UVA blows by Cards late to win 75-59 -- Monday Cardinal Couple

28-10 run sinks UofL on Wahoo Senior Day

Louisville WBB got a dose of the medicine they've been serving ACC opponents this season...Virginia blowing by the Cards in the final eight minutes to put a 75-59 drubbing on Jeff Walz's crew on Senior Day in Charlottesville, VA Sunday afternoon.

The potentially bad thing for Louisville and the rest of the ACC is that the Wahoos (17-12, 7-9) graduate just one and have a nice recruiting class coming in for 2015-16. UK transfer Sara Beth Barnette the lone loss. We had originally thought Sarah Imovbioh was leaving (and wouldn't mind seeing that 22 point, 17 rebound performance from today disappear) but she'll be a redshirt senior next year. 

Louisville led early in this one. Mariya Moore nailing an opening three a minute into the contest and Jude Schimmel's trifecta had the Cards up 8-7 five minutes in.


The homestanding Cavs went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead over a three minute stretch but the Cards did return the favor with their own 6-0 run...capped by a Dyer putback to lead 14-13 at the 9:27 mark. The teams battled evenly as the half wore down...Virginia leading 32-31 at the break. 

The Cards were having trouble containing UVA stars Faith Randolph and Imovbioh from scoring and Imovbioh owned the boards, especially on the defensive end.

Louisville saw Virginia go on a 11-3 run over the first five minutes of the final half but the Cards mustered one last rally over the next seven minutes...getting strong interior play from Emmonnie Henderson, Sara Hammond and Shawnta' Dyer.

Unfortunately, the Cards became the gang that couldn't shoot straight over the final 1/5th of the game...Louisville battling back to lead 49-47 at the 8:06 mark after a Shawnta' Dyer jumper...after being down by 43-34 with 15:56 in the half.

It got ugly for the Cards after that. UVA shot 53% in the second half and made 20-25 free throws to pull away. The Cards starters (Sherrone, Jude, Dyer, Sara and Myisha) ended up with only 31 of UofL's 59 total points. The offensive uncertainly was glaring at times.

Henderson led Louisville with 13 points in 13 minutes. In typical "E" fashion, though...she committed five fouls in that space of time and watched from the bench as UVA pulled away. Dyer joined her in double figures with 12. the Cards shot 33% (25% in the second half) and were outrebounded 39-28. 

In the final eight of the game, the Cards defense seemed a step slow and almost resigned to the defeat and Virginia scored time after time and grabbed the Cards missed shots. It got hard to watch, honestly. A memory one would like to forget as the regular season ends.


On an afternoon where Louisville hope to gain momentum going into the ACC Tournament on Friday, it was Virginia who climbed on the back of Uncle Mo and rode him to the wire to secure a #9 seed in the ACC Tournament and avoid a necessity to play on Wednesday. 

Louisville will have plenty of time to review and improve on this one....they'll play the final game Friday night against whoever emerges from the first and second round battles in their half of the bracket into the quarterfinals. 

Imovbioh is now what we all believe Henderson could eventually be. Randolph is a top five guard in the ACC, maybe top 10 in the nation. Yesterday, they combined to pull off their biggest win of the season...and give Louisville something to ponder as they head to Greensboro.

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Softball stings Yellow Jackets series finale

Louisville softball finished their stay in Atlanta with a sweep of the Yellow Jackets Sunday afternoon. The Cards got the bats unpacked for this one, winning 15-2 in six innings.

Madi Norman (3-4) got the win for the Cards, allowing the two runs on just two hits in 3.2 innings...Maryssa Becker finishing up with 2.1 inning of shutout ball and just one hit.

The Cards loaded the bags in the first but got just one run across. They atoned for that with four in the second, Hailey Smith with a two RBI single and Becker delivering the same. 

Brittany Sims had a solo home run in the third to make it 6-1 UofL. It was her second round-tripper of the season. 

The Cards tacked on two more in the fifth when Sydney Benz drove home Becker and Nicole Puhafl to make it 8-2 .

They saved the fireworks for the end...the top of the sixth produced seven UofL runs...Becker blasting a three run homer with Kayla Soles and Smith on board and Whitney Arion sending one out that brought home Benz and Puhafl.

