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!!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Louisville women's basketball. Moore early, Durr late...Cards 78 -Wake Forest 54. MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



DUO COMBINE FOR 44 IN CARDS 14th STRAIGHT WIN


Louisville women's basketball got 15 first half points from Mariya Moore and 13 second half points from Asia Durr to finally get clear from a tenacious Wake Forest squad Sunday afternoon at the KFC YUM! Center in ACC Conference action

A crowd of 9673 saw Moore keep the Cards afloat offensively with three first half threes and Durr score 13 of Louisville 15 points in a 15-0 run that took the Cards from a 50-41 advantage to a 65-41 lead in a four minute stretch over the end of the third period and beginning of fourth period. 

Durr commented on the run:

" I was just trying to stay abreast of it. Coach Walz got highly upset when I didn't shoot, so I was just going out there and trying to shoot."

Why the hesitation? Coach Walz had no answers.


Referee Billy Smith was dancing all day...
" I wish I could tell you. No coach ever had to tell me to shoot. I just want you to know that, Paul. Never. And she works harder than anyone on this team. She's in the gym more than anybody...working on her shot. And I told her in one stretch...you're as good to this team as my 2 1/2 year old daughter. Lola could do exactly what you're doing and that's catch and throw it over there. She's not strong enough to shoot from the three-point line and you won't even look to do it. And, I think she got a little upset with that. The next time down she takes a three and hits it and gets that look like "I got you back'. [ Laughter] She just got to get shooting more."


It ultimately worked out well for the Douglasville, GA freshman...who ended the game with 4 of 9 shooting, 2 of 5 from three point range and 8 out of 9 free throws....ending with 18 points.  


Moore went 6-12 in the first half as Louisville struggled offensively...shooting 22.7% in the first period and sitting at just 30% at halftime...Louisville owned a shaky 32-26 lead after trailing most of the first period before Durr put in a layup at the buzzer and ahead just 27-26 with 2:42 left in the second period. 

Defensively, the Cards held the Demon Deaconesses to just 38.5% from the floor and 5-19 three point shooting...but that percentage bested Louisville's 26-70 (37.1%) afternoon. 

Louisville (17-5, 9-0) did force 25 turnovers, and they led to 26 points, but Amber Campbell and Ariel Stephenson were getting easy looks and layups most of the evening...scoring 14 of the 20 made Wake baskets. 


Yes, it's a win and Walz did give the freshmen and Dakota Weatherford the minutes over the final six minutes of the game...but Wake Forest battled hard and kept the contest close for 27 minutes. 

HOW DID FRED DO ?

Free Throws: The Cards sank 19 of their 25 free throws (including 10 of 12 in the third quarter) for 76%...so they beat the Fred standard of 70% and we'll give a capital F in that category. Besides Durr's 8-9, Moore was 5-7 and Cortnee Walton was a perfect 3-3.

Rebounding: The Cards won the battle of the boards 45-37 and it was a balanced effort with five players grabbing five or more. They won the offensive rebounding battle 23-12...so we can easily award a capital R here. 


We're 99% sure that WASN'T Willie Nelson walking by the refs.
Easy Shots: Way too many easy and open looks missed in the beginning of this game. The Cards made 16 shots in the paint but missed 21 and eight of the misses were layups. No "E" awarded here. That 37% shooting could have been much higher if layups and putbacks would have fallen. 

Defense: Yes, Wake Forest scored only 54 points and shot just 38.5%...but 22 points in the paint and 16 second chance points...plus the close score for 3/4ths. of the game...indicate that the defense was good but not great. Still too many unchecked and wide open scores. We'll give a lower case "d" for the afternoon. 

By request, we're bringing back the "What we Liked" and "What Needs Work" categories. 

WHAT WE LIKED:

1) Myishia back in the mix. A solid return performance for Myisha Hines-Allen after missing the Clemson game. 10 points, six grabs and three assists in 24 minutes. You could tell she was happy to be back on the court and she and Moore really do compliment each other so well on-court.

2) "Moore" than they bargained for. The sophomore garners our Player of the Game honors with her second-highest point total of the season. After good but not great efforts against Syracuse and Clemson...the fire and intensity was in her eyes tonight and we'll take 5 for 10 three point shooting anytime out of her.

3) Stepping on the gas. Louisville closed the game on a 28-13 run and displayed a killer instinct. What's impressive is that the freshman contingent had 22 of those points. Maybe it was a case of Wake Forest running out of gas...but it's always good to hold your foe to 28 second-half points....especially when you toss in 56.

WHAT NEEDS WORK


Sonja was not thrilled with the first ten minutes...or me taking
pictures of Deb Antonelli. I'm not sure which issue got me the
sour look. 
1) Avoiding the slow starts. UofL missed 18 of their first 22 shots. Six of their 12 turnovers came in the first ten minutes. They got away with it tonight. Against a few of the future ACC opponents, those numbers might equal a loss or much deeper hole to dig out of. 

