CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
We report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports here. Thanks for checking us out! Click the picture of Louie to hear the latest Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast!!

Monday, March 18, 2024

Cards WBB #6 seed in Baton Rouge to start NCAA WBB Tourney -- Sofrball Defeats Ill 5-4 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS TO OPEN AS A #6 SEED IN ALBANY REGION AGAINST MTSU 




Louisville Women's basketball will begin their 2024 NCAA Tournament agains a familar foe in MTSU and the action will take place in Baton Rouge. The winner gets the winner of #3 LSU vs. #14 seed Rice. Game day for UofL is Friday.and tipoff time and TV channel designation .will come at a laterr date. ...

The Cards are n a tough regional where LSU was dropped to a #3 seed, One has to wonder why UCLA got a #2 seed instead of LSU, but the NCAA has their reasons....they have a great lead in with Hailey Van Lih's new team against her old team...provided Louisville can get by MTSU. The Blue Raiders defeated Louisville 67-49 in the 2022-23 regular season in Murfreesboro




Louisville has three players back from that loss last year, in Olivia Cochran, Nyla Harris and Merissah Russell. Cochran had 14 pts to lead the Cards in scoring. 

We'll have much more on this NCAA WBB first rounder from our columists as the game gets closer. 


CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB BRACKET CHALLENGE



The bracket selectins are open! Commish Jared would like your picks in an hour before the first game and reminds you that the play-in games DO NOT count as points toward your total. He would also like to remind you to add a final score. Winner gets their choice of a $25 Gift Cards to Cracker Barrel or Wagner's . iI 's a free entry, too! 

Here is the bracket: https://www.cbssports.com/womens-college-basketball/ncaa-tournament/bracket/printable-women/

ESPN HAS A PRETTY GOOD BRACKET CHALLENGE TOO:  Access it HERE 

LEAVE YOUR PICKS IN ANY OF THE COMMENTS SECTIONS HERE AT THE SITE. 

Any bracket or contest questions can be sent to the comments section or directly to Paulie or Jared.. And, no, we don't know the winners, either, but we love to think we do.

GOOD LUCK !!!!!


SOFTBALL DEFEATS ILLINOIS 5-4 IN CARDINAL CLASSIC FINAL GAME




Alyssa Zabala went 6-2/3rd innings and Riley Frizzell banged a solo homer in the bottom of the 5th inning tmgive the Cards a lead they would never relinquish.  

Illinois jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning, but the Cards would cut that in half in the bottom of the inning. 




Illinois last lead came at 3-1 in the top of the fourth but the Cards roaded back to lead 4-3 in the bottom of the inning, a two out, two RBI single by Daisy Hess. 

Illinois would tie it up inthe top of the fifth, but the Cards would regain the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Riley Frizzell parked a bomb to right field that almost hit Arthur Street  




Gabby Holloway pitched a third of an inning in the top of the seventh to preserve the 5-4 lead and Cardinals win....


PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON


PAULIE




Sunday, March 17, 2024

Two Big Wins, Softball and Lacrosse - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Lacrosse


(All photos from Jared Anderson)

Two big wins yesterday, one each for Lacrosse and Softball.  But "Big Wins" means a bit different thing for each of them.

You can always tell it's a big game
based on the bench's reaction.
Lacrosse bested 20th ranked Clemson, 13-12.  The Tigers are only in their second year of play in lacrosse, but have hit the scene in a big way.  Entering the game, they were 6-2 overall, and holding that 20th ranking nationally.

We need a streak check first, though.  Yes, Nicole Perroni continued her consecutive game scoring streak, in fact she started off the scoring for the Cards with only two and a half minutes elapsed in the game.  It was, however, an answer to Clemson's opening score.  The Tigers would get a couple more in the 1st quarter, and those would be answered by Kylea Dobson and Rian Adkins wrapping the 1st quarter tied 3-3.

Negai Nakazawa celebrates one of
Nicole Perroni's goals.
The offenses, and particularly the Clemson offense, got in gear in the 2nd quarter, however.  Two and a half minutes in to the quarter Allegra Catelano answered Clemson's opening minute goal.  For the rest of the quarter, however, Clemson would maintain most of the control, outscoring the Cards 6-2, with the scoring run only broken up by the Nakazawa sisters.  Kokoro scored without about nine and a half minutes left in the quarter, and Negai with about seven.  The halftime score was 10-6.

