Defense the key in Louisville win over Xavier

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CARDINAL COUPLE MONDAY EDITION:

-Burke, Warren provide the punches in Louisville win

-Women's soccer falls 2-0 to Fla. State

-It's not too late!

Before a packed house in the KFC YUM! Center Sunday afternoon, Louisville
delivered an early knockout blow to the visiting Xavier Muskies and defeated
the Atlantic 10 conference member 62-44.

Lt. Gov.Jerry Abramson greets
a constituent at the game

Xavier did jump out to a quick 4-0 lead on Louisville in the first 90 seconds of today's game, but the Lady Cards responded with a 11-0 run to lead 11-4 after a Bria Smith steal and layup with 13:10 remaining in the first half. It just got worse for Xavier after that...Louisville shutting the Lady Musketeers down offensively and doubling the score at 20-10 on two Cierra Warren free throws at the 5:06 mark. The Cards outscored Xavier the rest of the way 11-2...Shoni Schimmel scoring six of the Cards final first half points for an 31-12 halftime lead.

Cierra Warren and Becky Burke led the way in the first half with eight points each and Louisville held Xavier to just eight points in the final 13 minutes of the first half. Walz started Sara Hammond, Becky Burke, Bria Smith, Shoni Schimmel and Cierra Warren this afternoon and that lineup came out to begin second half play.

LadyBirds fire the crowd up during the game. 

And, play they did. Getting excellent inside play from Warren and Shawnta Dyer...the Cards increased the margin steadily as the half rolled on...up by 23 at the 14:34 mark and leading by 27 at 50-23 after a Sara Hammond layup with 9:42 to go. A rare Hammond three a minute later made it 55-23. Louisville led 59-24 before Walz emptied the bench and Shelby Harper, Jude Schimmel, Sherrone Vails, Asia Taylor and Antonita Slaughter carried the load the rest of the way...with limited substitutions...

Give the Muskies credit, they outscored the Louisville bench 20-3 over the final eight minutes...but with the game well in hand, Walz decided to keep the starters on the bench and see how the backups handled the Xavier first squad.

Becky Burke led all scorers with 13 points and Cierra Warren was the other double figure scorer with ten. The rest of the Cardinal scoring:

Cheerleaders perform a challenging routine

Shoni Schimmel 9
Sherrone Vails 8
Shawnta Dyer 7
Bria Smith 7
Sara Hammond 6
Shelby Harper 2

Asia Taylor, Jude Schimmel and Antonita Slaughter played but did not score for the Cards.

Reserve guard Ashley Wanninger led Xavier with ten points and Amber Gray added nine.

THEY SAID IT:

(Head Xavier coach Amy Baugh)

"It was a tough game for us, they (Louisville) came out from the tip and made it tough on us defensively. They mixed it up, they pressed us a little bit, they went to a zone and we couldn't make a shot. I honestly believe we took some great shots but we just couldn't make them.

(On Louisville)

"I think they've got a great basketball team and they're going to be very successful. They're a little banged up right now...but they have some young kids that are playing a lot of minutes early for them who will develop as the season goes on..they'll be great here at Louisville over the next four years.

(On her team)

Today was a great experience for us. WE play a lot of young kids, who haven't played before. We're going to be battle-tested..playing at this place and we've got Stanford next. It's a learning experience for us and a process that is going to take all season long...but we'll continue to work and improve as the season goes on."

(On the late second half run)

"It's definitely something to build on. My kids showed that we can fight, we're not going to quit and that's a positive we can take away from today."

(Louisville head coach Jeff Walz)

"I thought we did a good job on mixing it up today. A good job of being there on the catch. Tried to not give them open looks. We've got to do a better job rebounding, which was a concern of mine. For the most part, I thought we played pretty well for about 12 minutes in the first half and about 12 minutes in the second half. We've got to figure out a way to get those other 16 (minutes) squared away."

(On the defense and stopping the three:)

"It was a key. Moss is a great three point shooter for them. WE wanted to close out tight on her and make her drive on us. Bria Smith has done a great job defensively for us and I'm really excited about that.

(On Monique Reid)

"She went through part of our shoot around this morning. She'll practice again some more tomorrow and I'm hoping to play her around 10-18 minutes on Tuesday. It's just a slow process to get her back and going again."

(On getting other players time on the court)

"It's good to get them playing time they might not get. Their roles are going to step up, there's more that's going to be expected of them and now it's just a matter of who is going to step up and accept that and run with those minutes."

THINGS WE LIKED TODAY:

-Louisville shut down Xavier for just 12 points in the first half today. That ties a Louisville record for least point in a half by an opponent.

-Walz didn't punish the Muskies late in the game after going up by 35 points. We like to see Shelby get whatever minutes she can and the reserve Lady Cards played hard against the Xavier starters.

-Cierra Warren inside. Just keeps getting better and better.

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON

-Rebounding. Give Xavier credit for battling the taller Cards tooth and nail, but Louisville needs to go to the boards with more aggression. Louisville only gained a 2 rebound edge on Xavier for the game (48-46). Shawnta Dyer has 10 of those.

-Putbacks. A lot of missed opportunities inside tonight for scores. Hammond seemingly can get a rebound and try for a putback any time she wants, but she needs to develop a softer, higher shot in the paint and use the backboard.

-Mop up time. Louisville was outscored big time when the reserves were in late. This squad needs to at least be able to stay even with the opponent. They're talented...they just need to work more together.

Louisville returns to action Tuesday with a noon game against Austin Peay.

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Louisville women's soccer took a 2-0 loss to #9 Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA women's soccer tournament in Memphis yesterday. The Seminoles split the scoring up...recording a goal in each half against the Cards.

Florida State first found the net 24 minutes into the game when Kassey Kallman took a throw-in pass and headed the ball into the net past Cardinal goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer. Louisville and the 'Noles battled defensively the rest of the half, but neither team could add to the scoreboard.

Jones had four good years
at UofL

FSU added to the lead late...Tiffany McCarty receiving a pass from Janice Cayman and driving to the goal to put one in the far right post for the 2-0 advantage.

The Cards were out-shot by FSU 12-11 and also on shots-on-goal 6-2.

"It's a bittersweet way to go out, but it's been the most success we've had over four years, so it's definitely been a lot of fun and a good ride. Bringing home the first BIG EAST National Division Championship for our school has been great and it's been a great experience with everyone." -senior midfielder Jennifer Jones

We'd be remiss here if we didn't congratulate the men's soccer team on their 3-2 double overtime victory over Bradley to advance in the NCAA tournament. Stayin' alive, stayin' alive...





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Want to go to see the Lady Cards play UK this year in basketball in Lexington? The game is on Sunday, Dec 4th at 1 p.m. in cozy Memorial Coliseum. Don't feel like driving? Let the FASTBREAK CLUB do the work for you!