Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- More on #4 Nita Slaughter

 

 

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

( WE OFFER THIS READ BY MICHELLE SMITH OF ESPNW ON LOUISVILLE WING NITA SLAUGHTER FOR THE WEDNESDAY EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE)

 

 

 

 

Cards move on without Slaughter

 

AP Photo/James CrispSixth-year senior Tia Gibbs started in Antonita Slaughter's spot on Saturday.

What Louisville coach Jeff Walz wouldn't give for a simple ankle sprain, something that might require one of his players to sit out a couple of weeks and get physical therapy before quickly returning to the floor.

Don't misunderstand. Walz isn't rooting for that. He'd merely trade it in a heartbeat for the gut-wrenching, season-ending injuries that seem to plague his team every season.

"All of ours seem to be year-ending," Walz said. "I feel bad for the kids."

Walz said Monday morning that his team is still absorbing last week's news that senior guard Antonita Slaughter will miss the rest of the season after she was diagnosed with a blood clot in her lung.

Slaughter collapsed on the bench last Tuesday during the Cardinals' game against Missouri State. The clot was discovered in follow-up examinations. Walz said Monday that doctors believe the clot was not related to her collapse, but was discovered during the subsequent evaluation. The collapse, doctors believe, was caused by a "cardiac event" and Slaughter is still being evaluated. In the meantime, Slaughter has begun to take blood thinners, the treatment expected to last six or seven months.

"They don't know if the clot was there before or after," Walz said. "But they are two separate incidents. They are still trying to determined what caused the cardiac event."

AP Photo/Timothy D. EasleyTo help fill in for Antonita Slaughter's absence, power forward Asia Taylor moves to the wing position.

Slaughter was back on the Louisville bench Saturday for the team's game against Wright State. She came to shootaround before the game and she's back living on campus.

"Things have settled down. I think just seeing her have interaction with everybody, there's a big relief there," Walz said. "I mean, when she was taken off the court on a stretcher she was unresponsive. The kids were terrified. Everybody was. She wasn't able to give us a thumbs-up."

It wasn't until about 10 minutes after she left that court that Walz and the team got word that she was conscious and responsive.

"The medical people felt good about things at that point," Walz said.

Now the task for the Cardinals is to move forward and to replace Slaughter's production on the court. She was averaging 9.3 points a game in nine starts.

Walz is used to this part. Seniors Tia Gibbs and Asia Taylor missed last season with hip injuries. Junior Shawnta Dyer suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in December and missed the rest of the season.

"This is kind of what we've gone through the past four years," Walz said. "Players have to step up."

Walz said Slaughter's points will be the easiest thing to replace.

"We'll find the points. It's the intangibles she brought," Walz said. "She defended well, and we are really trying to figure out that role. She is 6-foot-1 and with her length, she could defend the perimeter.

"Somebody doesn't have to shoot the ball as well, but somebody else has to become a threat, because Antonita gave us the ability to spread the floor."

Slaughter's absence on the floor means Taylor will move to the wing from power forward.

Sophomores Megan Deines and Cortnee Walton will pick up the slack as well, and Gibbs, a sixth-year senior, might have to play a few more minutes.

Gibbs missed the past two seasons with shoulder and hip injuries and her time on the floor has been limited, but she started in Slaughter's spot on Saturday and played eight minutes.

"We are managing her minutes, we want to get her feeling better," Walz said of Gibbs. "We will try to play her more if she's able."

Walz admires the way his team has handled the situation over the past six days.

"Nobody has ever been through anything like that," Walz said. "I'm not sure how we even kept playing after that."


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Tuesday Cardinal Couple - Volleyball Wrap-Up

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Staff columnist and legendary Volleyball fan "Worldwide" Jeff McAdams presents his wrap-up on the 2013 volleyball season for the University of Louisville Cardinals.)



Another season of Louisville Volleyball has reached its conclusion.  While its always a disappointment to end the season with a loss, its always good to keep in mind that its really quite rare to end a season with a win.  Ending the season with a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament is particularly disappointing, however.

A Rebuilding Year

Early in the season, and even in pre-season, we discussed how difficult it was going to be for UofL to replace the 70% of the offense that graduated last year with Lola Arslanbeckova, Gwen Rucker, Kaitlyn James, and Tanya Lukyanenko; and that proved to be a big challenge for this team indeed.

