Cardinal Couple

Softball banquet a gala event at Galt House

2012-01-29T11:30:00.026-05:00

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Capacity crowd attends UofL softball banquet

-More on Lady Cards win over Villanova

-Saturday BIG EAST results

If you enjoy good, food, good company and motivational speaking...the fifth annual Louisville Softball banquet was the place to be last night. A crowd of close to 2,000 attended the affair at the Galt House and heard from 2003 NCAA Champion and 2004 and 2008 USA Olympic Softball star Natasha Watley.

They hit you with the appetizers the minute you walked in the door and they were good and plentiful. Sonja and I were greeted at the door by head coach Sandy Pearsall, who we spoke with briefly before mingling with the crowd and checking out the silent auction table. Pearsall revealed that she wasn't all that comfortable with public speaking, but she did a fine job later in the evening when she spoke prior to Watley's keynote address.

Sonja with Lacy Wood and our friends
at our table

We also talked briefly with UofL softball S.I.D. Lori Korte, resplendent in her attire...who seemed very pleased with the turnout and the way the evening was going. Louisville's lucky to have her...she's pleasant, efficient and caring...great qualities for one who deals with the information and communication parts of the program.

After checking out the numerous items available for silent auction bid, we treated ourselves to beverages and found our table. We also ran into WBB star Becky Burke, in attendance just hours after her strong performance in the Villanova game. One has to appreciate how these college athletes "dress up" for events like this. Burke...and the entire softball team looked like they could have filled in as runway models last night.

We got another nice surprise when we found out we were sitting at the same table as CARDINAL COUPLE reader Dan and enjoyed the lively conversation we had with him and his friends. We were also joined by UofL volunteer assistant coach Lacy Wood, who eagerly discussed the team, the BIG EAST and the upcoming Lady Cards softball trip to FIU for the Combat Classic in Miami.

Sean Moth was the emcee for the event and was his usual professional, funny and smooth self. Moth has a self-depreciating sense of humor at times and it struck a positive note withe the crowd last night.

The invocation was delivered by senior speedster Tesha Payton and dinner was served shortly after. The Galt House didn't disappoint..with a great salad, chicken with pasta and vegetables entree and decadent chocolate dessert to top things off.

After a highlights film, Pearsall presented the Spirit of Softball award to the Louisville Slugger group and a video introducing the 2012 team was shown. Might have been the highlight of the evening...as the girls revealed something about themselves that people may have not known and why they chose Louisville. Chuckles and applause accompanied each cameo and the softball players have some hilarious and revealing antedotes about their free time and reasons why they don the Red and Black.

Cardinal pitcher Tori Collins gave a synopsis of the recent pre-season Oklahoma City Challenge and a video followed showing the girls participating in the challenge events. Let's hope none of them decide to go out for the swim team...

After the video, Pearsall took the podium again and made it short and sweet, acknowledging the support staff and coaches that make up Cardinal softball. One really doesn't realize how much goes into the entire scheme of a sport at Louisville...the academic advisers, marketing, groundskeepers, assistant and so much more.

Natasha Watley gave an inspired and entertaining address about her love of softball, career in it and how she got interested in it. At times, her description of her passion for the game and the aspects of it, had the crowd on the edge of their seats. She still competes professionally in Japan...when she retires, she'll make a great softball coach on the collegiate level and hopefully will pursue that.

Her comments about her college days at UCLA were heartfelt and entertaining. WE won't go into what "WIFT" means...the rallying cry of her and the other seniors on the 2003 National Championship team...but her desire and quest for getting the best out of her self was a great lesson and teaching tool for those in attendance.

The evening seemed to fly by. Before we knew it, Sean Moth was wishing us a great rest of the evening and the team had assembled on the stage for a group photo. It was our first softball banquet ever and it certainly won't be our last.

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More on the 62-58 Lady Cards win over Villanova....

Head Villanova coach Harry
Perretta goes casual in the
second half...

This game mirrored the South Florida game in a lot of ways. The Cards coming from behind to win. Having to cope with one excellent player and some hot shooting guards from the perimeter. Depending on late free throws to seal the victory. Despite the less than stellar nature of the action at times...call it a gritty, workmanlike job accomplished by the Lady Cards yesterday afternoon.

Numbers....

All 11 that dressed out for Louisville played in the contest. Becky Burke and Shoni Schimmel logged 38 minutes to lead the team. Bria Smith saw 31. Shawnta Dyer accounted for 22, Asia Taylor with 20 hard fought minutes and Nita Slaughter with 19. Sherrone Vails contributed 17, Shelby Harper 7 and Sara Hammond 4. Both Jude Schimmel and Cierra Warren saw the court for 2 minutes.

Louisville outrebounded the Wildcats 42 to 38...Smith's 10 and Taylor's 9 leading the way. The Lady Cards committed just nine turnovers..same as 'Nova...Shoni and Bria with three each. UofL had 6 steals (Smith 3) and three blocks.

Points in the paint went to Louisville 24-28 and points off turnovers to the Cards also...8-4. Louisville led in 2nd chance points 13-8. Neither team scored on fast break opportunities. The VU bench outscored Louisville's 14-9 (Dyer's six leading the Cards.)

The score was tied 8 times in the contest, 10 lead changes also. Louisville's largest lead was six points..with 36 seconds left in the game and the Wildcats enjoyed a seven point advantage once...with 14:36 to go in the first half.

So, Louisville takes a 17-4, 6-2 record into the second half of the BIG EAST schedule. Nova goes in 13-8, 3-5. The Wildcats have a relatively easy ride from here out, having already played UConn and Notre Dame. They should handle Seton Hall and Providence. On the road at DePaul and USF will be tough..but winnable. Things toughen up a bit when Georgetown and Rutgers visit in mid Feb. They finish at St. John's and hosting Syracuse. Wouldn't surprise us to see them at 8-8 or better when BIG EAST Tournament time rolls around.

For Louisville, the intensity increases. Road trip to DePaul Tuesday and West Virginia Saturday. UConn and Syracuse visit the YUM! Center after that. We're hoping the Lady Cards can come of out this killer four game stretch 2-2. Pitt, Notre Dame, DePaul again the final at Seton Hall. A 3-1 finish is very possible. We'll take 11-5 heading into conference tournament time. 10-6 is fine also. None of them will be easy, though. It's the BIG EAST.

