a little bit of fun with Rowing event names.

A special "Thank You" to WCHQ for giving us this great venue to relay the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.  

Catch the replay fun at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2199765830347342/

-- 

JMcA

Two Wins and a Loss -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

November is Donation Month for Cardinal Couple. If you would like to help us continue what we do here -- in 2019 -- please send whatever amount you want to. You can use Pay-Pal, but, if possible, we're prefer you to mail your donations to:



CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY  40291

Thank you!  

Late Collapse Dooms Women's Soccer at Tennessee

As was the theme for Louisville's women's soccer team this season, Louisville once again scored early in a big game before yielding the lead and ultimately losing the game. In last night's match against Tennessee, Emina Ekic scored in the 20th minute of the match to give the Cards a lead they would hold for nearly 55 minutes. Unfortunately, this match was one in which Louisville's lead never really looked safe, and goals in the 75th and 86th minutes by Bunny Shaw saw Tennessee capitalize on their pressure. The Volunteers outshot the Cards 16-9 (9-3), earned 11 corners vs Louisville's 0, and drew 14 fouls compared to only 3 for the Cards. 

To their credit, Louisville's defense and Gabby Kouzelos held on for quite some time. Tennessee applied significant pressure throughout the game, and for the Cards to hold on for 74 minutes before conceding is admirable. The ball control exhibited by the Volunteers kept Louisville out of their preferred game plan. Through 90 minutes, Louisville's points leaders Maisie Whitsett and Brooklynn Rivers combined for one shot. Rivers did earn the assist for Ekic's early goal, but more productive offense could have resulted in a better result. Even against a good team, you have to get chances on goal in order to win. Louisville just didn't get enough of them last night. 

There isn't a lot else to say about this game. Louisville seemed to be outmatched in this one, with Tennessee using their advantage both as the home team and the higher seeded team to pummel Louisville into submission over time. It is a disappointing loss, particularly because it came about in nearly the same way every other big Louisville road game did this season, but it is still encouraging going forward. Next season Louisville will bring back ten of eleven starters. With experience comes fortitude, and Louisville should show a greater ability to close out games as time goes on. After a couple of disappointing seasons recently, appearances in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments are big steps for this program, even if both events resulted in early exits.

Hats off, though, to the Louisville defense and, particularly goalkeep Gabby Kouzelos, for not allowing more than two goals. UT kept the ball on Louisville's side of the pitch and in front of Kouzelos for most of the contest and she had some incredible saves that prevented scores.

Look out for a season wrap-up sometime in the future, as there is quite a bit to digest. Remember that only one team can finish as a winner at the end of every year and that every forward step is a positive for the program. I'm looking forward to next season already.

Coach KFD and Gaby Vincent talk about the game andnthe season at the link below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1061080621685108741

Volleyball Seeks to Get Back on Track at Boston College

After taking a loss against Florida State on Sunday, the Cards continued their pattern of winning every other game with a road, four set victory over Boston College. The Cards will look to break the pattern with a win over Wake Forest on Sunday at 1. Louisville got off to an extremely hot start before falling in a second set slump. The Cards would turn it around, though, pushing through the reduced role of Melanie McHenry to take the third and fourth games to win the match 3-1. There's no box score available at time of writing, but Claire Chaussee once again stepped up and led the team with 15 kills. She was joined in double digits by Amanda Green with 11. Louisville finished with 10 blocks and 4 aces. An all around positive performance as Louisville continues to fine tune their game as the end of the regular season draws nearer.

WBB (Eventually) Takes Care of UT Chattanooga 75-49

The Cards needed a huge third quarter to stretch their lead, but the 30-10 stanza was enough to propel Louisville to a 26 point victory over the Moccasins of UT Chattanooga. As is typical, Louisville was led offensively by Asia Durr, who finished with 24 points in 31 minutes. "Nite-Nite"  paced the Cards with 50% shooting from the floor and behind the arc with a 5-5 perfection from the charity stripe. For the second game in a row, the Cards were beaten in the turnover battle by a lesser team, an issue which will come to haunt if it continues against stronger teams. We've discussed Jeff Walz's opinion on turnovers at length in years past, so I'll let this point go, saying only that this is a problem that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