Specifically, replacing Lola's outside hitting wasn't really possible.  While Maya McClendon and Janelle Jenkins displayed amazing talent and skills, as freshmen (Janelle having redshirted last year) they were not able to bring the maturity and precision of a senior world-class hitter like Lola.  Keep your eye on them because in the coming years, they will definitely be forces to reckon with.

In the middle, we were concerned about who would take over for Gwen Rucker.  We have two freshmen middles in Sydney Cooper, and Brooke Betts, but neither saw much playing time.  Brooke spent the early season recovering from an ACL that happened midway through her senior year of high school, entered a match, and promptly tore her ACL again.  Sydney has been developing, and saw a little bit of playing time, but will need more development to contribute valuable playing time.  Our saving grace in the middle was a timely transfer in Randi Ewing.  Having graduated from Fordham with a year of playing eligibility remaining, Randi came to UofL to play for a year and did a reasonable job of replacing Gwen Rucker.  To say only "reasonable" is not a slam on Randi, but rather acknowledgement that Gwen left some very big shoes to fill.

Some Real Bright Spots

So what went well this year?  Well, we've talked about these points all season, and already touched on one or two in the above paragraphs.

Janelle Jenkins and Maya McClendon are a fearsome duo that have been super great fun to watch.  They are dynamic and powerful hitters, and with some refinement from playing another year or two are going to be a serious threat to any team in the country.

Katie George at setter plays well above the level you would expect from a sophomore.  She's consistent and has great athleticism getting to passes even when they aren't on the mark and can do amazing things with them.  She frequently made back sets to the right side and quick sets to middle hitters that left me with the classic fan's response, "No! No! YES!!!" when she made a set that I thought was ill-fated, but she pulled it off, and in style.  Katie is a big part of the reason that I really wish the NCAA would tighten up on double-touch calls on sets.  Her setting is precise and clean, and tighter calls would benefit us because most setters would get called with double-touches more frequently than Katie would.

Haley Pouliezos was at least half a step, if not a full step, faster than she was last year in getting to and digging hits.  Her passing was generally on target, though she did seem to struggle a little bit with serve receives of float serves (serves where there is no spin on the ball and it behaves like a knuckle-ball in baseball and is very hard to predict where its going).

As mentioned above, Randi Ewing was a real force in the middle, but on the other side of the rotation, Brooke Mattingly may have been even more impressive.  Truth be told, watching Brooke play her first year of play (she redshirted her first year), I didn't ever expect her to be a major impact player at UofL, but boy am I happy to have been wrong on that one.

Emily Juhl came back for an impressive senior campaign as well.  I have, of course, written a number of times about her booming serves and impressive hitting, but I feel like I need to mention them again.  Knowing how much she was bothered by stress fractures in her leg her sophomore season, and taking her junior season and more to really recover from the surgery to insert a rod in her bone, it was absolutely wonderful to see her have a good season of play.

Last, but definitely not least, Caitlin Welch was one of the best Libero's in the nation, at least by my estimation.  Caitlin has aspirations of playing on the US National Team, and I think she has the skills to do it.  Combine an almost eery sixth sense for where to be to dig hits with great athleticism and quickness, a fearlessness to go wherever she needs to go to get the digs, and the physical robustness to dive, roll and, bounce off of whatever obstacles might be in her way without getting injured, and you have a libero that can get to, and pass with great precision to keep plays alive that I thought were sure kills.

What Does Next Year Look Like?

We graduate 5 players this year.  Carly Sahagian, Randi Ewing, Brooke Mattingly, Emily Juhl, and Caitlin Welch have all finished their eligibility for volleyball and none have any aspirations of playing any other sports that I'm aware of.

Carly has only seen limited playing time due to perennial knee issues, so losing her isn't really going to hurt us as a team very much, to be honest.  Carly has been a great teammate and supporter, but she hasn't been able to contribute much on the court.