Louisville will open up play at home with the Louisville Classic March 6-8. Illinois State, Ball State, Massachusetts and Northwestern come to town.

paulie
xxxxx  

WBB AT VA TODAY...LAX, SOFTBALL GRAB ROAD WINS -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

REGULAR SEASON FINALE VS. CAVS

Jeff Walz's UofL WBB squad looks for their 25th win of the season with a 1 p.m. tip against the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, VA. The Cards have cinched a 3rd place finish in the ACC regular-season standings but look to build momentum for the ACC Tournament that begins Wednesday

Where better to keep the momentum building than in the gym of an opponent celebrating Senior Day that you beat by 12 earlier in the season?

The Cavs have lost their mojo, losing five out of their  last six...including a heartbreaking 72-70 fall at UNC Thursday night. Virginia (16-12, 6-9) has secured a spot safe from having to play on opening day of the ACC Tourney but will try to send seniors Sarah Imovbioh and Sara Beth Barnette successfully into home court retirement with a "W". 

This one is on RSN and Fox Sports South (Deb Antonelli) for viewing and Matt and AJ jump back to WKRD 790 AM for the radio feed. We'll recap it later tonight.

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SOFTBALL SWEEPS YELLOW JACKETS

Louisville Softball got the ACC season off to a successful start by swatting the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 6-1 and 5-4 in Atlanta yesterday.

LOUISVILLE 6 - GA TECH 1 

Maryssa Becker was the story in the first game...tossing a two-hitter at GT and going to 2-0 in the season. The Cards were deadlocked at 1-1 going into the top of the fourth with Ga. Tech but a Kelsi Jones walk and Hailey Smith
 homer to left (a booming blast OVER the scoreboard) set the tally at 3-1. 

The Cards would push that to 6-1 in the sixth. Smith walked, stole second and scored on a Nicole Puhafl single. Brittany Sims sent a two-run blast out of the park to complete the scoring. 

LOUISVILLE 5 - GA TECH 4

The Cards rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take the nightcap...Louisville getting six strong innings of relief from Shelby McCombs (3-1) to get the "W". 

Becker began the scoring with a solo fence clearer in the first but Madi Norman was touched for three runs in the bottom of the inning. Jones scored on a Smith single in the 3rd to get within one and regained the lead in the sixth when Whitney Arion notched her third "see ya later" of the year with two on. 

The two squads close out the series today with a noon start

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LACROSSE DOWNS DENVER 14-9

Kaylin Morissette led a balanced Louisville LAX scoring attack to take Kellie Young's squad to 3-0 on the season. The Cards get the 14-9 win behinds Morissette's four goals and nine draw controls on the road. All the way, Kay!

The Cards held a 2-0 lead after seven minutes with goals from Faye Brust and Cortnee Daley. Brust and Heidi Smith scored in a ninety second stretch to give the Cards a 4-1 edge. Morissette went back-to-back in the net and Daley tossed one in to build the Cardinal advantage to 7-2 with nine minutes before halftime...but Denver put two goals on the board to send the Cards to the locker room up 7-4. 

A strong second half start salted this one away for UofL. 

Four straight Uof L goals... beginning with a Brust score just 45 seconds into play and net-finders by Hannah Koloski, Carlissa Corbett and Morissette pumped the Cards lead to 11-4. 

Denver cut the lead to 11-6 before the Cards could counter with Koloski's third score of the afternoon. The Pioneers placed two more in the net to make it 12-8 with ten minutes left. 

Koloski stepped up with her third goal a minute later and Morissette concluded the Louisville scoring to set the final 14-9. Goalkeeper Ashley Peacock had six saves on the day.

The LAX Cards return home for a Wednesday 3 p.m. tilt against Duquesne. 

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10 SECOND DRILL

- We expect the archived version of the CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR to be up and available for listening at Crescent Hill Radio later today. In case you missed it, Worldwide Jeff McAdams made his triumphant return to the microphone and filled us in on his Notre Dame excursion. We also reviewed the WBB Senior Night festivities and played senior audio from the post-game presser that you won't want to miss. Jeff took the WORLDWIDE Quiz and got a "B". See if you can beat him. The topic was ACC WBB. 