We were also fortunate to observe yesterday's game with "the Observer" (Charlie Springer). If you haven't become a regular reader at Card Game http://www.uoflcardgame.com/ ...you need to. Charlie's observations on all UofL Sports are simply the best. WE learned from the best....CARDINAL COUPLE wouldn't be what it is today without Charlie's gentle urging and encouragement to leave the CARD GAME nest and fly on our own. And, he's got a cool camera...

FROM SONJA:

A-Tayy, I was so proud of you yesterday and it was great to see you on the post-game podium. Remember that the quality of the minutes are the main thing. Your hard work and dedication will serve you well...not only at UofL but for the rest of your life.

Now...go to the Windy City and give Anna Martin and Katherine Harry a lesson on how Columbus girls represent. Love ya #31.
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FROM BIG EAST ACTION SATURDAY

--Notre Dame got 24 points from Diggins in a 71-56 win over St John's in New York. The Irish led 43-23 at the half. Smith and Stevens had 10 each for the Red Storm.

--UConn downed a stubborn USF Bulls squad 77-62 in the XL Center. Tiffany Hayes with 33 and 10 for Geno. Stef Dolson added
22 and 18. For USF, the Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova totaled 16.

--DePaul put four in double figures to defeat Seton Hall 71-59. Martin with 20, Penny 19 and Harry and Hrynko 13 each. The Blue Demons host Louisville on Tuesday.

--Providence downed Pittsburgh 66-50...getting 15 from Barnes and 13 from Wells. The winless Panthers were led by Kiesel's 17.

--Cincinnati pulled the mild upset over homestanding Syracuse 55-54 on Bjonee Reaves jumper with five second left. Kayla Cook led the Bearcats with 14. Hemingway had 12 and Alexander 11 for SU.

--West Virginia romped Marquette 53-32, holding the Golden Eagles to 0-10 3-point shooting. Caldwell netted 20 for the 'Eers...Plouffe led Marquette with nine. 27-18 at the half for WVU.

#11/12 Rutgers and #18/20 Georgetown square off in Sunday action.
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Lady Cards hold on to defeat 'Nova 62-58

2012-01-28T16:52:00.003-05:00

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GAME REPORT

-Free throws down the stretch, Asia Taylor lead LADY CARDS

Louisville used 8-8 free throw shooting in the final 36 seconds and a strong half from junior Asia Taylor (12 points and nine rebounds) to defeat Villanova 62-58 in front of 10680 Saturday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center.

The Cards rallied from a 42-36 deficit with 9:52 left in the game to take a 46-44 lead on a Shoni Schimmel three with 7:37 remaining and trailed only once the rest of the way. A Taylor jumper with 3:50 left gave the Cards the lead for good at 49-48.

STARTERS: Vails, Shoni, Burke, Taylor and Smith.

Louisville led early 2-0 after Bria Smith hit the opening shot with a minute and a half gone but soon found themselves on the short end of a 7-4 score at the first media timeout. The Lady Cards trailed 11-4 before Bria Smith's two free throws stopped the Nova run.

If the first half resembled a funeral dirge...credit it to the aggressive defense employed by each team. 21-21 after 20. Neither team over 30% shooting and 13 turnovers between the two squads.

Something was needed to wake the crowd and the game up and maybe it was the en masse serenade of "Happy Birthday" to Louie the Cardinal Bird at halftime.

(The picture of Louie here is in no way representative of today's version.)

The Cards ran off five straight points to start the second half...thanks to a Becky Burke 3 and Taylor jumper....but the Wildcats cut it back to one. After a Sara Hammond free-throw made it 33-32 Villanova...the Wildcats ran off with seven of the next nine points to lead 40-34 when Laura Sweeney hit a layup.

The Cards were ten minutes away from the buzzer but far from looking like a team determined to win.

It got better, though. Schimmel, Smith and a Taylor "plus one" put it to 42-41 'Nova. Smith's jumper with 8:19 to go gave Louisville a 43-42 lead. The teams went back and forth until the 3:50 mark...when Asia put the Lady Cards ahead to stay with a jumper at 49-48. A nifty pass from Taylor to Dyer for a basket had Louisville breathing a little easier at 53-48 with 1:49 left.

That set up the strong finish from Taylor and Shoni...who accounted for all but nine of the Cards final 28 points. Two Burke free throws made it 62-58 with two seconds left and a desperation three by Megan Pearson rimmed out as time expired.

Louisville was led by Shoni's 18. Also in double figures were Taylor (14), Burke (11) and Smith (10). High for the Wildcats was Sweeney with 18...the only double figure scorer.

Louisville goes to 17-4 on the season and 6-2 in the BIG EAST with the win. At times, it was painful to watch when the Cards were on defense...since Villanova runs some very disciplined sets to free open shooter. Sweeney and Lindsay Kimmel used these to perfection at times. If Sweeney had fared better than 9 of 19 shooting, we may have had to change the title on today's blog.

Nevertheless, it's a "W" and each one of those the Lady Cards can gain is so important the rest of the way out. One that was far from decided in the final minutes.

WHAT WE LIKED

- Taylor tenacity. We loved the energy level and athleticism the junior displayed tonight on both ends of the court. She drove with confidence through the clogged Villanova paint and got hoops or free throw attempts. She was one rebound away from a double-double. Like we mentioned earlier today, you never really know which "big" for Louisville will step up. Today it was Asia...who had 14 of the "bigs" 23 points.

-Bria on board. A double-double for the freshman tonight with 10 points and ten rebounds. Add three steals to the stat-line and an impressive outing for the freshman. 4 of 15 shooting isn't the best effort and two blown, wide open layups weren't "Sportscenter" moments but...she's just a freshman, folks. An impact one at that.

Dyer drives for two (photo by Charlie Springer-Card game)

-Burke bombs away. Three for eight from the perimeter tonight and none of them came easily. A team that shoots the three frequently, like Villanova...gets a lot of practice guarding it and Becky nailed some tough ones tonight.

THINGS TO IMPROVE ON:

-Consistency. Louisville appeared to be on the verge of making sizable runs on Nova several times tonight...but a few missed shots here, a turnover there, lax defense or careless passes allowed the Wildcats to creep back into it. Consistency...it's what makes Notre Dame and UConn what they are. It comes with experience. The Lady Cards are getting there...

-Free throw shooting. Although Louisville did sink their final eight
attempts...several one and the bonus attempts went unfulfilled earlier in the second half that could have put the Cards in a bit more comfortable lead as the game got down to crunch time. Louisville 17-24 for a respectable 70.8%. Villanova a white hot 12-13 and 92.3%

The Lady Cards head to DePaul next for a Tuesday night matchup. A game that has interesting implications with DePaul's strong front line play. A team with a true center. One that will start the second half of the BIG EAST season. A big test in the BIG EAST.