Losing Randi Ewing and Brooke Mattingly each individually would be a blow to the team as they
have both been strong presences in the middle this year.  To lose the pair of them together brings back some of the angst I had in the past off-season about what we were going to do in the middle blocker position.  Last year we only lost Gwen Rucker, but didn't have any other middles on the team.  This year we lost both of our starting middle blockers, but on the other hand, do have Brooke Betts and Sydney Cooper that have been on the sidelines.  We also have two signed recruits that are middles coming in for next year.  Maggie Dejong and Tess Clark will be freshmen middles.  (For our readers looking for height, Tess Clark is 6'4".)  I don't expect our middle blocking and hitting next year to be up to the calibre that we have experienced in the past years with Randi, Brooke, and Gwen; and going back further to players like Lecia Brown.  We will have players to play the position, but I suspect it will be another year or two before any of them are playing with confidence and at the level that we're used to seeing.

The graduation of Emily Juhl takes away an offensive weapon.  Losing Randi and Brooke together leaves us very thin in the middle position overall.  Losing Emily doesn't have that same effect.  We have other outside hitters that are good and getting better.  We will need more, but we have other offensive weapons that we can adjust our game around.

Caitlin Welch will not be directly replaced.  Yes, we will have a player wearing a different colored jersey than the rest of the team playing the libero position, but it will be a long time, if ever, before we find as effective of a libero as Welch.  Haley Pouliezos seems to be the likely candidate for the libero position for next year, and she has advanced and developed quite a bit as a player this season, but I'll be very surprised if she will demonstrate the kind of effectiveness on defense that Caitlin contributed.  Again, this isn't intended to be a slight of Haley's skills and contributions, but a recognition that very few can achieve the same level of play as Caitlin Welch.  Courtney Robison should be available to play as a Defensive specialist next year, which is important to have a DS that can sub in for offensive hitters that really just aren't up to playing a full rotation.  Courtney is currently recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip.

Overall, I think we'll be a slightly improved team next year.  We're losing some key players to graduation, and will have some challenges in the middle, but other roles should be covered pretty well.

I'll be looking forward to the beginning of the season in September.


jeffmcadams


( EDITOR'S NOTE...23-8 is not a bad season for Anne Kordes' crew and the 18-0 mark in AAC Conference play will probably never be matched. The Cards struggled early in non conference play that saw them facing numerous top-25 schools and NCAA Tournament participants. The bar does need to be set to the next level and subsequently cleared by Kordes and her staff, though. The rebuilding process needs to make the VolleyCards a contender in tougher ACC competition in 2014 and further down the road. My guess is the Cards may take a step back in 2014 with leaders Juhl, Welch, Mattingly, Kvitle and Ewing gone. There is hope for the future in Jenkins, McClendon, George and Pouliezos, though and it'll be interesting to see how the Cards fare against a conference that sent four schools to the 'big dance' but just has one still left alive (Florida State).

Paulie
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Monday Cardinal Couple -- Worrell splashes by competition in 200 fly

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Kelsi Worrell wins at AT&T National Championships

The Year of the Cardinal continues...as Louisville Women's Swimming and Diving butterfly specialist Kelsi Worrell won the 200-fly Saturday night in the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, TN. in the AT&T Short Course National Championships. 

Worrell, a sophomore from Mt. Holly, N.J. covered the distance in 1:54.12 to take the event. Louisville's 4X100 freestyle relay team also fared well the competition...with Worrell posting a 49.18, they finished seventh.

The Nationals signal an end to Cardinal Swimming for a month or so in competition. January brings a full slate of events to Arthur Albiero's squad.

01/04/14	at Georgia Tech	Atlanta, Ga.	11:00 a.m. ET
01/11/14	vs. CINCINNATI	RALPH WRIGHT NATATORIUM	11:00 a.m. ET
	vs. HOUSTON #	RALPH WRIGHT NATATORIUM	11:00 a.m. ET
01/17/14	SMU Classic (Men)	Dallas, Texas	TBA
01/18/14	vs. NOTRE DAME (Women)	RALPH WRIGHT NATATORIUM	11:00 a.m. ET
	SMU Classic (Men)	Dallas, Texas	TBA
01/24/14	vs. NOTRE DAME	RALPH WRIGHT NATATORIUM	4:00 p.m. ET
01/25/14	vs. KENTUCKY	RALPH WRIGHT NATATORIUM	1:00 p.m. ET
01/31/14	at Indiana

Louisville competes in the AAC in women's swimming and there will be a conference tournament for the event in Feburary...here in Louisville at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.