It's radio that is unrehearsed, live, impromptu and the hour just seems to fly by. Link below: 

A LAPTOP, TWO MICROPHONES AND TWO STOOGES


- Hats off to our February CARDINAL COUPLE contest winner Doug Anderson.

We've got a March Contest you can enter...pick the two teams who will play for the ACC Tournament Championship and total points scored. 

Sonja says:  Louisville beats Notre Dame and 123 total points are scored.

Leave your picks in the comments sections leading up to Wednesday or e-mail them to cardinalcouple@twc.com

WE got a CC T-Shirt and a $25 gift card from Cracker Barrel waiting for the winner.  


paulie
xxxxx

SOFTBALL STARTS ACC PLAY TODAY

5-5 CARDS TRAVEL TO ATLANTA FOR GA.TECH

It hardly seems like softball season here in Louisville...with all the snow still on the ground...and one can only imagine how the sting of the bat feels on the hands in this frigid weather. 

The University of Louisville softball team, though, is 10 games into the 2015 schedule and is in Atlanta today to play two against ACC opponent Ga. Tech.

The Ramblin' Wreck is 7-6 this year and is on a five game winning streak...taking all five games in the GT-GSU Tournament. They like to run the bases, scoring 57 runs in those five wins, and they like keeping opponents off the bags with just nine runs allowed in the five game stretch.

GT has sent 15 Mr. Spaldings over the fence this year and freshman pitcher Christina Biggerstaff is 3-1 with 38 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA. 

The Cards will counter with a young inside the circle contingent as well. Freshmen Shelby McCombs (2-1) and Madi Norman (2-4) share a team-high 24 innings pitched and sophomore Maryssa Becker (1-0) has struck out 20 batters in her 18 innings of work and the pitcher/first base star is hitting a crisp .500 with two fence clearers and five doubles. She's also on a nine-game hitting streak. 

Jordan McNary leads Louisville with a .556 batting average and Kelsi Jones has driven home eight RBI's.

They throw the first pitch at 1 p.m. and we'll review it tomorrow. 

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO hits the airwaves again this morning at 11 a.m. and we've got a busy show again lined up. We'll get Worldwide Jeff McAdams' report on his South Bend trip and review the Notre Dame and Boston College WBB games. We'll also take a look ahead to Sunday's game against Virginia. Add in softball, lacrosse and a quiz...plus a possible visit from Don Paulie and we'll need to try and squeeze about 90 minutes of news into 60.

You can listen locally on WCHQ 100.9 FM or online at:

www.crescenthillradio.com


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Hats off to our February CARDINAL COUPLE contest winner Doug Anderson. We've got a March Contest you can enter...pick the two teams who will play for the ACC Tournament Championship and total points scored. 

Sonja says:  Louisville beats Notre Dame and 123 total points are scored.

Leave your picks in the comments sections leading up to Wednesday or e-mail them to cardinalcouple@twc.com

WE got a CC T-Shirt and a $25 gift card from Cracker Barrell waiting for the winner.  

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Lacrosse puts their 2-0 record on the table when they take on Denver in Denver at 3:30 p.m. today. 

The Cards have wins over Canisius and Cincy. #19 Denver fell at Syracuse to start the season but has rallied with wins over Colorado and Vanderbilt.  

paulie
xxxxx

Sending the Seniors out in style...Louisville 77 - Boston College 60 -- Friday Cardinal Couple

Five hit for double figures in Cards win

Cards signing autographs after the game

The Louisville women's basketball team survived a three-point barrage from visiting Boston College and said goodbye to five seniors in the home finale for the Cards Thursday night. 10488 braved arctic-like weather in Louisville to see Bria Smith, Sherrone Vails, Shawnta' Dyer, Jude Schimmel and Sara Hammond...the Cards never in serious trouble against a trifecta-happy BC squad that attempted 26 and made 12.

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game

They shot threes with the same voracity that Paulie hits the media buffet...and six different Eagles cashed in from the deep. BC attempted 47 shots in the game and 12 of the 22 baskets made were outside the arc.