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Lady Cards WBB today at 2 p.m. to be shown locally

2012-01-28T07:13:00.004-05:00

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville and Villanova...by the numbers.

-Spencer sets new UofL record in 600m

-Watson is headed this way...

Lachlan will not do
today's broadcast and
probably not mention
the game on his
Monday show...

The Lady Cards and Villanova meet for the eighth time in history today in the KFC YUM! Center. Louisville is 7-0 in the series. The two met twice last year...Louisville winning in Philly 64-59 and in Hartford in the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament 69-47.

Deener has the TV call of today's
game on WHAS.

The match-up tips off at 2 p.m. and will be shown locally on WHAS TV. Drew Deener will handle the play-by-play and fight Lachlan McClain bare-chested and bare-knuckled at halftime on the Denny Crum Court. (Just kidding...a little local feud going on between those two sports talk hosts.).

Louisville is 8-0 at home this year. 21-2 lifetime in the KFC YUM! Center. Tennessee beat them and who else? First person to e-mail us at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com with the correct answer gets a Panera Card. We'll see who our 'early birds' are out there (no pun intended, Drew...). OK...we have a winner. Cardinal Ed e-mailed the correct response (Georgetown)...narrowly beating out K.Starks and a couple other of you. Thanks for participating!

OTHER STATSTICS YOU'LL FORGET BY TIP-OFF:

LOUISVILLE                                                 VILLANOVA

16-4                             Record                       13-7
.439                             FG%                          .398
.324                            3-pt. FG%                    .337
.712                              FT%                          .740
.353                            Opp. FG%                   .372
.285                        Opp. 3-pt. FG%              .287
.625                            Opp. FT%                   .714
42.7                             Reb. Avg                    33.5
+5.4                          Reb. Margin                -2.9
13.5                          Assists/game                 14.8
19.4                        Turnovers/game             12.1
10.5                          Steals/game                  6.6
4.8                           Blocks/game                  3.4
72.2                         Points/game                  58.8
59.7                     Points allowed/game         53.3

The folks in the KFC YUM! will celebrate Louie the Cardinal Bird's birthday today...so we'll probably get to see the annual mascot game at half-time. Always a highlight of the season.

During the actual game...look for Louisville to try and accelerate the pace and score off the press and transition against the Wildcats. If 'Nova has their way...they'll take the air out of the ball and try to turn it into a half-court contest...keeping the score in the 50's.

See you out there. Don't forget Louie's present. Bird seed is always a good choice.

We'll have a full report of the action later today.

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Congrats to UofL women's track team dynamo Ahlivia Spencer for setting a new Cardinal record in the 600 meters at the Indiana Relays. She covered the distance in 1:21.65. That's flying! Some good runners up there...she finished eighth in the race.

Charachesica Lockhart won the triple jump and Margret Harris finished 3rd in the 200m trials and won the 60m trials.

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(David Watson is headed to Louisville for today's women's basketball game. We've assigned him a cartoon caricature...since his regular picture kept causing the laptop to freeze up.)

By the time you read this - we'll already be on the road to the "Ville" to watch the Lady Cards play Villanova. Taking the wife and youngest daughter today. We'll hit our favorite pizza place for lunch and then waddle over to the KFC YUM! Center for hoops. Then, to my cousin's for dinner with the family. I'll probably end up buying.

So, how will Louisville do today in their eighth BIG EAST game of the season? I expect nothing but a blowout of epic proportions. Expect to see 12,000 plus in the KFC YUM! Center. Expect to see Shoni drive 'em crazy with the shake, shuffle, slide, shot and sensational passing. Will beg Becky Burke to bombard the basket with beautiful ball tosses from beyond the barrier. Will watch Bria Smith daringly dart down the court dismantling defenses and driving down the baseline dropping deuces, dishing and delivering.

A weekend game at home. How long has it been? December 10th.? About time. Note to Lady Cards scheduler. More weekend games in the KFC YUM! for 2012-13 please.

I also hope to see Shelby Harper and Sara Hammond get quality minutes today. Did you realize they have the same initials? I will refer to them as SH-2 from now on. I hope I get to refer to them a lot.

OK. See you at the YUM.

( David Watson has been going over the alphabet recently, as witnessed by his alliteration efforts today. Someone stop him before he gets to "X".)

Nova next for Lady Cards

2012-01-27T06:20:00.003-05:00

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Villanova visits the KFC YUM Saturday

The University of Louisville's women's basketball team closes out the first half of their BIG EAST schedule when the Villanova Wildcats visit Saturday at 2 p.m. The Wildcats are 3-4 in BIG EAST Conference play and 13-7 overall. Last time out, they defeated Cincy 62-53 in the Pavillion in Philadelphia. Lauren Burford had 16 against the Bearcats and Laura Sweeney added 14. It was a "Pack the House" promotion. About 600 showed up to see the Wildcats win.

In BIG EAST play, the Wildcats have also defeated Providence and Pittsburgh. Losses have come against WVU (61-56), Marquette (51-50), UConn (72-49) and Notre Dame (76-43).

'Nova is led by 6'2" junior forward Laura Sweeney, who averages 15 points a game. Rachel Roberts, a 5'9" junior guard, adds 9.6 points per contest. Burford is a 6'0" red-shirt freshman forward who totals 8.2 each time out. Other starters are Lindsey Kimmel, a 6'0" senior guard and Jesse Carey, a 5'10" junior guard.

Nova plays five off the bench pretty regularly. Devon Kane, Megan Pearson, Emily Lear, Emily Suhey and Taylor Holeman all see double digit playing time as a rule.

Three point threats are Burford and Roberts. The Wildcats don't seem to put the trifecta up as much as in past years...but they did launch 24 against the Bearcats and 15 versus the Irish in their last two games out.

So...another mid-pack BIG EAST team comes into the KFC YUM! looking for a top 25 upset. Louisville will probably run into the "stop Shoni syndrome" again...which didn't work for Georgetown.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Louisville will look for continued production and prolific performance from Nita Slaughter again. Consistency has been a problem for her this year, but when she's on..she's brilliant.

--BIG Shot Becky will test the Wildcats from the deep. She's been pretty accurate from beyond the stripe this season...good for 3-4 treys a game. Let's hope the home court is where the heart (and the shot) is.

