Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- WBB Cards face Pikeville in exhibition today

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- They're back! WBB opens season today.


         *******SCORE UPDATE*******

Louisville defeated Pikeville 127-40. Asia Taylor led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points.

Funny...it seems just like a few weeks ago that the Cards were rolling through NCAA Tournament en route to a championship game against UConn in New Orleans.

Welcome to the 2013-14 version of Lady Cards basketball. The theme this season is "Unfinished Business"...Louisville looking to win their final game of the season...in Nashville, TN...home of the 2014 Women's basketball Final Four.

The game today is that of an exhibition status...the Cards bringing in Pikeville University for an 11 a.m. contest in the KFC YUM! Center. It's a free admission deal and 1000's of school kids are expected to fill the arena to watch the Cards in their only exhibition game of the season.

Beware the yellow transport devices around 2nd and Main.

About the Cards

Louisville will dress 13 players for today's game and a guess here is that they'll all receive about the same amount of court time against the Bears. Four starters from the national runner-ups return in Shoni Schimmel, Bria Smith, Nita Slaughter and Sara Hammond. Valuable contributors off the bench from last year Jude Schimmel, Megan Deines and Cortnee Walton are also back. Toss in Monny Niamke, Asia Taylor, Shawnta Dyer and Tia Gibbs...add freshmen Emmonnie Henderson and sophomore transfer Starr Breedlove and you have the 2013-14 roster. Sherrone Vails sits...recovering from knee surgery.


About the opponent


Pikeville went 11-9 last season. They've had an exhibition already...beating Asbury College 91-83 last Tuesday. In that game...five Bears hit double figures. Callisha Johnson had 40 points in the win...one of four starters returning. A item of interest in this one is that the
Bears blew a double-digit lead at half and the score was tied 83-83 late in the game...Pikeville getting the final 8-0 run

First year coach Joanna Bernabel-McNamee was previously at West Virginia Wesleyan. She was on the Maryland staff with Jeff Walz in 2006.

Be scared of the coaches with hyphened or multiple last names. Kim Barnes Arico always had success against the Cards. So has Matthew Dancin'-Mitchell.

Who will start?

For Louisville...the guess here is Shoni, Bria, Sara, Nita and Asia. We've been wrong before. Coach Walz jokingly remarked that starting lineups would be determined by rock, paper and scissors contests this season.

We think he was joking.

Other possibilities are putting Jude at one of the guard spots. Or giving Tia Gibbs a chance to show off her three-point skills. Or baffling the crowd by starting Starr, Monny, Cortnee, Emmonnie and Mike the guy in maintenance.

You just never know about the ol' mad scientist.


What to expect?


Louisville should handle the opponent with relative ease...unless Walz employs some of the 5th. grade girls from St. Bernard's team to spell the starters. Then, Louisville only wins by 30.

Johnson for Pikeville is a scorer. It'll be interesting to see who draws the assignment on her.

Louisville will test the new rule that increases enforcement on fouls call for excessive hand contact. We'll see how many fouls Sara Hammond picks up early.

Louisville might score 100+ in this one. Pikeville gave up 83 to Asbury. How many will come from the free throw line is anyone's guess...but Walz will strive for his mandate of at least 70% shooting from the charity stripe. Expect the air to be full of three-point attempts as well. We'll also predict there will be a lot of steals and fast break transition attempts by the Cards. Yeah, we're really going out on a limb here.

It'll be on 790 WKRD radio live and we expect Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson will have the call.

Jenny O'Bryan has the write up scheduled for Wednesday but we'd like your take on it also...so feel free to blow up the comments section or e-mail us.

cardinalcouple@twc.com


Go CARDS!

-Paulie