After a pre-game ceremony honoring the seniors and their families (Jude's contingent numbered 18...) Jeff Walz started all five final year players and they jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes after six straight Dyer points and a Smith putback of a Hammond shot. 


The Eagles countered with two straight threes by Nicole Boudreau to get within two...but it would be the closest they would get for the remainder of the game.


Walz kept the seniors on the court for the first six minutes before sending the freshmen Moore and Hines-Allen into the contest. Louisville had amassed a 14-6 lead at that point and would finish the 10-0 run with the duo connecting on a fast break layup by Hines-Allen and two Moore free throws.

It was 18-6 and you got the feeling that this one was already a "W".

Louisville led 31-15 with 7:34 showing on the clock after a spectacular Moore three and the talented freshman would run off five more straight points to give UofL a 36-23 edge with five minutes left in the half.

BC did not relent in the three-point efforts...taking 14 in the first twenty minutes and hitting seven. Kelly Hughes three with 86 seconds left in the half trimmed the Louisville advantage to 42-31 but Louisville added two Moore free throws and a Hines-Allen jumper with eight seconds to take the 46-31 lead to the locker room.

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com

Moore (12 points) and Dyer (10 points) were already in double figures for the Cards and Louisville was outscoring the Eagles 30-8 in the paint. BC's halftime stats revealed numbers I don't ever remember seeing before...they were 11-22 from the floor (50%), 7-14 from three-point range (50%) and 2-4 from the free throw line (50%). Their eight rebound were four offensive (50%) and four defensive (50%).


The halftime activities featured an incredible group of a dozen or so Native American dancer groups that ranged from grade school aged performers to senior citizen dancers...all dressed in colorful and intricate tribal wear. They were accompanied by the steady drum beat and chant from the amazing Elk Soldier drum core...which featured almost a dozen drummers with one drumstick each -- beating a single drum in unison while chanting. 

Photo by Charlie Springer --UofLCardgame.com

The Cards started the second half with the same senior starting five. The Eagles were back with the long range bombing, though and hit the first two threes they attempted to trim the Cardinal advantage to 46-37 a minute and a half into action. BC hung around within range for the first five minutes...trading baskets with Louisville and trailed 55-44 after a Ashley Kelsick score inside. 

The Cards got busy after that and went on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 67-46 lead with 10:07 to play on a Hines-Allen putback of her own missed shot. That lead would stretch out to 77-51 with five minutes to play after a Vails jumper off a nice feed by Bria. 

Walz had all the seniors back on the court with 3:24 remaining and substituted for them...one by one...to a standing ovation from the crowd with 31 seconds to go. Sherrone Vails was the last to leave. The Eagles finished with a 9-0 run...including (you guessed it) a couple more threes for the 77-60 final score. 

Moore led the double figure producers with 18 points (including four threes) and Dyer finished with 13. Hines-Allen added 12, Jude (with three threes) and Bria totaled 11 points each. A quiet offensive night for Sara (1-8) and just three points in 26 minutes. Louisville forced 27 Eagles turnovers that produced 38 points and held a 22-5 second change advantage. The Cards also had 19 assists on 28 baskets. 

Louisville was looking to improve from the outing against Notre Dame and they did accomplish that quite well. Walz wanted the defense to make BC take layups instead of threes, which didn't turn out so well, but Louisville did shoot 42.4% for the game...a blistering 56.3% in the first twenty and a so-so 29.4% in the final half. 

All five seniors were featured in the post-game presser and they discussed their memories and feelings about their time at UofL. Bria fought back tears when she talked about the seniors 'sisterhood' , Sara spoke passionately about passing the torch to the underclassmen, Shawnta' recalled her trials with overcoming injuries, Sherrone spoke eloquently about her love for the fans and her teammates and Jude announced she is writing a book titled Dreamcatcher. 

I got a little misty-eyed seeing them all there together and realizing it would be the last time I've ever see them up on that stage. 

A fitting way for these five to end their KFC YUM! Center days. All played at least 19 minutes and all five scored. The task is not done for them yet...dangerous Virginia awaits them Sunday in Charlottesville and ACC Tournament play next Friday as a probable #3 seed. 