--Battling Bigs. Never know just which one of the centers and forwards will step up and provide the big game inside for this year's edition of Lady Cards. Wouldn't it be great to see Sara, Cierra, Shawnta, Sherrone and Asia all have big efforts?

--Driving Miss Bria. She should have plenty of opportunities to drive the baseline and create the inside scoring or passing opportunities against the Wildcats. Let's hope they're successful trips.

Can't see V.U. coming into the YUM and pulling the upset. Most likely, they'll get back on the plane bearers of a double digit loss to the Cards. We see Louisville getting the win...call it 71-54.
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For Hammond..it's learning and waiting...Weds. BIG EAST WBB recap

2012-01-26T06:12:00.007-05:00

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Rockcastle County's Sara Hammond learning the ropes

-Weds BIG EAST results

-Softball CARDS ranked 24th in preseason polling

Sara is fifth on the Lady Cards in rebounding

Sara Hammond is one of the three true freshmen on the 2011-12 Louisville women's basketball team. Highly recruited out of Rockcastle County High School, the All-American chose the Lady Cards over Connecticut. And, her regular season debut was impressive...scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against Missouri State. Several days later, seven rebounds at Eastern Kentucky. Another big effort against Xavier with eight grabs and six points. She led the Lady Cards with nine rebounds in a win over Tennessee-Martin.

Once BIG EAST play began in earnest, though...the minutes and production have dropped off for the 6'2" forward. Cause for alarm and worry? Not at all. All part of the freshman learning curve against the best conference in women's college basketball.

Ask 99% of the freshmen who step on the court after being leaders and stars on their high school teams. The college game is at a whole different level. The learning curve comes at you fast and each day is another lesson in competing against upper-classmen -- in games and in practice -- teammates who have been there, done that and learned from experience, patience and the occasional poor performance.

It can be trying, especially after the early successes against lesser opponents than the ones the Lady Cards are now facing in the BIG EAST. There will be times where the playing time is scant or non-existent...as other players perform while you watch.

Such are the lessons in life. A hard-worker in practice and vocal leader on the bench...Sara's time will come. The experience she gains while watching in game, coupled with the daily battles in practice against the more experienced Louisville front-liners will go a long way toward success later in her career. Everyone develops at their own pace. Everyone has their role.

We get a lot of e-mails here at CARDINAL COUPLE about women's basketball. More than any other UofL women's sport. A lot of them are in question form. We get asked a lot about Sara, more so lately...when the playing time for her is less frequent and the totals lower.

We're no coaches here. We don't see what goes on daily on the practice courts or in individual instruction. We feel confident, though, that the UofL coaches have a plan for her and she'll be one of the shining stars for the Lady Cards in the future.

In the meantime, the learning and knowledge continues.
Entitlement for some players is an issue. Wanting a certain number of minutes a game, a certain amount of touches, points, rebounds.

Then, you have players like Hammond. Ready to contribute however and whenever she can. Not hung up over the stat line. Giving what she can when she's called on. No sulking or attitude problems.

You tell me which kind of player you'd rather coach and have on your team.

No need to worry about Sara Hammond. As Frank Sinatra once crooned..."the best is yet to come and won't that be fine!"

THE SARA HAMMOND STAT LINE

Games played - 19
Games started - 6
Minutes per game - 13.3
Points per game - 3.5
Rebounds per game - 4.0 (76 total)
Shooting % - .333 (29-87)
Fouls - 42

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Only two BIG EAST games on the board for Wednesday night....

UConn destroyed another BIG EAST foe with a 95-54 demolishing of Syracuse. The 'Cuse was actually in this one for awhile, down only 40-33 at the half and cutting the visiting Huskies advantage to five early in the second half. It didn't last. Hayes goes for 35 against the Orange, Mosqueda-Lewis adds 19 and Hartley 18 for Geno's gals.

South Florida used a 18-2 second half run to defeat Seton Hall in Tampa. The Bulls trailed 26-21 at the half and 35-23 with 15 minutes to go before charging through the ring and winning 57-45.
Jasmine Wynne with 19 for USF. The Pirates did silence the Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova to 0-7 on 3-point shooting and just 5 points...but it wasn't enough to get them their first BIG EAST win.

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Good news for Sandy Pearsall's softball Cards...they've been ranked 24th. in preseason voting for women's college fast-pitch softball. This from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Despite being ranked higher than the Lady Cards in the BIG EAST Pre-Season picks...Notre Dame, Syracuse and DePaul did not make the top 25. Go figure.

Plenty of returning stars for the Ulmer Stadium sluggers and some talented freshmen on board as well.

Losing the left side of your infield after four years is tough and Chelsea Bemis and Colby Wherry will be missed...but Pearsall has plenty of talent to choose from to find replacements. The pitching is solid and Jordy Trimble returns after a season off because of a broken ankle. Alas, no BIG EAST Tournament at Ulmer this year...but plenty of chances to watch the girls at Ulmer for regular season and BIG EAST Conference play.

Louisville begins their season Feb. 10-12 in Miami at the Florida International University Combat Classic. (Better there than somewhere like Syracuse or Maine...)

(and....the Cards received no votes in women's ice hockey or water polo pre-season polls. Oh, that's right...UofL doesn't field a team in either. Yet. Never say never when Tom Jurich is your A.D.)
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LADY CARDS tied for 3rd place in BIG EAST

2012-01-25T00:12:00.003-05:00

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards 5-2 in BIG EAST...standings...

-Tuesday night BIG EAST action

Almost at the halfway mark of the BIG EAST schedule, the University of Louisville women's basketball team sits tied for third place in the BIG EAST standings with a conference record of 5-2. Louisville is tied with St. John's for third.

The ranking is encouraging...but the remaining nine games won't be as easy as the first seven. Still ahead for the Lady Cards are UConn, Notre Dame, DePaul twice and WVU...all over .500 for the season and all but DePaul over .500 in conference. The Cards also face Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Villanova...who will visit the KFC YUM! Center Saturday.

Louisville has their work cut out for them. Even though UConn and Notre Dame are at the KFC YUM!, these two have pretty much separated themselves from the rest of the BIG EAST talent-wise. DePaul is still struggling without Keisha Hampton...but Anna Martin has assumed the scoring leadership and the Blue Demons are losing some heart breakers. Syracuse always plays Louisville tough. Villanova attempts close to 25 threes a game and Laura Sweeney is always a threat. WVU rebounds as well as anyone in the league. Even cellar dwellers Pitt and Seton Hall can't be overlooked. Not in this conference. Fun times ahead, exciting basketball and...hopefully, a bunch of Lady Cardinal wins.