Combine the 2nd quarter run with the opening goal in the 3rd quarter and the Cards would reach their biggest deficit of the game, 11-6.

From about the 11 minute mark in the 3rd quarter, however, the Teeter squad would finish the game on a 7-1 run.  Kokoro kicked off the scoring with her 2nd goal, and Adkins would also get her 2nd.  Lauren Figas would get her name in the stat sheet, and Izzy Seikel would get a pair in the run.  Perroni would also add another couple for the hat trick.

Kokoro Nakazawa has never said that
this game is easy.
With Perroni's score with about four minutes left in the game, it became mostly a game of keepaway for the Cards.  With Clemson getting increasingly frustrated, and eventually drawing a green card resulting in a free position play.  Perroni, however, backed the ball out and continued the game of keepaway, to wrap the game up on a power play.

Goal duties was split between Sara Adeche starting and playing about 20 minutes before J Pleck came in and finished out the other 40.  Adeche had a fine outing, with three save, but allowed five goals.  But it was Pleck that really wowed.  They only allowed three goals against, and snagged seven saves, a very good showing, indeed.

You can catch Jared's interview with Head Coach Scott Teeter and J Pleck at:

Lacrosse will be back in action on Thursday against Liberty in Lynchburg.  They'll be back at the LLS on March 27th hosting Xavier.

Softball

 
Softball also had a big game yesterday, as mentioned, but in a bit different sense of the words.  The opponent, Michigan, isn't ranked, but the Cards would ultimately win the game by a big margin, 12-4.

Hosting the Cardinal Classic, a series of 11 games starting Thursday and finishing today, the Cards are only playing in 1 of those games per day.  Spare a thought for those staffing the event as this makes for an extremely long weekend for them.  Chief among them is Assistant Sports Information Director and Cardinal Couple favorite Lori Korte.  She not only fulfills the SID role, but she's also the overall coordinator for the event, and chief scorer.  A woman of many talents, a tip of the hat for Lori.

Alyssa Zabala found her groove after
the first inning.
Back to the game, however.  The first inning...well...it started out terrible for the Cards.  Alyssa Zabala started in the circle and clearly had just stepped off the strugglebus.  The first three batters up for Michigan singled, walked, and reached on an error to load the bases up.  A pop-up froze the runners for the first out, but it was still a dire situation with bases loaded and only a single out.  The next batter would make contact, but quick thinking and a quick throw by Bailee Richardson at 3rd would get the lead runner out at home, keeping the Wolverines off the scoreboard, but leaving the bases loaded.  I think it was then that the Alyssa that we know finally showed up, fanning the last batter to get out of the jam.

After that, things settled down pretty well for Zabala and she pitched the type of game that we have come to expect from her.

The Cards would threaten in the bottom of the 1st, getting Paige Geraghty around to 3rd base, but couldn't get her home.  It wasn't until the 2nd that the Cards would get going on the scoreboard.

Gabby Holloway rounding third for a
home run.  Which one? You'll have to
ask photographer Jared.

It was a simple, but still quite impressive scoring situation.  Richardson singled out to left center, and then Gabby Holloway (batting as the designated player) blasted the cover off the ball right down the left field line, staying just fair.  I think the ball was later retrieved from the far side of the roundabout at Floyd and Brandeis.

2-0 was the score at 2 innings.  Not bad, to be sure, but then the 3rd inning happened.
 
The inning started out with a fly out, but then Riley Frizell got a double.  Frizell is not one of the speedsters on the team, so Pickle Winkler came in to pinch run for her.  That speed will be important in a moment.  Vanessa Miller singled, and Pickle would use that speed to score from 2nd.  Vanessa Miller tried to steal second, but was easily beaten by the throw and tagged arriving at the base.  Fortunately the pitch was a fourth ball and the attempted steal and tag officially never happened, instead she advances to second on the walk.

Gabby Holloway came back up for her 2nd at-bat and basically more of the same, just this time, she lifted the ball to right center instead of down the left field line.  The three run homer makes the score 6-0.  In your best infomercial voice, "But that's not all!"  After Michigan brought out a new pitcher, Ally Alexander drew a four pitch walk, Kiley Goff gets hit by a pitch, and then Chelsea Mack laid down an absolutely beautiful bunt on the first pitch of her at-bat, and seven pitches into the new pitcher, the Cards go from empty bases to loaded.
Paige Geraghty, after mostly clearing
the bases with a big triple.