In a season that has produced a very unexpected 24-4 record and the emergence of two of the best freshmen in the country...the contributions of Jude, Sara, Shawnta', Sherrone and Bria will long be remembered by Cardinal fans. Five women that bonded to make up the largest senior class in Jeff Walz's coaching history and five individuals that will go on to achieve even greater things when they leave campus and go out into the world after college. No matter where they end up...you get the feeling this fivesome will always be a tight-knit bond. 

( A special thanks to Charlie Springer at UofLCardGame.com for sending photos of last night's game and the photos he has supplied us with all season long. Be sure to check out his Senior Night photo gallery at his fine website www.uoflcardgame.com)

paulie
xxxxx 

WBB hosts Boston College for Senior Night -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

CARDS HONOR FIVE SENIORS TONIGHT

Sometimes, I wonder where the time goes...

It seems way less than five years ago that Shawnta' Dyer and Sherrone Vails arrived on the UofL campus. Vails...a big name paint player coming in to join a 2010-11 squad that was coming off Jeff Walz's only losing season at UofL. Dyer ready to roll but suffering a season-ending injury before she ever got to play. A freak heel fracture in a controlled scrimmage. 

Shoni Schimmel, Nita Slaughter, Polly Harrington and Charmaine Tay were also a part of that freshman class. Names we'll either remember for a long time or bring up on rare occasions when discussing the history of UofL WBB.

Fast forward to 2011-12. Sara Hammond joined the ranks, Louisville winning the battle with UConn to gain her services. Jude Schimmel became the second off-spring of Cece and Rick to arrive on campus. Bria Smith reconsidered and said "no" to Virginia after a coaching change and "yes" to Coach Walz. Dyer was healthy and Vails was ready to swat shots and rebound. 

108 victories these five have been a part of. Final fours and the biggest upset win in the history of women's college basketball. Opening a brand new downtown arena. Playing in three different conferences. Injuries, setbacks and times in the limelight and times watching from the seats on the sidelines. 

Ah...the life of a college student-athlete.

Boston College comes into town tonight to be the Cards senior night opponent. Chances are...if head coach Erik Johnson could have picked another opponent or another night to face the #8 Cardinals...he probably would have traded with any of the ACC members on the spot. Unless the option was the Irish.

These Eagles are 12-15 and 4-10 in ACC play. Unless they pull off the biggest shocker in ACC Tournament play history in Greensboro, they'll be concentrating on studies instead of offensive sets in mid-March. They've lost three of their last five...Sue Semrau's Seminoles delivering the latest "L" 86-68 on Paulie's birthday Sunday.

These Bostonians shoot the three a lot. Kelly Hughes has made 74 of them this year for BC. They connect on an ACC-best 8.4 in 23 attempts per game. 

A beautiful halftime ceremony is planned for Native American night. You won't want to hit the concession stands for those 15 minutes. Black Elk puts on a drumming show that will leave you in awe and admiration.

 A pre-game honoring of the five seniors will make you want to arrive early to the KFC YUM! Center. All five will start against the Golden Eagles.

Come out.

It's the final home game of the year for Louisville WBB. It's your chance to say "we love ya and goodbye" to "The Hammer", "Hey Jude", "I see ya Bria", "URinDyerNeedofme" and "Roni". Five women that came, saw, conquered, dealt with the pain and pleasure and performed for your entertainment. They deserve your applause one more time. They've certainly earned it. 

It'll be on WKRD 790 and Cards TV if you can't attend. An expected good time is planned for all. Unless you're sporting Baldwin the Eagle's gear. We'll wrap it up later tonight...

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Words From Walz

Jeff Walz did address the media yesterday about the seniors and the upcoming game against BC...amongst other things. Unfortunately, the Cardinal Couple crew was unable to attend the 11:30 a.m. presser. I suppose I'll have to wait until this evening to get another math lesson from the Mad Scientist. He did cover a variety of subjects in the 17 minutes oratory...including the WBB Squad getting grounded after the Notre Dame game and caravaning it back to the "Ville". 

Check it out at the link below:

WALZ TALKS SENIORS AND BC


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Durr, Cole named to WBCA All-American Team


Congratulations are in order to 2015 signees Asia Durr and Taja Cole for being named to the WBCA high school All-American team. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association honored Durr on the 10-player first team and Cole was one of twenty selected as honorable mention.