Standings after Tuesday night action:

1. Notre Dame      20-1    7-0
2. UConn              17-2    6-1
    Rutgers             17-3    6-1
3. Louisville         16-4    5-2
    St. John's          13-7    5-2
4. Georgetown     16-5    5-3
5. WVU                14-6    4-3
6. USF                  11-9    3-3
7. DePaul             15-6    3-4
    Villanova          13-7   3-4
    Marquette        12-8    3-4
    Providence       11-9   3-4
8. Syracuse           13-7   2-4
9. Seton Hall         7-13   0-6
10.Cincinnati         9-11   0-7
     Pittsburgh         8-12   0-7

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Tuesday night in the BIG EAST featured three games. The highlight game of the night had to be the DePaul vs. Rutgers match up in the RAC. Khadija Rushdan hit an off-balance, rim-rolling layup with 2 seconds left to give Rutgers a 65-64 lead. A desperation DePaul shot fell short at the buzzer. DePaul led this one 58-49 with 5:40 remaining. Rushdan lead the Scarlet Knights with 24 points...Anna Martin totaled 26 for the hard-luck Blue Demons....who led most of the second half.

Georgetown rebounded from the home loss to Louisville to defeat West Virginia 64-54 in Morgantown. WVU led 24-23 at the half. For the Hoyas, Tia Magee and Sugar Rodgers tallied 17 points each. Chrystal Caldwell ended up with 25 for the Mountaineers. Georgetown shot 41% for the game...but lost the rebounding battle to WVU.

Villanova tuned up for their trip to Louisville with a home win over Cincinnati 62-53. The Wildcats were 10-23 from three-point range and led 33-18 at halftime. Laura Sweeney netted 14 for VU, Bjonee Reaves tossed in 20 for the hapless Bearcats.
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Cards picked to finish 7th in Lacrosse...4th in softball

2012-01-24T07:19:00.006-05:00

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Pearsall's sluggers picked fourth in pre-season BIG EAST

-Lacrosse gets seventh slot in pre-season BIG EAST poll.

-Watson words

Coach P. has power,
speed and pitching
returning. Yup!

The University of Louisville softball team has been picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Pre-season coaches poll. Five teams received first place votes in the polling...where the top five teams were seperated by only 19 total votes.

The Cards return five BIG EAST All-Conference selections. First baseman Alicja Wolny, infielders Katie Keller and Hannah Kiyohara, outfielder Jennifer Esteban and pitcher Caralisa Connell. They also get talented Jordy Trimble back after sitting out last year with a broken ankle. Coach Pearsall had recruited well and has a talented group of freshmen vying for positions on the squad.

Here's the vote breakdown, with first place votes in ( ).

1. DePaul  (3)        130
2. Syracuse (4)      128
3. Notre Dame (3) 121
4. Louisville (2)    120
5. USF (1)              111
6. Pitt                    85
7. Rutgers             74
8. UConn              64
9. Providence       57
10. St. John's        51
11. Villanova        45
12. Georgetown   23
13. Seton Hall       20

****************************************************************

Katie returns as a
mid-fielder

The BIG EAST women's lacrosse coaches have also been busy and released their preseason picks and pre-season All-Star team. We're not as happy with those prognostications....no UofL players made the 16-player squad and the Lacrosse Cards were picked 7th. Katie Oliverio returns as a mid-fielder and Ashley Herbst at goalkeeper for a team hit heavily by graduation. The roster shows nine freshmen, eight sophomores, two juniors and four seniors. Youth movement underway down on the Belknap campus.

The pre-season rankings...

1. Georgetown (5)    60
2. Syracuse  (3)         59
3. Loyola (1)            51
4. Notre Dame          44
5. Rutgers                 34
6. UConn                  27
7. Louisville             26
8. Villanova              12
9. Cincinnati             11.

*******************************************************

(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. Rumors that he is a "plant" by Notre Dame athletic officials is entirely false. He owns no green or gold sports jackets. Here's today's Watson words.)

I just finished watching Notre Dame dis-mantled a top ten Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team a few hours ago. Eee-gads! Is there anyway Louisville can remove them from the schedule? They are scary good. I think even their program assistants could come off the bench and ring up double figures. Hate to say it, but there isn't going to be a whole lot of happy in the KFC YUM! Center when the Irish come to visit unless you're wearing green and gold.

Poor Pat Summitt. Gone is the fiery sideline nature. The fierce stare that could dismantle officials better than a Star Wars laser. I back Pat. I feel for Pat. Maybe it's best to go quietly into that good night at times. Maybe she was just demoralized that the Irish blew her Vols out without much effort. Maybe Tennessee isn't all they're cracked up to be this year. Is Kentucky the best team in women's SEC basketball? Is this the sign of the apocalypse?

How about those Lady Cards hoopsters? Winning on the road against a top-twenty opponent, on ESPN 2 and showing some grit and perserverance while doing so. Sugar Rodgers did not disappoint either. 24 points and they even tried to slip her an extra one.

Bria Smith, meet what you could become.

I, too, wonder about the MIA status of Sara Hammond. I realize that Coach Walz can only play a certain number of paint players at a time. And, he's got quite a few to shuffle into that mix. Never know which one is going to provide the spark. I just wish Hammond would get a few minutes to try and become one of them. If you think her playing time is diminished now, wait until Reid and Gibbs return next year. Might want to put one of those ankle-tracking devices on her so we'll know her whereabouts. With that being said, she'll probably log 20+ minutes against Villanova. UofL women's basketball with coach Walz is like a box of chocolates.

You never know just what you're going to get. (Sorry, Forrest Gump.)

(Any rumors that the real Forrest Gump was modeled after David Watson are absolutely false. David is horrible at ping pong and abhors jogging.)
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Jenny's thoughts on the Georgetown win

2012-01-23T13:00:00.003-05:00

(Jenny O'Bryan is a columnist for CARDINAL COUPLE. Today, she looks at the UofL WBB win over Georgetown and the team.)

What a huge road win against a top 20 team! Never mind that the team tried to give it away during the last 6 minutes of the game. Somehow, they gutted it out, and finished the game differently than they have been previously finishing games. Getting the “W”, on the road, after almost letting it slip away shows growth for this team. Growth that I will gladly celebrate!