2) Getting a third three-point shooter. The Cards were 7-22 from beyond the arc and two players (Moore and Durr) were 7-15. BJ, Taja and Arica are all capable of adding to that success rate but they didn't fire this afternoon. We're not sure if we're ready to see Sam Fuehring trying them yet. She's 1-9 on the season so far. 

3) Stopping the dribble-drive. A couple of times out there this afternoon, it looked like "matador" defense for the Cards. Protect that paint and make it where a guard or wing might be a little reluctant to venture in after a couple of denials. Wake Forest guards Ariel Stephenson and Amber Campbell got up 35 total shots and only 15 of them were threes. 15 were from the paint. 


Photo by Charlie  Springer - UofLCardGame.com
In the final analysis, it is a win and keeps the Cards atop the ACC with Notre Dame. It's also maybe that "hiccup" game that Walz has talked about...where some of the numbers didn't look so great. With four players in double figures, though...and 25 turnovers forced, it was a team effort and also provided a few "teaching moments" ...both good and bad...that the coaches can use to prepare for the game at North Carolina and when Notre Dame comes to town next Sunday. Especially the lapses in defense...

The fans left happy, Louisville is still undefeated since playing Kentucky (who got beat by Florida today), and Deb Antonelli almost got plunked by a bag of peanuts during the cheerleader toss. All in all, not so bad an afternoon...

__________________________________________________

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR


Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com
Our Saturday broadcast is available for hearing on the Crescent Hill Soundcloud at WCHQ 100.9's website. We had a full but fun hour discussing UofL women's sports and have audio clips from Jeff Walz, Quentin Hillsman, Sandy Pearsall, Asia Durr, Myisha Hines-Allen, Kelsi Jones, Whitney Arion, Kayla and Jamie Soles for your listening pleasure...in addition to our own babbling about action. It's live and unrehearsed radio...so expect the occasional stutter and stammer.  

https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-013016  

paulie
xxxxx



26 comments:

  1. Sonja is going to kill someone when she sees her photo. Crop. Crop. Crop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. She's fine with it. I showed it to her last night after I finished the article and her comment was. "It mirrors the way Louisville was playing at the time. Perturbed, caught off-guard and disillusioned."

      Paulie

      Delete
  2. I am particularly distressed when i see the opponent's guards drive to the basket in their half-court offense and get a lay-in without any resistance. Yes, I know there are picks to contend with but one must fight through those. The good news is that those problems diminish with experience and we have a great learning curve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The defense allowing "bunnies" are especially distressing. Walz will tell you the players get more upset about missed shots than defensive lapses. That needs to change.

      Paulie

      Delete
  3. Nice to get the W. The missed layups drive me crazy but plenty of positives.

    Waiting for The Guv to check in and give us her latest kitten roundball analysis. Hope she's still enthusiastic about commenting here now that they've lost five conference games and are hanging out in the bottom half of the SEC. She sure didn't have a problem throwing rocks at us when we were 1 and 4. For my purposes I'll take our midseason positive momentum vs. their current conference collapse. Burn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kentucky fell apart in the last 30 seconds in Gainesville. MAttie has his hands full.

      Paulie

      Delete
  4. Yay! Thanks for reviving the What We Liked section. Since I missed the game but ready to watch the replay it is great for giving me some things to look for.

    Blue Lou

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never let it be said that we don't listen to our readers and listeners. :)

      I think I can speak for Paulie as well as myself in saying that we love to hear what you all like and dislike about the site, articles, and segments on the radio show.

      I feel like we've got a good little community building, here, and we want to be good stewards of it.

      Delete
    2. I couldn't agree more with Worldwide's comment. Your input is VERY IMPORTANT to us! Plus, we got a lot of people reading here that...well, let's just say...are the subject matter of most of our columns.

      Paulie

      Delete
  5. What I Didn't Like - Carter and Cole combined for zero points (on 0-8 shooting) and four assists in 43 minutes. This team will not make a big impact in March without better PG play.

    Durr is the best distributor on the team and she sees the court so well, but she is more valuable playing off the ball.

    And the uncontested drives to the rim continue. A good team will make the Cardinals pay for that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good points both, Mike. Wake Forest has two strong guards in Campbell and Stephenson.