Katie Lou Samuelson was picked as WBCA Player of the Year. 

paulie
xxxxx

ASIA DURR A NAISMITH FINALIST -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

St. Pius star one of five for POY Award

( We step away briefly today from current UofL WBB to look at one of the bright spots in the future for Jeff Walz's squad. If you catch Walz in sunglasses...it's because the future is so bright he has to wear shades...)

To say future Cardinal Asia Durr has had an impact on high school basketball would be like mentioning that water is wet. 

The senior point guard from St. Pius X High School in Atlanta adds another honor to her high school career in being named as one of five finalist for the Naismith Trophy Girls' High School Player of the Year award. She is the first player recruited by UofL to be selected for the top award in girls' high school basketball. 

Durr, considered the #1 player in the country by ESPN and Prospects Nation, is also a McDonald's All-American and had 40 points last night in a St. Pius loss in the quarterfinals of Georgia's Class AAAA quarterfinals. 

Joining Durr in the finalist slots are Napheesa Collins (UConn), Tea Cooper (Tennessee), Lashann Higgs (Texas) and Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn).

Durr, quite simply put, is amazing. She totaled 2700 career points at St. Pius...facing double and triple teams during her four years as a Golden Lion. 




St Pius fell to Buford in a rematch against a team they had sent to the sidelines the previous two year in Georgia State Tournament play. Durr fouled out of the contest with 23 seconds left and St. Pius down by two. Buford coach Gene Durden had this to say about Asia:

" Asia Durr is everything as advertised. I've been around 27 years coaching girls basketball and the only girl I can say who is close to her is Maya Moore. Asia is a complete player. She's an absolute fierce competitor. They (St. Pius) run everything through her."

Durr had 52 and 44 points in the first two playoff games. 


Watch the many videos out there online that feature her. Break down her play and watch her "wow" factor. The Cards are getting a point guard that works harder than anyone on the court while making it all look easy. Her sense of court awareness, scoring creation and basketball IQ equal that of the top seniors in college basketball at this point in her career. 

The scary thing is that she's only going to get better with four years under Jeff Walz. A noted WNBA coach commented about her play:

"She's the reason I wish the WNBA had the money to offer a 'one and done' to players . She could go to Europe and pull down six figures right after high school with the skills she has. She's another of those girls that Walz brings in that will wow the fanbase and take the Cards back to the Final Four." 

Pretty heady stuff for a high school senior. And, she's in Atlanta. Plenty of opportunities to connect with two other UofL stars that have made a pretty good name for themselves in their careers. 

Shoni...Angel...meet Asia. Get her ready for the show that is KFC YUM! Center WBB. Asia Taylor...drop by and talk to the next Cardinal Asia. 

And get ready...fans...for pure Durr. 

paulie

16-0 run dooms Cards in South Bend -- Notre Dame 68 - Louisville 52 -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

2nd half slump sinks Cards in South Bend 

Brianna Turner hosted a block party Mon. night

I'm hoping this article gets posted to the Cardinal Couple website. There's always the chance Notre Dame's Brianna Turner could appear out of nowhere and swat it off the page. 

In a game full of highs and lows, Turner's seven blocked shots and a second half 16-0 Notre Dame run were high points for the Irish in dismantling UofL 68-52 in the Purcell Pavilion Monday night before 8911 fans and a nationwide audience on ESPN 2.

The Cards actually got off to an encouraging start and were scoring inside...leading 11-7 six minutes into the game. Balanced scoring where all the starters but Moore had put points on the board. 

Shawnta' Dyer gave Louisville their biggest lead of the half on a 'plus 1' that made it 14-9 with 12:34 on the clock...but ND rolled off an 8-0 run to go up by three on a coast-to-coast Madison Cable layup. 

Muffet waves to Worldwide Jeff

Sara Hammond went to work inside for the Cards to keep it close. A layup with 5:05 left made it 23-22 Notre Dame. Hammond's eighth point of the half inside drew the Cards within three at 29-26 with 1:56 on the clock.