Paige Geraghty comes to the plate.  Now she's a slap hitter, and not known for getting much power, so defenses tend to pull way in when she comes to bat.  So she promptly slaps it, gets a nice bouncer that bounces over the center fielder and the ball rolls at the way to the fence.  While not known for power, Geraghty is rather well known for her speed and legs out a triple, driving home the other three runners.  The score is now 9-0.

Riley Frizell rounding third clearly
worried about whether there was any
damage to the car on Brandeis.
Geraghty would use her speed again, scoring on a wild pitch during Daisy Hess's at-bat.  Hess would eventually draw a walk.  Now, we've gone all the way around the lineup and more, but that necessitates re-entering Frizell in place of Pickle.  Now you might be tempted to ask why not just let Pickle bat?  Well, we can't know how well she would've done, but it certainly wouldn't have been any better than Frizell who's shot hit a car on Brandeis.  The Cards would get another couple of base runners, but nothing more across.  But that's hardly worth worrying about after an inning of 10 runs on 7 hits.  The score after three was 12-0.

Vanessa Miller, catching everything in
right field.
Michigan would get a run in the top of the 4th, a homer onto the upper berm in right center, but things would get a bit tense in the 5th.  Brooke Gray entered to pitch in the 5th.  A runner reached on a error, then Vanessa Miller caught a pair of flies, one foul, one fair, down the right field line to get to two outs.  Michigan needs four runs to avoid the run-rule here in the 5th.  A four pitch walk puts a 2nd runner on base and then Michigan would bomb a three run homer to straight away center.  The score is 12-4, which would still invoke the run-rule, but any more rules would avoid it.  Fortunately, Gray got the strike out to end the game.

This was a dominant performance, other than the first part of that 1st inning, from a team that clearly took the loss to Illinois to heart.

You can see the post-game, where Jared chats with Riley Frizell and Gabby Holloway where they talk about coming together as a team after the Illinois loss.  Also, enjoy the clear camaraderie between these two:
 
The Cards (and staff) will wrap up the Cardinal Classic today at 5pm in a rematch against Illinois.  Despite having earlier games, it's quite likely this one will start at 5pm as the schedule has left extra time before this game.  That's a TV call as it will be on ACC Network linear and they wanted to be sure that it would start on time.
 

Bracketology

 
Yep, it's that time, for everyone to speculate on where your favorite teams will be placed in the NCAA tournament bracket.  For everyone to complain about the easy run that UConn will undoubtedly have, again.  For everyone to sit on the edge of their seats on whether some of their favorites will even get in to the tournament.

To be clear, it doesn't appear Louisville is in any danger of missing out altogether, Charlie Creme has us as a six seed playing opening rounds in Corvallis OR...surely we can get a better location than that.  I'm sure Corvallis is lovely, but traveling two thirds of the way across the country for the tournament is not ideal.

The nail biter for CardNation will mostly be on behalf of former Cardinal Assistant Coach Sam Purcell, now helming the Mississippi State Bulldogs, that Creme has listed as the first team not to make the tournament.  The Dogs have played well down there, and there certainly is an energy and excitement in that program, could there be any doubt with Purcell at the helm, and it would be a shame for them to miss out on this.

Other bracketology placements of note from Creme:
  • Defending National Champs LSU is a two seed
  • South Carolina, surprising no one, is the top overall seed
  • 9 current ACC teams make the bracket, plus Stanford joining next year

I certainly don't claim to have any better insights than someone like Creme, who does this as a full time job, would have.  But of course, that won't stop others from expressing opinions.  What say you?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.


We'll do the $25 gifr card selecion in the Cardinal Couple Bracket Challenge again, winner gets to choose from a Cracker Barrel or Wagner's Card...Per Paulie


Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

And finally, four for the CCRHP yesterday, with Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself making the call.  Softball, Lacrosse, and Basketball made the discussion topics, as expected.

Check it out at:


-- 

JMcA

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Softball Iced Out on Chilly Friday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Gray Shelled Early in Loss to Illinois


Louisville softball, on the heels of a comeback win against South Dakota on the first day of the Cardinal Classic, handed the ball to the freshman wunderkind in the circle against Illinois (9-11 entering the game) to take care of business. Unfortunately, the early scoring bug bit the Cards again, and they were shut out for the first time this season as the game wore on. After giving up a four-spot in the first, Louisville would give up single runs on two more occasions before ultimately falling 6-0 to the Illini. 