The events are free and...despite the early start time...are on either Friday or Saturday. None of the home matches compete with Cardinal women's basketball either...so treat yourself to some the the finest swimmers in college athletics in competition right here in town.

paulie
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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Slaughter and the Cards return to YUM

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Wrong night for Wright State in 59 point loss

( OUR BASKETBALL COLUMNIST JENNY O'BRYAN REPORTS ON THE RETURN ON NITA AND THE CARDS IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER WRIGHT STATE 99-40 SATURDAY NIGHT )


With the fall of volleyball in the first round of the NCAA tournament, only two women’s sports are currently in action.   Saturday night saw the return of basketball in the KFC YUM Center.   The Cardinals routed the Raiders of Wright State 99-40.

It was our first look at Nita Slaughter since her health incident on Tuesday night, and our first look at the team with Slaughter in sweats on the sideline. 

Slaughter walked out of the tunnel alongside Sherrone Vails, trailing the team, to a standing ovation.   She looked fine, smiling, and giving a wave to the crowd as she followed the team down court to warm up.  Were it not for witnessing the event myself on Tuesday evening I would have never known she, just days before, suffered a potential life threatening event.  It was good to see Nita, if only on the sidelines.  I’ve been unable to get that young woman off my mind.  Her brilliant smile was enough to let me rest easy that she is going to be ok. 

If there were any doubts to how the team would respond, with Nita on the sidelines, the answer was loud and clear.  The Cardinals came out strong, and Wright State never had a chance in this game. 

As expected Tia Gibbs replaced Slaughter in the starting rotation.  Gibbs saw eight minutes of action the whole evening.  I expected her minutes would be limited, as the Cardinals will need her more throughout the season, in Slaughter's absence. 

I’m curious what kind of directive may have been Shoni for this game.   She came out of the locker room on a tear.  She had the hot hand early and dropped two early three pointers on the Raiders.  She appeared to ramp up her defense and rebounding, snagging four early boards. Most impressive though was her speed up and down the court. 

Overall it was a good, strong effort from the Cardinals.  There were too many standouts to mention them all, but I do want to make special note of a few things caught my eye.

Asia Taylor was on a roll.  She was active early.  She had a HUGE block , was rebounding strong, and moving gracefully in the paint. 

Cortnee Walton had a huge night on the boards pulling down 12.  The Cardinals will look to her to continue to provide that kind of work in the paint.   Walton was one point shy of a double-double.  She looked very good and strong around the basket on both ends of the court. 

Shawnta Dyer looks better each time out on the court.  Saturday night was no exception.  With each outing she is moving stronger and faster.  You can see the rust coming off of her shots, and she is beginning to look like the Dyer we all know.  She had a beautiful hook shot late in the game that rimmed out.  She had a great outing and Cardinal fans can look forward to continued growth in her game each night out. 

It is no surprise that the things that caught my eye were the post players.  In the post-game interview Matt Andrews indicated that 60 of the Cardinal points were in the paint.  Also mentioned was working on the high-low game.  That, too, was evidenced by some very nice feeds/assists. 

Overall it was a fun game and the Cardinals looked good.  They next hit the hardwood one week from tonight, Saturday, December 14 against Austin Peay at 7:00 p.m.  The drink specials continue on Saturdays, with $2 beer and sodas. 

If you have not done so yet, get out and see your Cards on the court.  The next ranked opponent for the team is just two weeks away against Colorado.  It will be a tough game.  We look forward to seeing you at the YUM on Saturday, Dec. 14.  

FINAL STATS

PLAYERS AND COACH WALZ QUOTES


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THE LATEST EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR IS NOW POSTED ON THE SOUNDCLOUD. JENNY AND PAULIE TALK A LOT OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, WE HEAR WALZ'S ANNOUNCEMENT ON NITA, KENNY CALLS IN TO THE SHOW, JENNY TAKES THE QUIZ AND DON PAULIE DOES HIS VERSION OF ONE OF HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONGS.

RADIO THAT OUGHT TO BE BANNED....FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW.

PEARL HARBOR HAS NOTHING ON US...WE BOMB EVERY WEEK!! CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 12-07-13


jenny obryan

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Nita Slaughter out for season

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Nita Slaughter out for season

- Cards face Wright State tonight

- Volleyball falls in straight sets to Marquette

- Radio today

- Tickets? Tickets?