A Dyer hook shot set the halftime score at 31-28 UND. Jewel Loyd had nine points for the home team and Sara Hammond had eight for the Cards. Mariya Moore hadn't made a basket yet and Loyd & her teammates defense held her to two free throws. 

Moore broke away from the pursuit briefly in the second half and produced the Cards first nine points. 

Dyer gets this one off in the paint, She was 4-6 last night

The Cards rallied from the three-point halftime deficit and took a 37-35 lead at the 16:20 mark. A nice feed from Jude Schimmel to Mariya Moore led to Moore's fourth basket of the half and Louisville looked energized and ready to battle #4 in the nation to the buzzer. It was Moore 9 - Notre Dame 4 and the freshman had 11 points. 

Unfortunately, the script changed again and Moore would not score again.

The next five minutes turned into a Irish riverdance over the Cards...Jewel Loyd, Taya Reimer and Turner frolicking past the step-slow, shot-slightly-off Cards to go up 51-37 with 11:15 left in the game. The stretch included Jeff Walz getting a technical for protesting a Turner block that looked like a foul. 

Sara Hammond's three would finally put the Notre Dame run to an end...but the damage had been done. 

"Sorry, Cards...I'm on my way to 20. It's what the best guard
in the ACC does. 

Louisville would make one last attempt to get back in the contest...a 9-0 run that followed the Irish run. Dyer's two free throws with 7:47 to go cut the Irish advantage to 51-46 and there was a glimmer of hope that the Cards just might be soaring to pull out yet another second half mastery over an opponent. 

Sadly, UofL would get no closer than that five-point deficit the rest of the way. 

Moore picked up her fourth and fifth fouls within 30 seconds of each other and went to the bench with Louisville trailing 59-48 at the 3:45 mark. The Irish breezed in on a 9-4 run the rest of the way to take a 68-52 win.

Moore experiences Cable difficulties here. 

A rough shooting night for Walz's ballers. 21-63 for 33%. The free throw line wasn't kind to the Cards either...going 7-13 for 53.8% Louisville ended up putting three players in double figures...11 points each for Sara, Mariya and Shawnta'...which is commendable when you consider all the ones that Turner was turning away in the paint. Turner and Reimer are going to be around for awhile...bad news for UofL and the rest of the ACC . The 6'4" bookends are long and prowl the paint well. 

Louisville allowed the Irish 23-47 shooting for 48.9%. Loyd went for 20, Taya Reimer was 8-8 and 16 points and Turner had 11 points, nine boards and seven swats. 

The 16-point loss looks rough on paper...but Louisville was still within striking distance until Moore went to the bench. It reinforces the importance she (and Myisha Hines-Allen) have had on this team as freshman.

The loss also showed us that Louisville simply can't afford to

fall asleep at the wheel for significant stretches in game. When you consider that Moore was the only Cardinal to score for the first 9:40 of the final half one has to wonder what was going on with the other four Cardinals accompanying her out there on the court. 

Last night was a lesson on what the Cards need to do to get to that next level Walz wants them to be at. A veteran team mixed with youth withstands two runs on their home court and delivers a second-half knockout punch. It looked like (to this watcher) the Cards resigned themselves to a loss after Moore sat down and no one stood up to carry on the fight. Someone should have been there to cut into the 11 point Irish lead. Instead, it ballooned to 16. 

Yes, the Cards were getting beaten before Moore fouled out...but great teams step up in adverse situations.  

The scenario is one that Louisville is well-familiar with...they've used it to bury opponents all season long. On Monday night, the roles were reversed. 

Help is on the way next year. Last night, Louisville had no punch left after Moore went to the corner. 

Louisville now sits alone in third place of the ACC...two back of Notre Dame and one behind FSU. The Cards will look to get back on track when Boston College visits Thursday. 

On a night where the Irish front line starters went 12-13 from the floor and sent eight Cardinal inside attempts astray...the best defensive team in the ACC got taught a few lessons in blockage by a sophomore and freshmen. Notre Dame ruled the paint, which is usually Cardinal territory. It was the Cards first double digit loss of the season. 

Worldwide Jeff McAdams was in attendance for this one and he'll either podcast his experiences in South Bend later this week or save them for the Saturday radio show. 

paulie
xxxxx