Truthfully, I have been seeing a lot of growth these last few games. Not all have been in the win column, but growth nonetheless. That is what one wants to see, right? Your team getting better each time out on the hardwood. Each outing gets us closer and closer to post season play, and every outing builds upon the last. This team is never going to be the preseason top- ten team that it was predicted to be. Injuries and a transfer changed the landscape for this team. Given that, the Coaches and the team deserve a lot of credit for reworking their game plan and remaining competitive.

Lets start with the growth that has been happening. First, last night ended up in the win column. Those hard losses at St. John’s and Rutgers provided valuable lessons. Both of those games could have/should have been won and it slipped away. Yesterday’s game against Georgetown should have been a win, and by most measures a sizable win. They got the win, in the end. Not always pretty, but, they came out on top. A win is a win, so they say.

The inside game has come along nicely. Our bigs have started to show a lot of growth and settled in to some maturity on the floor. Less fouling, more solid defensive work and some big minutes in the paint recently have blown some much needed fresh air in to this team.

The biggest (positive) stat from yesterday’s game that I have yet to see mentioned is in the assist category. 15 assists on 19 made shots! That is huge. That tells me this team is starting to trust each other. They are finding each other, passing the ball, and trusting the player with the best shot to take it. There is ball movement in the half court offense that looked really, really good yesterday. The half court offense has looked very strong and has shown a lot of growth over the course of this season. At times, I have complained there has been too much dribbling and standing around, and not enough ball movement. I am very pleased to see less of that and increased movement of both the ball and players.

The half court defensive game has looked very strong as of late. I believe one of Coach Walz’s greatest strengths, that I have witnessed, is coming up with game plans to stop the leaders on opposing teams. Our team has not always followed that game plan, but, when they do, they win games. Our defense is looking cleaner, and less fouling is a result of that. Our tough half court defense has also created a lot of last second shots due to the shot clock expiring. Continuing to execute game plans as set forth by the Coaching staff and containing star players is paramount as we move forward to some stiffer competition (UCONN and Notre Dame). I believe that success lies in the half court defense, which is where the defensive effort appears its strongest for this bunch.

Even in the areas of growth, there remains opportunity to further the game. That being said, the two greatest weaknesses of this team that have been exposed in every single loss are turnovers and rebounding.

Not taking care of the ball is incredibly frustrating. As a fan, it is so hard to watch. I cannot imagine how infuriating it is as a coach. Handling the pressure on the ball has got to get better, and fast. The Cards seemed to move the ball well in the first half of the game last night, by passing through the pressure. Albeit, there were some missed passes, but it seemed to be effective when passes were made and caught. Clean up your passes!! At some point in the game that changed and trying to dribble through the press became a nightmare. I do not know the number of turnovers due to the press, but it seemed huge. In my mind this is one of the two areas of growth that has yet to be figured out.

Rebounding. There were 19 made shots yesterday out of 40 attempts by the Cards. That leaves 21 offensive boards to be had, four were snagged by the Cards, 2 in each half. That is abysmal. Alternately, the Cards gave up 18 offensive boards to the competition yesterday. All the hard defensive work is for naught if you cannot rebound the missed shot. Every lost game this season the Cards have lost the rebounding stat to the opponent. More specifically, the offensive board stat has been lost to the opponent. Strong half court defense is great, but you have to rebound the missed shot, and not give the opponent second and third chance opportunities. Rebound, rebound, rebound. It can’t be said enough!

Yesterday, having given up a lot of second and third chance points, the Cards were able to pull this one out. A lot of turnovers, and yet the W is still in the Card’s column. With stronger offensive teams, this game is a loss. No doubt about it. But this game was a win. On the road and in the Big East, every win is worth celebrating. I will continue to look for growth, both as a team and with individual players. It is happening. So, Lady Cards, congratulations for a hard fought win! No doubt, you are already hard at work getting a little better, for your next outing. I look forward to seeing you then.

(Coach Walz will tell you that he wants consistency from the Lady Cards. This win, as Jenny pointed out, was hard fought and the defense looked very consistent at times. Always room for improvement.)

Lady Cards beat Hoyas 64-61 behind Shoni's 19

2012-01-22T20:37:00.006-05:00

.
GAME REPORT

-Cards survive G'town run, scorekeeper to win by 3

In a wacky and wild finish, Louisville fails to score a basket in the final 6:38, Georgetown gets credit for a phantom free throw and Georgetown attempts 30 more shots than the Lady Cards in a 64-61 Louisville win. Shoni led UofL with 19 points, Sugar Rodgers ended up with 24 for the Hoyas.

STARTERS: Vails, Warren, Smith, Burke and Shoni

Louisville jumped out to a 5-0 lead to begin the contest after Cierra Warren scored inside and Becky Burke bombed a three in the first minute of play. The Hoyas responded with nine straight, though...capped by Sydney Wilson hitting a jumper with 16:37 to go in the first half. The Cards needed a timeout to solve the Hoya full court pressure, responsible for four straight Cardinal turnovers. Shoni was on the bench, after just two minutes of play.

Shoni overcame
a slow start to
get 20 points.

Whatever Walz said worked. Louisville regained the lead 13-11 after a Burke three and Nita Slaughter added two free throws to give the Lady Cards a 15-11 advantage with 12:19 to go. Shoni returned to the game and bombed a three to make it 18-11. Her jumper increased it to 20-13 with 9:10 left.

The Hoyas rallied to cut the advantage to 23-22 after a Rodgers jumper with 4:20 left. Warren hit from inside, though to push it to 25-22. After a Hoya three tied it at 25...the Lady Cards got the final four of the half when Warren scored on a putback and Shoni created a steal and nailed a jumper with 40 seconds in the half to lead 29-25 at the break.

Becky Burke led the Cards in the first half with nine points, all threes and Shoni had seven. Slaughter finished with five, Warren had four and Shawnta Dyer and Sherrone Vails added two each. Walz played all but Hammond and Harper in the first twenty minutes. Sugar Rodgers totaled 10 for G'Town. The Cards shot 52% in the first half, compared to the Hoyas 25.6% efforts...18 more shots by Georgetown (39-21) but one less basket.

Louisville came out with Taylor in for Warren in the final twenty minutes and got an opening three from Burke. Taylor got a nifty pass from Shoni and Louisville had a nine point lead with 90 seconds gone. A Shoni three had it 37-29 Cards with 17:44 left.