There's a first time for everything, and I imagine that Brooke Gray did not have "give up three runs in 0+ innings" on her to-do list when she got up yesterday morning. In fact, I imagine it didn't even cross her mind since it has not happened to her in her career. That's the way it went yesterday evening, though, with Illinois jumping on her like a flea. A full-count triple opened the game (if you start with a 3-0 count bad things happen), and a single scored the first run. Another single on a bunt put two on and a double cleared the bases. Four straight hits was enough to end Gray's day, and Gabby Holloway took over. The Cards first out came on a caught stealing, and a pop-up gave the defense their second. Another single and double extended the lead to 4-0 before the inning finally ended. 

The Cards looked to have a chance to fight back right away. Chelsea Mack singled to open the inning and Daisy Hess walked to put two on with nobody out. The threat ended there, though, as three straight strikeouts ended the inning. Louisville did not put two runners on at the same time for the remainder of the game. Illinois threatened to have another big inning in the second, but a pair of strikeouts with the bases loaded made it so that the Cards needed just one to get out of the inning. A wild pitch scored a run to make it 5-0 and a hit that would have made it 7-0 was negated by a runner leaving early to end the inning. Illinois scored one more in the top of the 7th to set the final score at 6-0.

Louisville ended the first with an ERA of 28 and a WHIP of 6. Those are... bad. Louisville's first inning pitching has left a bit to be desired this season. The Cards have an ERA of 5.65 in the first inning and WHIP of 1.81. They've held the opponent to no walks, hits, or runs in just eight games so far. All eight of those games have resulted in wins. In games in which the Cards have given up a run in the first inning, only one of those was a single run. That came against Virginia Tech on what could have been a two-run homer but the runner that opened the inning was called out for leaving early. Louisville has just one win in games in which they gave a run in the first; it came against Bowling Green. 

Overall, Louisville's pitching is much better than in the first inning. Their ERA is 3.30 on the season and their WHIP is just 1.44. It's clear that the Cards are losing games as a result of slow starts in the circle and it's a problem that will have to get sorted out. This is a team that isn't doing a good job of playing from behind, so they need to stop getting behind. At 17-9, Louisville is still off to a good start. There is plenty of time to get on track and one of their biggest hurdles in the ACC is already behind them. The Cards get a rematch against Michigan this evening. Louisville won the first game between the two teams on February 17th in Boca Raton. It was a 2-0 victory for the Cards, and it was one of the games where Louisville blanked the opponent in the first. Head out to Ulmer at 6PM or tune in to ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast


We're back with another episode this week and the show should return to it's live form on the YouTube channel. There will be four on the call, with Daryl out playing Pick-Up Sticks or something like that. We'll talk lacrosse and softball and likely make some predictions about Louisville's seeding in the upcoming NCAA tournament. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link
Anchor (podcast host): Link
Apple Podcasts: Link
Google Podcasts: Link
Overcast (free account required): Link
Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link
RadioPublic: Link
Spotify: Link





Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Friday, March 15, 2024

Softball beats South Dakota 8-5 -- WBB awaits Selection Sunday -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL


Hello readers and welcome back!!

It was unfortunate that the WBB Cards were not able to get it done against Notre Dame a week ago in the ACC Tournament but I hope this squad is spending its Spring Break doing some reflecting and soul searching because the team I saw in the ACC tournament was not the team I saw heating up at the end of January.

I don’t want to spend too much time covering the disappointments of UofL women’s sports but I do want to mention them because we are now looking ahead to selection Sunday and the squad could be looking at a 6 seed in this years big dance. The ESPN predictions have the squad heading to the furthest possible location out on the west coast probably and they will try to head back east towards Cleveland. The Final Four is being held in Ohio again beginning Friday April 5th.

The 2024 NCAA DI Women's Basketball March Madness bracket will be revealed during the Selection Show at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17 on ESPN.




Softball


The Softball Cards are hosting the annual Cardinal Classic at Ulmer Stadium. We will keep an eye on the weather forecast and update you all with any scheduling adjustments.


Photos: Jared Anderson


But for now, the Cards faced South Dakota and put up 8 runs off 10 hits in a 8-5 victory at home to move to 17-8 and a 1-0 start on the weekend. 

