TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE
(Staff columnist Sandy Walker brings us her weekly jaunt through Cardinal womens' athletics and more! Adjust your seatbelt, put your tray in the upright position and prepare for take off!)
This week Sandy will spend her time exchanging dirty laundry for clean clothes during brief stops home between attending matches and games.
Fans will need to put their running shoes on as
Wednesday
is basketball with Eastern KY,
Thursday and Friday are the opening rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Championship
and Sunday is the UK basketball game.
BASKETBALL – TENNESSEE MARTIN GAME
The now 7-0 Louisville women again did not trail during the course of their game and for 25 minutes looked to be unbeatable by anyone but then they also again managed to spend some time with a lost focus, while becoming sloppy and allowing too many unforced turnovers which opened the door for Tennessee Martin to reduce a Louisville 26 point lead to 11 with only 4:56 left. They managed to keep it together for a 79-61 win but went for a period of time where the broadcaster said they appeared at times to be brain dead.
In his post game interview Coach Walz said that they just were not mentally tough and it seemed Coach Walz was extremely upset at everyone including UofL play-by-play announcer Matt Andrews but did praise the team for a good job of guarding.
(Editor's Note): The thing about Coach is that he can parody and feign anger, indifference and rage with the skill of a Shakesperian actor. It made for the best 10 minutes of radio of the evening...including Walz staying on to read the post-game UofL stats over the air and delivering a flawless recap of them...including a brief synopsis of each player's acheivements. The bottom line is that Coach was probably as upset over the Cards losing a 26 point lead with 15:16 to go as we were at home...listening to the game. And, he has a lot more vested in the outcome than we the fans do.
(Editor's Note): The thing about Coach is that he can parody and feign anger, indifference and rage with the skill of a Shakesperian actor. It made for the best 10 minutes of radio of the evening...including Walz staying on to read the post-game UofL stats over the air and delivering a flawless recap of them...including a brief synopsis of each player's acheivements. The bottom line is that Coach was probably as upset over the Cards losing a 26 point lead with 15:16 to go as we were at home...listening to the game. And, he has a lot more vested in the outcome than we the fans do.
Fortunately the women were able to come away with the win with Bria Smith (16), Sara Hammond (14), Megan Deines (15) , Shoni Schimmel (16) and Monique Reid (10) all shooting double figures. Deines appears to improve with each outing. Her 3 pointer will soon not only match but exceed Becky’s Big Shot threat. Tonight was a break out game of sorts for Bria Smith who added a game high 7 rebounds to her status. It appears that over the summer Bria has added an outside shot to her lay-up arsenal and it is paying off. Also note that this was Sara’s 4th game of the season with double shooting figures while last year she only had 4 games which showed double figures. Shows what an intensive and dedicated summer can do. In addition, Louisville out rebounded UTM 40-22.
Looking forward to a solid 40 minutes of play this Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky as a primer for UK on Sunday.
Again I want to give a shout-out to the OVC network which allowed Louisville fans to watch the game while listening to Matt and A.J.’s radio broadcast.Louisville outrebounded the SkyHawks 40-22 and shot a sizzling 55.4% for the game (31-56). They also sank 6-20 from 3-point range. Shoni had four of them and Megan Deines two. 19 turnovers for the Lady Cards, compared to 17 for UTM. Hats off for the free throw shooting! 11-13, which is the best outing of the year at the charity stripe.
We mentioned Monday that Newsome and Butler would be ones to watch and they were, indeed. They made 14 of the 25 baskets UTM scored and had 33 of the 61 points.
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VOLLEYBALL
The Louisville YUM! CENTER and our 10th ranked Volleycards have been awarded the first and second rounds of the 64 team Division I national championship tournament.
This is the 15th consecutive year for the Volleycards to gain an NCAA bid and is a testament to the strength of the program. Louisville’s match on Thursday is with OVC winner Belmont. Wins on both nights will send them to Berkley for regionals before a return to the championships. The marketing department has been promoting that the road to the championship begins and ends in Louisville.
Tickets for both the first and second opening rounds and the Championship can be obtained by contacting the Louisville Ticket Office during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.) by phone (502-852-5863) or e-mail (ticketoffice@louisville.edu). Opening rounds are scheduled for this Thursday and Friday and both nights can be seen for a total of $20 by adults and $10 for students and children. The Championships are set for December 13th and 15th with ticket prices subject to age and arena location.
VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKETS
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BASKETBALL SCHEDULE CHANGES
Wednesday’s game against Eastern KY has been changed to 7:30 from 7:00.
Sunday’s game against UK has been changed to 6:00.
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“NELL ON WHEELS” WITH NELL FORTNER COMING TO LOUISVILLE
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LOUISVILLE CARDS MOBILE APP
Today I learned that the Louisville Cards Mobile App also has available a live game day audio and video premium option. My excitement is that I now have the ability to listen to the live game broadcast while at the game. Readers who know of other options to do the same please share it with our readers through the comment section.
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WOMEN’S GAMES ON TV THIS WEEK
There are a large number of games being publically broadcast this week.
Note: The schedule above lists the Louisville/KEntucky game at 2 p.m. Just a reminder...it is at 6 p.m.
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BASKETBALL WOMEN WINS HARDWOOD TOURNMENT
The women beat Oregon on Thursday to win the Hardwood Tournament which was played at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. High scorers were Shoni Schimmel with 15 and Sara Hammond with 17. The team ended the tournament at 6-0 for the season.
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TOP 100 PROGRAMS
SBN has the full list of Top 100 programs in women's NCAA Division I basketball. It can be found at http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/11/3/3596590/top-100-programs-womens-ncaa-division-i-basketball-full-list with Louisville coming in at # 10.
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ATTENDANCE
Just for the record
MEN WOMEN RATIO
Louisville
|
21,503
|
10,670
|
2.02
|
Kentucky
|
23,721
|
6,282
|
3.78
|
The complete article can be found at http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/11/21/3659730/ncaa-womens-basketball-attendance-mens .
Sandy W.
Was Megan not ranked in the top 100 by any major recruiting outlet? She looks like one of the best freshmen in the country so far. She can play either guard position, shoot, pass, and create her own shot at a high percentage. She has a natural instinct to cut when our posts are doubled up and get a lay-up. She is a smart player with high I.Q. I just can't praise Megan enough the way she was thrown into the fire due to injuries and performing at such a high level for us as a frosh.
ReplyDeleteI love Becky but Megan can do so many more things for us on offense and defense. Both have proved they can hit big shots.
Megan was not ranked. I have been hearing for months, this whole past summer, Deines was a sleeper in the class of 2012. Not sure who found her, but sure glad they did!
ReplyDeleteJenny
Louisville probably won't face a better guard combination the rest of the year. Although the Cards collapse in the second half was hard to watch as mentioned, but Martin never cut the lead to single digits. Shelby and Jude were no match for Butler and Newsome. Neither is anyone in the OVC. And, how about the "round mound of rebound" Cortrice Golden? Shelby never got the license plae number of the truck that hit her. A stat line of five fouls, five rebounds, eight points in eleven minutes? Can't wait to see her against OVC competition.
ReplyDeleteNice win, Cards. Good luck the rest of the way.
Andy
No offense, Andy...but Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins, Jewel Loyd and Kayla McBride aren't exactly chopped liver. Neither are UConn's Bria Hartley, Kelly Faris and Caroline Doty.
DeletePaulie
Or Kentucky's guards, Paulie.
ReplyDeleteWe have our work cut out for us in ball handling come Sunday.
Jenny
Right you are, Jenny. Adia Mathies and Bria Goss rate a top five in the nation status as well. Always pressuring, always driving.
DeletePaulie
I know you locals in the Ville love Shelby, and, as an Oregonian, I'm partial to Jude, but the key to beating Kentucky is simple: keep them both on the bench. Deines can spell Shoni at the point, and Slaughter can spell both Deines and Smith.
ReplyDelete--PDX Phil
Phil, I agree with you. IF Shelby makes it in, it should be for a minute or two break, or to inject a little feistiness in to the lineup and the crowd, but very, very, very minimal. Given Jude's improvement from last season I would give her a chance, only if needed due to foul trouble, but the first sign of erratic play and she finds the pine for the duration.
ReplyDeleteJenny
I do not disagree with your thought concerning guard substitutions but I see a slight difference between the use of Shelby and Jude as it appears that Jude has stepped up her game from last year.
ReplyDeleteI will be curious to see Jeff's substitution pattern once the team is truly challenged by an opponent. Besides the Texas A & M game we have not been challenged but even then we have to give credit where it is due as it was Jude who made the game changing steal and lay-up.