      Paulie

      Delete
  6. Anyone over here hearing anything about 2018 Seygan Robins out of Mercer County? Word is WBB is very interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A lot of schools are trying to get in on this sophomore wing who started playing as a seventh grader at Mercer County. She's also playing AAU for Kentucky Premier and the Cards haven't nabbed anyone from there since Sara Hammond. Purcell might like her (what's not to like...she's a scorer) but it's way too early to tell who's atop her leader-board.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Cats have already offered. C'mon Paulie. You think any state girl who has a lick of sense is going to choose Louisville? Especially a Ky Premier player? And, Burnie. When you play in the toughest conference in women's basketball (The SEC) you can expect to lose a few. They just get you ready for the NCAA Tournament. Your little birdies will find out what good basketball is ready about when Notre Dame rolls into your Chicken Shack and fills their bellies on turnovers your inept guards will cough up.

      Matthew Mitchell For Governor

      Delete
    3. Gov, you just love dropping in here, messing up the sheets and leaving...don't you? Any truth to the rumor the players left Dancing Mattie in the Gainesville airport and will coach themselves the rest of the year? He managed that last minute as badly as a one-legged man in a a$$-kicking contest.

      Paulie

      Delete
    4. Gov, you just love dropping in here, messing up the sheets and leaving...don't you? Any truth to the rumor the players left Dancing Mattie in the Gainesville airport and will coach themselves the rest of the year? He managed that last minute as badly as a one-legged man in a a$$-kicking contest.

      Paulie

      Delete
    5. Jeez Guv...losing half of your conferences games is more than "a few", but nice try. I've never seen a UKWBB club that was "ready" for the NCAAs, but I have seen them flying home from the tourney earlier than our Cards pretty much every year.

      Mitchell does have something figured out though...making over a million bucks a year for coaching a club to a sub-.500 conference record is quite a feat. He should get out of coaching and into career counseling.

      Delete
    6. Hey Guv - Did Mitchell give a clinic on ball control before your tip off yesterday? He musta because I don't see how UK's guards could have had thirty turnovers unless they really really tried. Nice Job. Next time before you throw rocks at our guards check your kitten stat sheet. Burn

      Delete
  7. Hey Gov. Here's all about Seygan:

    “Seygan is just the ultra competitor. She was in the sixth grade and we pulled her up to play freshman and JV. When she did not get to play she would storm out of the locker room after the game and hardly speak to anyone,” Souder said. “We used to hide in the coaches’ office after games and watch her come out. We knew then how good she was gonna be because she expected to play even as a sixth grader.”
    Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell knows how good she will be, too. She’s been to UK often, including the first exhibition game this season.
    “I just like the way he coaches. He is just funny, too,” Robins said.

    I'd say she's destined for the Blue. I can't see the UofL coaching staff hiding in offices because they didn't play her. Mitchell will just probably teach her to dance and change her hairstyle if she goes there. She must not be interested in going to any NCAA Final Fours if UK has caught her fascination. Let's see what kind of numbers and national attention she's getting as a senior. If she's all that she's supposed to be, why would she waste four years at UK?

    Curtis Franklin

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  8. In the ESPN Duke Notre Dame game the announcers just gave Jeff Walz a shout out saying that Duke's Stevenson gave him great credit for his work this summer with her post game and post moves. Maybe Jeff needs to stay home next summer :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very physically rough Duke Notre Dame game. Now a neck and neck game at end of 3rd.
    Not for sure if I want ND to have a loss before arriving at the YUM or not. We have to win either way in order to win the conference so their loss won't help us but might fire them up.
    Perfect example of letting a team hang around without putting in final nail in the coffin. Let Duke think they had a chance instead of flattening them.
    Thoughts?.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have to score and stop the other team from scoring to win games and Duke could do neither at the end of the game last night. You could see it in Coach Jo Anne P's eyes last night...she was getting schooled by a better team that took over at "go time" and there was nothing she could do about it...or her players could do about it. Credit Duke for making it interesting for three...but when it came time to see who was going to wear those shoes...Duke stubbed their collective toe.

      Paulie

      Delete
  10. Duke chokes again or more like JPM outcoached at the end again.
    Wonder how many times Greenwell will regret her Duke over Louisville decision before she graduates?
    My only fault with her is that like whatsherface that shall not be named who when she declared said she was always going to TN, if she wasn't coming to the birds nest she should not have kept coming to our games seeking so much of our staffs time and attention.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure you can fault a player for wanting to be sure they are making the right decision and with Greenwell and Russell it was a process they had to go through. As far as either regretting their choice...maybe, but if the decision was being made purely on playing for the best coach...yes, then they chose incorrectly because Walz is a better coach than Jo Anne P or Holly by Golly. Academics come into play sometimes, player relationships, chemistry, etc.

      It's all part of growing up. How many times in life have any of us regretted a decision? I should have joined the Beatles, but felt there might be too many Paul's in the band. :)

      Paulie

      Delete
  11. But then who would be hosting this site if you were busy being a beatle?

    ReplyDelete

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