WALZ CLIP BELOW ON NITA:

http://www.courier-journal.com/videonetwork/2901340814001/Coach-Walz-says-Antonita-Slaughter-is-out-for-the-season


Louisville senior Antonita Slaughter will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a blood clot in her lung. The collapse of the talented wing Tuesday night against Missouri State was also diagnosed as a cardiac event and not a seizure as first suggested.

Doctors at Jewish Hospital broke the news to Slaughter's family, teammates and friends Thursday morning after several days of testing to figure out what caused the scary event.

Slaughter will go on blood thinners to treat the clot and will be unable to play.

A tough loss of a great player for the rest of the season...but news that will help treat and clear Slaughter of a very dangerous problem.

As Walz mentioned...college basketball is a game. Designed for the entertainment of a fan base. Life is much more serious and when an event like this strikes a well-respected and loved player like Nita, it gives us cause to reflect on just how precious life is and to be thankful for each moment we have here on earth below.

We hope and pray that Ms. Slaughter eventually overcomes this illness and can return to the court. More importantly, though, we hope she can return to life where she can acheive goals, make a difference and enjoy the beauty and wonder of all things around her.

We have been asked....who will replace Nita on the court? Our guesses indicate Tia Gibbs and Megan Deines as candidates. Ultimately, the decision belongs to the coaching staff at UofL and they will access the situation and make the neccessary and correct moves.

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Louisville returns to action tonight against Wright State in the KFC YUM! Center at 7 p.m.

Wright State comes to Louisville (hopefully...given the weather conditions) at 7-2. They come off a 79-77 win over James Madison in the third place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase Sunday. K.C. Elkins hit a three as time expired to give the Raiders the victory. Kim Demmings had 28 points and 11 boards in the victory. Taylor Mingo added 26 points...going 16-17 from the charity stripe.

Louisville tries to regroup after the news about Slaughter. The probable replacement in the starting lineup will be sixth-year senior Tia Gibbs.

The game also features a $2 Budweiser and soft drink promotion.

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Louisville Volleyball bowed out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament yesterday...losing to Marquette 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 in Champaign, IL.

Louisville lost a close first set to the Golden Eagles after being tied 23-23. A service error by the Cards and a Marquette kill ended the set.

The Cards led 22-20 in game two...but Marquette went on a 5-0 game ending run. A Louisville service error, Golden Eagle service ace, Cardinal attack error, Marquette kill and final UofL attack error ended the game badly for Anne Kordes crew.

In the final set, the Cards and Golden Eagles were tied 9-9 when Marquette went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good against Louisville and win by six.

Tough way to end the season but a AAC Championship where they went 18-0 and plenty of talented underclassmen will accompany the Cards to the ACC for the 2014 season.

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We'll be sledding in to the studio Saturday morning for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour...conditions here in Louisville are snowy, cold and ice on the roads.

 a We'll be one host down...Jeff McAdams is in Champaign with the VolleyCards. Jenny and I will try and carry on in his absence...plenty to discuss with Cards Women's Basketball and Volleyball. We'll test Jenny on a quiz and provide chestnuts roasting on an open fire for all those who fill the studio audience each.

Join us, won't you?

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO ON CRESCENT HILL RADIO

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We are offering a ticket exchange forum for those who cannot use your WBB seats. It is a free service and if you can't go, please consider providing your ticket availability to someone who can and may not be able to afford seats.

You can access the site over on the Right Side of the Site by clicking the pic.

It's the holiday season. Be a good Cardinal fan.



paulie

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Cards begin NCAA Volleyball quest today

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

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Click the link below to hear Coach Walz's announcment:

COACH WALZ DISCUSSES NITA



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THE SEASON IS ALSO OVER FOR LOUISVILLE VOLLEYBALL...LOSING IN STRAIGHT SETS TO MARQUETTE THIS EVENING 25-23, 25-22, 25-18
IN FIRST ROUND NCAA TOURNAMENT ACTION
                         IN CHAMPAIGN, IL.