Daisy Hess went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and scored two runs while Chelsea Mack and Bailee Richardson also tallied a pair of hits apiece to lead Louisville at the plate. Sam Booe (2-2) picked up the win, allowing two earned runs on five hits and striking out four in 4.0 innings of relief.


1st inning
Scoreless top 1 - Izzy Harrison gets the start in the circle.   lead off batter gets on base but nothing more for the visitors.  
Cards wasted no time getting the bats going in this game as the first two batters scored off of a single triple and another single to put the Cards up 2-0

2nd inning   
Hit by pitch puts the lead off batter on board again.   defensive error on 3B allows two runners on board and no outs.   Harrison gets first strikeout of the night to make it 2 on base and 2 outs.  3 run homerun by Abby Brown puts the Coyotes ahead 3-2.  Another hit at 3rd baseman Richardson and  
bottom 2 - Holloway HBP and another error at 3b put another Card on board. following that another line drive at 3b finally corralled and there's 2 outs now.  Hess walks to load the bases for Frizell who hitting 11-29 RISP & .500 with 2 outs.  But another shot down the line gets the Coyotes out of the jam.  Cards strand 3.  down 3-2. 

3rd inning 
1 pitch, 1 out.   3rd pitch, 2 outs. 
bottom 3- with 2 outs, ally alexander takes a walk, Holloway is 1 inch from hitting a homer but scores an RBI double. Geraghty strikes out on an off speed pitch to strand the go ahead runner in scoring position.  
4th inning pitching change when another lead off runner gets on base  

5th inning 
another lead off hitter puts a runner on the base.  SD gets one through the infield to the left side and scores a runner for the 4-3 lead in the top of the 5th.  with 2 in scoring position Booe secures the strikes out for the cards to end the threat for now.  
bottom 5th - Forsythe steals 2b and the tying run is in scoring position with nobody out. The Cards successfully advance and are now 37-44 on stolen base attempts this year.  Miller takes a walk to get on board.  Cards are 0-4 RISP on the day.  Richardson hits deep right center to score two but gets out as she slides into 3b to put the Cards ahead 5-4. 


6th inning 
3 up 3 down for the visitors
Geraghty gets on, Mack bunts and gets on base, Hess singles down the right field line and scores an insurance run for the cards.  RBI single for Frizel on a hit to the left side by the SS and the Cards lead 7-4.  Cards score 3 runs in the inning with a chance for more when they load the bases. but a pop fly ends the inning.   Cards up 8-4. 

7th inning 
top - South Dakota gets a runner in scoring position with 1 out, Booe gets the called strike 3.  with a 2-2 count, the Coyotes get a bloop over 2b to score a run and keep the hopes alive for the visitors before a pop up to right field ends the comeback attempt.  

POST GAME:  Jared Anderson catches up with Cardinal Couple favoriite Daisy Hess HERE


I am hoping to get out to the ballpark next weekend as we finally got some new tenants so they're moving in this weekend.  we're looking forward to some new neighbors!!!




Have a great St. Pattys weekend, all.   


As Always, 
Go Cards
~Daryl 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Cardinal Alum Takes Head Coach Position -- Softball Hosts Cardinal Classic -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


Most of the Louisville fan base has turned its attention to men's basketball due to yesterday's news. Granted, I was one of them. Athletic Director Josh Heird has decided to part ways with Louisville men's basketball head coach Kenny Payne. While my views might not reflect the rest of the crew on our site here, I am glad to see a much-needed change coming over there.

Let me be clear that our focus is on the Joy and Excitement of Louisville Women's Athletics, but we also understand how budget-drive football and men's basketball are. When the success of those programs dip, it's many other sports suffering the effects from the suffering budget.

Thankfully, our current women's sports and even alumnae continue to accomplish great things, which brings me back to the reason Cardinal Couple is still here. We've seen several former Cardinals go onto professional careers by continuing to play. Others have moved onto coaching or reporting roles such as Mo Reid (asst coach for Bellarmine women's basketball), Becky Burke (head coach for Buffalo women's basketball), and Katie George (ESPN reporter).

Callie McKinney Named Head Coach for Bellarmine Women's Soccer


We can add another Cardinal alum doing impressive things. Louisville women's soccer alumna Callie McKinney has been promoted to head coach for Bellarmine women's soccer. The Franklin, Tenn. native played for the Cards from 2016-2019. During her playing career, McKinney played in 72 matches. The midfielder scored three goals and recorded three assists.