At the end of the day, one can argue that the only stat that matters at the end of the game is the number of points scored by each team. While this is technically true, it would be irresponsible for Louisville to allow ACC teams to rack up double digit offensive rebounds. It would also be in their best interest to not double up on their opponent's number of fouls. Louisville did both of those things last night, but managed to come away with the win thanks, in large part, to abysmal shooting by the Mocs. UTC shot only 32% from the field, 19% from three, and 60% (12-20) at the stripe. Louisville did finish with 4 blocks, which certainly contributed to the poor field goal efficiency, but at some point, the opponent is just missing shots. 

On the positive side, Louisville ultimately won comfortably while allowing the majority of the roster to get into the game. Walz got 11 players onto the floor, and every one recorded a stat of some kind. In fact, every player to see the floor recorded a foul, which could be expected when the team fouls 25 times. To round out the box score, the Cards finished with 35 rebounds, 11 steals, 21 assists (on 28 baskets) and 20 turnovers. Louisville shot 54.9% from the floor, 44.4% from the arc, and 78.6% from the free throw line. Exempting the turnovers, Louisville finished with a pretty respectable box score, and nearly every player contributed positively when given the opportunity.

It is becoming quickly apparent how badly this team will miss Myisha Hines-Allen, as Jazmine Jones led the team in rebounds last night with 7. I can't imagine that Jazmine Jones is the player that Jeff Walz would like to be pulling in 20% of the team's boards on any given night. Sam Fuerhing and Yacine Diop each had 4 boards apiece, which is the same number that Durr, a player definitely not known for her rebounding, finished with. That is not a knock on Asia. Her athleticism is fantastic. That said, Walz's play style with this team should not lend itself to allowing Asia Durr to grab significant numbers of rebounds. It will be nice to see the middles get their feet under them as this season progresses. 

Louisville gets a large break after last night's game, as they are out of action for a full ten days before meeting up with Boise State on the 19th. Boise State will likely be looking for a bit of revenge for the embarrassment that the Cards provided in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last season. Boise State won their opener on Thursday 74-63 over Cal State Northridge, and they'll play two more games before taking on Louisville. Here's hoping Coach Walz can get some of the issues ironed out prior to that matchup, as the games will only continue to get tougher from there.

First-year Chattanooga head women's basketball coach Katie Burrows post-game remarks:

Head Coach Katie Burrows
Opening statement
"Great start to the game. We did everything we were supposed to do defensively. Our rotations from the weak side were excellent; especially compared to Tuesday. It was one of the things we really hammered and focused on in practice. They say defense wins championships but if you can't put the ball in the hole then you're in trouble.


THE FRED REPORT

Song and dance man Fred Astaire 

F- Free Throws -- The Cards went 11-14 for 78.6% from the charity stripe and only three players got to the line. Asia was 5-5, Dana 4-4 and Bionca 2-5. Red roses for the first two and extra hours in the gym with Jess Laemmle for practicing them for Bionca. We'll dole out the capital "F" for the overall "over 70%" marksmanship.

R - Rebounding -- UofL won the battle of the boards 35-29 with J.J, as mentioned, leading the way.
with seven.  Five players had four grabs each and eight out of the 11 Cards that played had at least one. We'll award a letter here for team effort on the boards, but it'll be a small case "r".

E - Effort/Execution -- Louisville struggled early with the offense and committed way too many turnovers, but, got their act together in the third frame and looked to be more engaged, energized and efficient. 20 turnovers is way too many for the team. Just three second chance points is unacceptable, though. The Louisvillians did shoot almost 55% though, so we'll award another small case letter in a "e: here.

D - Defense -- Walz's Warriors did hold UTC to 32.7% shooting and just 3-16 from the deep. They also got 11 steals. The third quarter shutdown of the Mocs offense was impressive. Louisville held the foe to 49 points, another plus. It's a toss up for the letter here, but, I'll go with a 26-point win on the road to award a capital "D" here. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-r-e-D


ON THE AIR

The Knuckleheads assemble today at 11 a.m. for another broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour from the magnificent, majestic, media mansion on Mellwood. We'll be without "Queso" Case Hoskins, worn out from today's comprehensive and informative recap...he's off on a bit of relaxation. After all, the guy just got married...we'll cut him a bit of slack.