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

NITA SLAUGHTER'S SEASON IS OVER. A BLOOD CLOT DISCOVERED IN HER LUNG. A CARDIAC EVENT CAUSED COLLAPSE IN MSU GAME. TEAMMATES ARE STUNNED AND SHOCKED ACCORDING TO SOURCES.

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-Louisville Volleyball faces Marquette today

-Volleyball gets several AAC honors

-Teddy Ballgame -- Cards headed to Mouseville


The VolleyCards participate in first round NCAA Volleyball action today...drawing the Marquette Golden Eagles in Champaign, IL.  The match is schedule for 5:30 p.m. and the winner will face the winner of the Morehead St. vs. Illinois contest.

M.U. and Louisville have a knowledge of each other, familiarity and history. The squads did battle three times in the 2012 season...Louisville winning all three matches, including the BIG EAST Tournament finals. Marquette is ranked this year, coming into today's action 24th. in the nation.

It is a tough first round match-up for Louisville. Marquette took the BIG EAST volleyball tournament with a 3-1win over Creighton. A weakened conference with Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pitt gone..but still an impressive season for the Golden Eagles.

OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 24 Marquette women's volleyball team won the 2013 BIG EAST Championship by defeating Creighton, 3-1, on Saturday, Nov. 30, at D.J. Sokol Arena.
It was the first BIG EAST volleyball crown for Marquette, which entered the championship and as the league's regular-season champion and top seed.
The Golden Eagles (25-5) claimed the league's automatic NCAA Championship bid and will compete in the tournament for the third straight year.

The AAC does not sponsor a conference tournament.

If Louisville can get by Marquette and (most likely) Illinois, they would move to regional action. Regional sites are in Lexington, Champaign, Lincoln, NE and Los Angeles.

No TV or radio for this one that we know of. Our staff columnist Jeff McAdams is in Champaign to witness the wide net action...but failed to respond to texts about coverage here at CARDINAL COUPLE or the radio show Saturday.

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Nice honors for the team from the AAC. Caitlin Welch received Libero of the Year honors, Maya McClendon Freshman of the Year and Anne Kordes Coach of the Year.

Five Cards made the AAC first team...Katie George, Emily Juhl, Brooke Mattingly, Maya McClendon and Caitlin Welch.
Randi Ewing received second team honors.

Amazingly, a South Florida player...Erin Fairs...was named conference player of the year. A slap in the Cards face, no doubt related to the fact that Louisville is only in the AAC for this year. Any of Louisville's first team players were deserving of the award and Louisville did go 18-0 in conference play.

What else would you expect, though, from a conference that didn't hold a tournament and chooses Memphis and Temple as travel partners?

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FINALLY, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LOUISVILLE FOOTBALL TEAM FOR FINISHING 11-1 IN THE REGULAR SEASON AND GETTING AN INVITE TO THE RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL IN ORLANDO, FL. ON DEC. 28TH.

THE CARDS WON AN EXCITING BATTLE IN CINCINNATI LAST NIGHT 31-24 IN OVERTIME. IF TEDDY BRIDGEWATER ISN'T THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN THE AAC THEN THE WHOLE BUNCH OF 'EM AT CONFERENCE HEADQUARTERS ARE MORE STUPID THAN BEETLE BAILEY.

BRIDGEWATER WAS AMAZING LAST NIGHT, PUTTING THE CARDS ON HIS BACK AND CARRYING THEM IN THE FOURTH QUARTER TO REGAIN THE LEAD TWICE AND THEN TO THE WINNING TD IN OVERTIME.

WE DON'T USUALLY COVER FOOTBALL HERE AT CC, BUT WHEN WE DO...WE PREFER DOS EQUIS  SEEING TEDDY TOUCHDOWN TRIUMPH. 

ENJOY MOUSEVILLE, FOOTBALL FANS!

paulie

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Thursday Cardinal Couple

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Brains, beauty and a baller -- Jude Schimmel gets it done on and off the court

-Nita Slaughter -- we wait and hope

-Walz Radio Show -- An hour well spent

University of Louisville junior guard Jude Schimmel has been nominated for the Allstate Good Works Team. It doesn't mean she has to go out and do insurance claims or appear in those mind-numbing TV commercials...it is an award that honors college athletes who have made a difference in their communities with civic service, volunteering and public commitment.