Georgetown responded with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes and grabbed a 39-37 lead after threes from Rodgers and Tia Magee. Shoni quelled the tide, though with her second trey of the half to make it 40-39. After G'Town responded with a Rubylee Wright three to regain the lead 42-40...the teams battled back and forth until another Shoni three and a "plus 1" for Bria Smith gave Louisville a 49-44 advantage with 11:35 left. Shoni added a free throw to push the Cardinal lead to 50-44. Louisville made their last field goal of the game when Slaughter knocked down a three with 6:38 remaining to give UofL a 55-46 lead.

From then on it was a matter of the Lady Cards hitting from the charity stripe. A Smith free throw put the Cards up by ten. Four straight points from Magee cut it to 56-50 with 4:20 left. Shoni and Smith responded with four straight free throws to give Louisville a 60-50 lead.

Then, with 2:16 remaining, Sugar Rodgers missed two free throw attempts. Except in the official scorekeeper's eyes, who credited her for hitting one. After Vails made 1 of 2 from the line, Rodgers canned a trifecta to cut the UofL lead to 61-55 (or 56) with 1:38 left. Another G'town score after a Cardinal turnover made 61-57 (or 58) and 1:19 left. Bria Smith hit two free throw to give the Cards 63 points but the scoreboard showed the Hoyas with 58 points instead of 57. Rodgers cashed in two charity tosses and it was 63 to 59 (or 60..)

The ESPN girls were confused, so were we at home and it got better.

We had it 63-59 and I was wondering what I missed. Turned out...not a thing.

Protests from the Louisville bench and a Walz timeout with 18 seconds left sent officials Dennis DeMayo and John Enterline to the scorer's table to ask for the ESPN2 feed to be rewound to the 2:16 mark. Once it was confirmed that no Rodgers free throws hit the mark at that point in the game, the score was changed to 63-59. Keeping score while watching, Sonja and I were correct. Maybe we should apply for the job in D.C.

Becky Burke got 1 of 2 from the stripe to make it 64-59 with 16 seconds left. A Wright putback cut it to 64-61 with 1.3 seconds remaining. Louisville inbounded safety to Slaughter at halfcourt, though....and it was a final. 64-61 Cards on the road.

Shoni led the Lady Cards with 19 points. She was joined in double figures by Burke with 13 and Slaughter adding 11. Smith contributed 10 points...all in the second half. Warren finished with four, Vails three and Taylor and Dyer two each. Jude played but did not score. Harper & Hammond never hit the court.

(We were originally informed Shoni had 20 and Bria nine points but a check of the official box score says differently. Wonder if it was the same person that kept trying to slide Sugar an extra free throw?)

Rodgers led the Hoyas with 24 points (on 26 shots). Rubylee Wright and Magee added 11 each for the Hoyas.

Louisville shot 47.5 % for the game on 19-40 shooting. They attempted 23 threes and hit 11 for 44%. The Cards were 15-21 from the freethrow line and committed 25 turnovers.

Georgetown went 33% for the game...with 70 attempts and 23 baskets. They were 8-27 from beyond the arc (33%) and 7-12 from the free throw line. They outrebounded UofL 38-35 and committed 15 miscues.

A huge road win for Louisville, maybe their biggest this season so far on the road. After the close misses at St. John's and Rutgers, it's good to see them get one away from home against a top 20 opponent.

It didn't come easy, though. Blowing a 10 point lead with 2:16 left isn't what we like to see. 25 turnovers, mostly unforced...against the Georgetown pressure is disappointing.

But, it's a win and the Lady Cards now get a little time off from action until Villanova visits Saturday. Time that can well be used to hone and refine the Cardinal ball-handling.

What we liked...

Sho-time again. After a rough couple of outings, Shoni found the range again and her 13 seconds half points were key to the win. Maybe it's when the nationwide cameras are on is the key to getting her on fire. Can we televise all the finals games?

Let 'three-dom' ring! Threes from three different players today. Good to see Nita hit a few clutch ones and she also had 31 minutes on the court today. Let's hope it's the start of a consistent rest of the season for her.

Hitting the free ones when it counts. Louisville made free throws when they needed to. The final 6:38 of the game. Four different players involved in the mix, too. They needed to. They weren't getting shots to go...

-Things to improve on...

Ball control. It was a nervous final two minutes with the Lady Cards shaky ball-handling, which allowed G'Town back into the game. It's only going to get tougher with pesky Villanova, Notre Dame, UConn and DePaul (twice) ahead. Keep growing up fast, Bria and Jude.

Rebounding. The Cards had one first half offensive rebound. They lost the rebounding battle against a guard-oriented Hoya squad 38-35. Gotta get better positioning and more grabs, ladies!

On an afternoon where the Lady Cards finally got a quality win over a top 20 opponent on the road, Louisville grew up a lot today. Sure, there's still some things to improve on and get better at...but a national audience saw a Louisville team that didn't fold on the road today.

And that's a step in the right direction.
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Georgetown in-game report

2012-01-22T18:35:00.003-05:00

Pogo said "we have met the enemy and he is us". The comic strip character did not say this in reference to Louisville's 19 turnovers with 7:56 left in the game but he could have.

They are a major reason in the difference between a win or a loss at Rutgers and a close game today with Georgetown vs a blow out for Louisville.

Louisville women's basketball with tough test today

2012-01-22T09:13:00.016-05:00

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL DEUCE...

-HOYAS HOST CARDS

-SATURDAY BIG EAST WBB

Jeff Walz and the Lady Cards will test the tough Georgetown women's basketball team today at 5 p.m. on ESPN 2 and 3. The 17/19 GU squad is 15-4, 4-2. So is 15/18 Louisville.

The Hoyas come into the game after a Monday romp over Syracuse. Prior to that, they ran into the Notre Dame freight train and lost. Sugar Rodgers earned a third trip to the BIG EAST honor roll...gathering 23 points against the Orange and 13 versus the Irish.

Against S.U., the Hoyas won going away...67-39. They forced 29 turnovers and had 22 steals. They also out rebounded the Orange 48-35.

Sugar can sour opposing
team defenses.

Rodgers is the leading scorer on Terri Williams-Flourney's squad with 19.8 ppg, which is also tops in the BIG EAST. Her high this season was 39 against Dartmouth. She shoots 85.4 from the charity stripe and has a team leading 48 steals.

Others on the Hoya squad...

-RubyLee Wright, a play making senior guard who leads with 92 assists.

-Tia Magee, another senior...11.1 ppg and leading board grabber with 6.8 rpg.