Jeff and Paulie encourage Jared to prognosticate.

In studio, we laud the return of "Worldwide" Jeff McAdams tinkering with the knobs, levels, Facebook Live and offering his thoughts. Jared escaped from counting nickles and rolling dimes and will be behind a microphone also. Paulie occupies the corner and should be sufficiently "caffeined up" to get through an hour.  We reached out to Paige Sherrard to fill the fourth chair and hope she'll brave the cold to join us. 

A lot to talk about, no doubt, and we hope you'll join us on WCHQ 100.9 FM, or on the WCHQ app, Facebook Live or maybe just stop by with warm stuff to eat and drink and hang out in the "green" room.   Here's the station link: www.wchqfm.com  You can find all you need there. Except Case. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

WBB faces Chattanooga, WSOC at Knoxville -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DONATION MONTH

November is Donation Month for Cardinal Couple. If you would like to help us continue what we do here -- in 2019 -- please send whatever amount you want to. You can use Pay-Pal, but, if possible, we're prefer you to mail your donations to:



CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY  40291

Thank you!  



CARDS TO FACE MOCS

A couple of Cardinal women's squads take Tennessee excursions today. Jeff Walz's WBB squad heads to Chattanooga to take on the Mocs. In honor of that, let's have a little music, maestro! From the late,great Glenn Miller below: 

CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO

I doubt that Coach and the team took a CSX freight train or hopped an Amtrak passenger locomotive to the city that offers Lookout Mountain or Rock City, but they'll gather on the McKenzie Arena floor at 7 p.m. tonight to try and build the season's record to 2-0 against a Chattanooga team that is 1-0 also. 

I'm thinking Louisville wont have much trouble is dispatching the [either] poisonous snakes, type of shoes or accusatory questioning ("You mocking me"?) tonight.  Most fans I've talked to want to see, in no particular order, another Asia assault on an adversary, better interior defense, Walz play 'em all again, continued excellent free throw shooting, Yacine Diop produce another double-double, Kylee, Bionca and Sam be board-warriors and/or Jess Laemmle get more playing time. 

And, chances are, you'll get most of the above. After tonight, the Cards do not return to action until Nov. 19th....and they do it out in Potato Land, taking on Boise State. 

So, what about these Mocs? They won against Lee University n the same night UofL was taking care of business against WKU. Katie Burrows is the new head coach at UTC, replacing one of my favorites (Jim Foster). Her debut 61-55 win over Lee actually counted as an exhibition for the DII Flames. No, I don't know why...

Head WBB Coach Katie Burrows -- UTC

Players to watch for the Choo Choo's? Let's start with 5'8" guard Lakelyn Bouldin. She amassed 13 points against Lee U. and hit seven out of her eight free throw attempts. If Louisville is foul-happy like they were against the Toppers, this might come into play. Next, there is Brooke Burns (no relation to UofL strength and conditioning coach Beth Burns that we know of). She had 10 vs. Lee and is a 5'10" sophomore guard. She grabbed seven rebounds as well, so whichever Cardinal guard that has the assignment on her might be mindful of that stat. And, then, there's Arianne Whitaker, a 6'2" redshirt junior forward who played her high school hoops in Cincinnati and spent time at Winthrop University before settling at Chattanooga. She had four blocked shots on Tuesday night. 

For the Cards, the opening statements will probably start with: play smart, pass the ball effectively, take the good shot, run when you can and rebound. UofL made a point of finding Durr early and often against WKU. We'll see if the cloaking device that made her invisible to the Tops works aganst the Mocs. 

No longer head coach of the Mocs -- Jim Foster

You can view this one on the SoCon Digital network. Here's the link: 

http://www.socondigitalnetwork.com/socon/game/louisville45-at-chattanooga-on-11092018

Another option is listening on glorious 790 WKRD AM's call with Nick Curran's play-by-play and Adrienne Johnson's commentary. I'll do that with no problem since I can't be in Chattanooga. The passing of a close friend has me here in Louisville instead of on the Georgia/Tennessee border. 