That would be Jude. Travelling the country with her family visiting tribal reservations, she and her kin have become the most recognizable native American symbols for what hard work, dedication and teamwork can achieve.

In addition to being the feisty, playmaking leader on the court, she has spent the last three years making speaking appearances at reservations, conferences and gathering across the USA. Wherever the University of Louisville women's basketball team has travelled to for competition, 100's of fans want to access her and her sister, scores of Native Americans attend the contests to shake her hand, take her picture and hear her encouraging message.

A positive impact on and off the court? Oh yeah, you betcha.
Below...Jude reflects on the mission:

"When Native Americans come to our games, they are like, 'Our kids look up to you. You are the biggest inspiration.' It means a lot to us. We're just trying to do better and be better not only for us but because we want other Native Americans to know that they can do it, too."

On the court, Jude is a crafty ball-handling and defensive star who can also drain a three and go coast-to-coast for a layup. In the classroom, she carries a 3.777 GPA and is scheduled to receive her bachelor's degree this summer.

Yes...one of the "attack Yorkies" under Walz's tutelage has come quite far. We wish her and the rest of the team the best of luck this season and a trip to Nashville this spring.

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At the time of the writing and publishing of today's CARDINAL COUPLE, Nita Slaughter was still undergoing tests and observations in Jewish Hospital for her collapse Tuesday night at the start of the Missouri State game.

We've received dozens of e-mails here at the CARDINAL COUPLE from fans of other college women's basketball programs expressing sympathy and support for the senior guard/wing and inquiries on what exactly happened. Here's the chain of events.

Slaughter started the game and was replaced by substitution at the 17:44 mark. She scored the first UofL basket of the game at the 19:41 mark. Seated on the bench next to Tia Gibbs, Nita mentioned to Tia that she was feeling dizzy and light-headed. Seconds later, her head slumped, her body went stiff and she actually collapsed and slid behind assistant coach Sam Williams on the bench, who was watching action at the other end of the court...where the Cards were advancing the ball after forcing Missouri State into a turnover.

Gibbs caught Nita's head and the bench reacted to the slumping Slaughter. Walz, who was also watching the on-court action was notified by several players and coaches that something was wrong with Nita, turned to the bench and assisted with the then incoherent player. She was laid carefully on the court, a towel under her head, and staff and EMS medical attendants gathered around her. After a brief time on the floor, she was lifted onto a stretcher and taken off the court. The determination was made to immediately transfer her to Jewish Hospital.

I was on press row, across the court from the UofL bench and watching the game and did not see the incident. I first became aware of it when the ball advanced over the half court line and I saw the UofL bench standing around an undetermined player on the floor. At first, we didn't know who it was. A rapid player count of those standing led me to believe it was either Nita or Monny Niamke...I couldn't fully see if she was standing as she was behind a taller player.

We hope that the diagnosis is good for the affable three-point specialist and she is cleared to play after it is determined that she can do so without the scary event ever happening again.

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Jeff Walz is back on the air with a weekly, one-hour radio show Wednesday nights on ESPN 680 AM in Louisville. He and Matt Andrews discussed a variety of Cardinal Women's basketball topics and took phone calls as well.

My favorite calls were..

1) the whiner who was wimping about his seat selection and why the University didn't penalize fans who didn't attend games who had seats better than his. I thought Walz handled it well, mentioning that through scanning devices when you enter a game...they could compile a list of those season-ticket holders who were infrequent attenders and talk to them about possibly providing their tickets to others if they were unable to show up.

2) the caller (Robert, I think) who point blank asked Walz how do you beat UConn? Coach and Matt discussed this over the next five minutes and Walz offered a blue-print for eventual success over the Huskies that entailed recruiting, coaching, training techniques and talent. He didn't predict any victories over the Geno-led Storrs dwellers...but never underestimate the man who designed the Baylor beating last season.

All-in-all, an hour well spent. It worked out great for me, since I was in snarled traffic for 3/4th of the show and could listen while I was fuming at a backed up Interstate system.

Like Sammy Hagar, I can't drive 55. Yesterday, I couldn't even drive 5 for what seemed forever. Coach Walz and Matt Andrews kept me company and I'll be back to listen next Wednesday night.

Hopefully at home and not in snarled gridlock.


paulie

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