Following her playing career, McKinney joined Bellarmine women's soccer as a grad assistant in the fall of 2020. She was then promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 2021 and spent the last three seasons in that role.


Paul Babba held the title of head coach for Bellarmine in 2022 and 2023. The Knights had a 5-16-14 in that stretch. Babba departed to become associate head coach for Cincinnati women's soccer earlier this week leaving Bellarmine without a leader. There was no doubt in promoting McKinney to that position.

"First off, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity," McKinney said. "I am thankful to Scott and (Athletics Chief Operating Officer) Pam Stackhouse for giving me this opportunity to lead the Bellarmine program. I am also thankful to (former head coach) Paul Babba, who has prepared me well for this and for being such a great mentor and friend."

Hopefully, this means we will see Bellarmine on the Louisville schedule as either an exhibition match or regular season match in the fall.

Softball Hosts Cardinal Classic


Louisville softball is action for a long weekend. The Cardinals will host the Cardinal Class over the next four days with Holly Aprile's squad playing one game each day. The only game on Thursday will be Louisville vs South Dakota. First pitch is slated for 7:00pm and will be aired on ACC Network.

On Friday, Louisville will face Illinois at 6:00pm. Saturday will feature Louisville vs Michigan at 6:00pm and Sunday will be a rematch against Illinois at 5:00pm.

After getting swept by Virginia Tech, Louisville now carries a 16-8 record on the season. The Cards hit .287 as a team with several players above .300. 


Louisville and South Dakota have never met before so tonight will be the first ever meeting. The Coyotes are 14-13 on the season after defeating Tennessee State last night.

South Dakota has faced six 'Power Five' conference teams so far and have gone 0-6 in those games. They have not run-ruled anyone but have been run-ruled once in an 8-0 loss to Murray State on opening weekend. They hit .238 as a team with two players hitting over .300. South Dakota has outscored their opponents 93-88.

We plan to have in-person coverage for the games this weekend.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

On opponents and refs....--WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD CREWS AND EASY OPPONENTS? 


( the couple won't be traveling this year, but, look out 2025 !) 

OK, NCAA...how about setting us up with a UConn type breeze through the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament?  And maybe a good officiating crews (you owe UofL that much...review the Syracuse and Notre Dame fiascos) 

Jeff Walz doesn't need anymore stressful games...I could use a cardiac break, too. The way it looks,  there will be at least two ACC schools each in the four brackets...so...if the logical scheduling works out , Louisville would get  a six seed and be in a bracket that has an ACC school that finished seconf or third iin the conference...either Syracuse or....Notre Dame. 

(fear this man, NCAA. if Kitley is cleaared) 

I know, not an ideal match up eiher way, but maybe the Cards could face a few non-power house conference "gimme's" before a toughie. It's for ceertain that we won't be hosting the openng two rounds, but how about somewhere relatively close to the "Ville" and none off the Spokane or Portland, Oregon stuff.  Of course , it is all fantasy, when has the NCAA done anthing to favor of beneifir Louisville women's ]basketball. They'll send us Nome, Alaska or Saturn to start NCAA Tournament plau.

Next, could we see a good, experienced ref crew in these contests? With a member or two refs familiar with calling ACC games?   Now,in  a few of these games earleir this year ,Louisville probably would have been better off with a high school ref crrew...but I don't think we can solve WBB refs problems with any easy solutions...I've heard more money, better training, and better guidance from the NCAA...but, i don't expect to see in in my lifetime. 


( i wish AD had six games of eligibiity left) 

 I woudl hope that Coach Walz does not resort to the hysterics that got him "t'd"up" and tossed in a couple of contests this year. This squad misses the calming influence of Sam Purcell.,no doubt about it.   (and there is a guy who deserves a bid this year, don't ya think?)

All this, well,It's a lot to ask for isn't it? And, Louisville hasn't put together a two-game win streak in a long time. Can they do it iin post-season? I'll be watching for it, with my doubts, like a lot of you. This Cardinals team has tons of talent. Let's see if they  can put it togehter to end the season

We've talked about the Louisville team needing to put four good quarters togehter. Well, now would be a great time, six times in a row.....

Finally...




Conversation


NEWS — A source tells KSR that Louisville’s Jeff Walz is showing interest in the Kentucky WBB job. He has led the Cards to four Final Four appearances and won them an ACC

paulie