Any fans/readers that are making the trip, chime in via the comments section and share your thoughts and observations. We've heard about 100 of Sam Purcell's relatives, friends and such will be attending, since he was born and raised in nearby Dalton, GA -- CARPET CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (...and here I am with hardwood flooring...) 




WSOC STARTS NCAA TOURNAMENT PLAY AGAINST VOLS

A couple of hours earlier than hoops today and north of Chattanooga, #15 seed in the Palo Alto quadrant Louisville women's soccer squad will take the pitch against the #2 seeded Tennessee Volunteers. The Cards were (evidently) one of the last "at-large" squads to get in. This one slated for a 5 p.m. start time in Knoxville 

When we prognosticated earlier in the month about both Women's Soccer and Field Hockey's chances of making their respective "Big Dances", the consensus was that Field Hockey stood a better chance of getting in. 

Gee, we're horrible prognosticators. Ask Jared about the Minnie Mink saga story-line.

No doubt, the Kickin' Cards have their work cut out for themselves today at 5 p.m. It is a Louisville squad that prides itself on defense, however, and if they can manage to shut down the Orange attack, maybe Emina Ekic, Brooklyn Rivers, Maisie Whitsett or one of the other Louisville student-athletes can get loose for a score. 

We hope so. We're not ready for the Louisville WSOC season to end yet. 

This match can be viewed on the SEC Network + platform, part of the WATCHESPN network. Tune in at 5 p.m. for the action! Link below: 

http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3457404/louisville-vs-2-tennessee-first-round-ncaa-division-i-womens-soccer-championship

Go Cards! Take two today!! 


VOLLEYBALL AT B.C. Tonight

While WSOC and WBB go south, UofL Volleyball goes north to Boston to take on the Boston College Eagles. The VolleyCards are tied for third on the ACC and could use a dominating and three set win over this ACC foe. 

The outcome could depend on the current status of outside hitter Melanie McHenry. 

Mel's been out the last two games and left the court with assistance pre-game FSU. You'd like to have your kills leader out there, obviously, but if she can't go...it's "next player up" time.

We've heard that there is a possibility Mel  has a strained patella tendon and, if so, could be out for a week or so, and, since the tendon is SO important in jumping, maybe some back row duty after that. Once again, nothing official out of UofL. 

Claire Chaussee has staked a claim on the "next up" role.  We'll see how much court-time she gets. Piper Roe, Megan Sloane and other will most likely see increased time. 

No viewing options that I've seen on tonight's match, which is kinda strange since both are ACC schools and there is a ACC Network Extra out there...live stats are available for the  p.m. start at the link below: 

https://bceagles.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary


FINALLY

(As a side-line, congrats to Louisville MBB and Lou City FC for getting wins last night. "W" is good, the most likable letter in the alphabet...in terms of outcomes, I suppose.)

Chris Mack talks about the MBB win here:  MACK ON WIN

Good luck to Dorcas Wasike in NCAA Cross Country regionals today in South Carolina!

UPDATE: Dorcas wins! Her 19:42.1 time was 5.5 seconds better than the nearest competitor! #L1C4 !! 

And, ESPN2 will televise a football game tonight at 7:30. Syracuse is playing. What's left of UofL Football is expected to attend. 


paulie
xxxxx





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FULL FRIDAY IN FUTURE -- PAULIE PODCAST -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THEY TAKE THE FIELD/COURT/PITCH

One UofL sport (Men's basketball) takes the court tonight and four other ones go into action on Friday. Various locales and three of them (Volleyball, Women's soccer and Women's basketball) are ones we feature and Jared Anderson will go into more detail on those in his Friday column. From Boston to Chattanooga to Knoxville...Cardinal student-athletes will pursue chances and try to secure wins. 

Following them for the fan at home might be just a little more challenging. We know WBB will have radio coverage of their Friday challenge against the Chattanooga Choo Choo's (actually the Mocs) but we haven't found a internet or cable feed for it yet. As time gets closer, it looks like there won't be one. Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson are one of the best duos in women's basketball radio broadcasting, though, and they'll paint an audio picture for you that you'll have no trouble following and seeing. UTC got by D II Lee University 61-55...extinguishing the Flames at McKenzie Arena...where the Cards will drop in and perform at 7 p.m. Friday.  Look for Louisville to work on committing less turnovers, grabbing more rebounds and improving defensively. 

Anyone want to guess how many Asia will score? In the first three minutes? 

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Women's Soccer is in the NCAA Tournament and gets things underway against Tennessee in Knoxville on Friday. Whether this one will be available for viewing is still up in the air, but I haven't been able to find any link yet for the 5 p.m. match. The Cards are a #15 seed in their region, UT is the #2 seed, so a Cardinal win would be considered an upset, in terms of rankings. Keys to a Louisville win definitely center around the staunch Cardinal defense. Scoring for Louisville can be an unpredictable thing as of late but Emina Ekic, Brooklyn Rivers, Delaney Snyder & Maisie Whitsett are all capable of finding net success.

CARDINAL VOLLEYBALL


Volleyball is off to Boston to face the Eagles for a 7:30 start. The big question here is how is Melanie McHenry? She was helped off the court against FSU. We've heard nothing about her condition or status. If she can't go, we expect Claire Chaussee, Amanda Green, Megan Sloan, Jasmine Bennett and Piper Roe to all pick up the possible slack. The Cards are tied for third place in the ACC at 11-3 and 18-7 overall. We've heard no viewing on line or on the television for this one, but the Sunday match against Wake will be on the ACC Network Extra. 

AND...

Finally, Football (a sport many Cardinal fans have given up on for the 2018 season) travels to the OrangeDome to try and tackle Syracuse. I'll wish Louisville good luck. I'll hope for a win. I might even watch while tracking the other three sports mentioned here. I remain a fan. 

Cross Country participates in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Rock Hill, SC. Let's hope Dorcas Wasike can duplicate her ACC Championships success and finish first! 



PAULIE PODCAST

I've decided to experiment around with a little commentary on the Louisville women's basketball team. I have a link below for the initial "Paulie Podcast"...where I discuss the WBB win over Western Ky.  It may or may not become a regular feature here. 

It's mostly personal commentary and thoughts. 

Let me know what you think.

LINK: PAULIE PODCAST 11/8/18


DONATION MONTH

When we started the concept and idea for the site CARDINAL COUPLE back in 2009, it was a pretty good time to do so. The Louisville women's basketball team has just made a final game appearance. I was writing for a couple of other sites and was encouraged by the owners of those sites to start my own site. Sonya and I launched Cardinal Couple with no idea of how it would go over or how long it would last. One of those sites is no longer in existence. The other is still viable but not a daily-type of site. 

The idea of promoting the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports was born and we've tried to be a true steward and proponent of that concept. We have, what we feel, is an excellent group of writers and radio personalities. They do what they do for love of sport and school. Voluntarily. No salary. I salute and thank Worldwide Jeff, Case, Jared and others for this benevolent commitment. 

We had two goals in mind when we started CARDINAL COUPLE. To promote the joy and excitement of UofL Women's athletics and to remain independent. We're encouraged and proud that we've been able to maintain those goals. The truth is, I had earmarked 2018 as the year where I'd be able to eliminate November Donation Month, but we had a major, anonymous advertiser/supporter back off his commitment to us, based on their general dissatisfaction of UofL athletics and the decision to financially sponsor other aspects of the University of Louisville. 

We understand. We get it. We're saddened but we'll move on. I will continue to try and get support for CARDINAL COUPLE from local businesses and organizations and pitch our not-for-profit concept. Until then, I come to you, hat-in-hand, and ask for your help for 2019. It's not an easy thing to do. It is wholly and fully appreciated, though. 

You can mail your donation to: 

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. Box 91521
Louisville, KY 40291

or donate via Pay-Pal at the link below:  

DONATE TO CARDINAL COUPLE

Quite honestly, sending a check or money works best for us. That way, we get your entire donation, without a processing fee deducted. 

Thank you for considering.

paulie
xxxxx 




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