-Taylor Brown...a freshman with 5.5 ppg a contest.

-Adria Crawford is a strong rebounder for the Hoyas.

Georgetown has won the last two meetings between the squads. Last year, the Hoyas came into the KFC YUM! Center and defeated the Cards 76-52 after trailing 30-19 at halftime. Rodgers led the way with 26 points.

The Hoyas play in McDonough Arena and should get a pretty sizable turnout for this afternoon's televised event. For the four letter network, Beth Mowins and Kara Lawson will be the voices.

Cards could use
a big game from
"Big Shot" Becky

Louisville travels to Georgetown after an impressive 64-48 win over Providence in the KFC YUM! Center. The Lady Cards had balanced scoring...Bria Smith with 12, Becky Burke 11, Nita Slaughter 10 and Asia Taylor with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Lifetime, the Hoyas are 2-4 against UofL. Two years ago, they defeated Louisville 60-56 in the McDonough...a pre-game fight breaking out between the two squads after a tripping incident when the Cardinals took the court.

We'll have a post game report here at CARDINAL COUPLE for you. GO CARDS!

*******************************************************

BIG EAST Saturday:

Notre Dame had no trouble with Villanova in a 76-43 destruction of the Wildcats. Diggins 20, Peters 19. VU head coach Harry Perreta missed the clash due to a family death.

UConn doubled up DePaul 88-44. Husky Caroline Doty left early with more knee trouble but Geno says nothing to worry about. DePaul missing Hampton big time.

Rutgers travelled to Tampa and beat the USF Bulls 72-66. April Sykes enjoying the rec center where the Bulls play currently with 23 and 10. The Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova had 15 for Jose Fernandez's bunch.

St. John's trounced the Cincy Bearcats 51-34. Three Red Storm in double figures. 21-14 at halftime.

WVU won the backyard brawl over Pitt 54-43. Chrystal Caldwell with a double-double for the Eers 17/12. Another one over at the half...32-16 WVU.

WE were a disappointing 4-2 on the day. Rutgers and Providence ruining the party. Five BIG EAST teams won on the road yesterday...a rarity. Only N.D. held home court advantage.
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YUM not producing as expected...

2012-01-21T13:31:00.005-05:00

.
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-KFC YUM CENTER...Coming up short?

The University of Louisville women's basketball team has the privledge of playing in one of the finest, if not the finest, basketball arenas in the world. The KFC YUM! Center is a state of the art, one of a kind venue for college basketball, concerts and major events.

But, revenues needed to pay for the KFC YUM! Center bonds are falling short of goals. In all probablity, the Louisville Arena Authority will have to tap into reserves to cover the debt. Reserves earmarked for maintenance and improvement.

The KFC YUM Center is the home of UofL Basketball.
That apparantly isn't enough to pay the bills.

Drive by the YUM Center on any given night. I did recently while going westbound on I-64. It was lit up, a shining jewel on the Louisville riverfront. Visable from over a mile away. There weren't any events going on there that night, but all the lights were on. I wouldn't want to cover the monthly LG&E bill.

The arena is used for college basketball primarily. There have also been some top flight concerts there. Headliner acts Taylor Swift, Lady Ga Ga, the Eagles, Rush and more to come...like Jimmy Buffet and Van Halen. It isn't enough.

Projected revenues the first year of operation were $6.7 million dollars. Actual revenues were $2.1 million. In 2011 $8.3 was projected. $3.9 was generated.

I'm no math major or CPA, but it's pretty clear to me that expectations are not reaching their goals. If I spent $80,000 a year, and made only 39,000...I'm pretty sure that my bank balance wouldn't be "in the black."

The arena is in a six-square-mile district taxing area. The main problem is that the revenue in this special taxing district isn't covering the tab. What happens once the reserve money runs out? The investment bonds get downgraded. It's like your credit score. If you are in debt and failing to cover your bills, your credit score drops.

Can the area ever cover the spread? New businesses and sources of revenue will help add to the tax base, but if people don't frequent the restaurants, bars and other areas for consumer spending...these places won't make money and will eventually close.

I've never been to the area businesses surrounding the Arena on non-event nights. My guess is that places like Bearno's,The Troll Pub, Impellizari's and the 4th street Live venues aren't as busy.

Will the beautiful facility by the Ohio River become a white elephant? Probably not. Will it ever become a profitable arena? Probably not.

It's a great place to watch a basketball game or concert. It just can't pay for itself. The 'bucket' doesn't have enough 'chicken' in it. This infant is 15 months old...but needing much more attention than the parents can provide or finance. 2000 people for a BIG EAST volleyball game is an amazing turnout. In a 22,000 seat arena though, the revenue probably doesn't pay the utilities and employee expenses for the day. Pro sports? The thought of NBA basketball there sends some people into violent hysteria and uncontrollable rage. Share our college gym with a bunch of overpaid professional athletes? Not on my watch. And, just how many NBA teams actually make money? Maybe they should turn part of the facility into a Wal-Mart. Those stores always seem to have a lot of business. (I'm kidding, before you start sending us e-mails...)

When monies owed exceed monies earned for any extended period of time..you know the scenario. It's called "being in debt."

Welcome to corporate America.

...

Georgetown next for Lady Cards

2012-01-20T10:31:00.002-05:00

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Watson looks at Georgetown

-BIG EAST WBB update and weekend

(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. He may never win any popularity contests, but...knowing him...he'd ask for a recount and wouldn't accept one if he did...)

David likes Splenda
not Sugar.

Hoya paranoia. Yes, readers it is real. When one thinks of the Georgetown squad, Sugar Rodgers comes to mind first - unless you're a mascot junkie and go with that ugly dog, monster or whatever it's supposed to represent. You could consider Sugar as a monster as well. She's atop the BIG EAST scoring leaders with 19 points per game. If she isn't the top guard in the BIG EAST, I'll demand a recount. Arguments will be made for Diggins, Hartley, and maybe Shoni. I will still disagree. The previously mentioned three are all part of the larger scheme on their teams. It's Sugar in the morning, Sugar in the evening, Sugar with a cup of tea for Terri Williams-Flourney's team. (Apologies to the McGuire sisters.)

Of course, she's not the lead singer, guitarist, drummer and roadie all rolled into one for the Hoyas. They do put four people out on the court with her. Rubylee Wright is the set up guard, piling up assists by the truckload - fifth in the conference. Tia Magee and Adria Crawford rebound. Brown helps out where she can. McBride scores when Sugar doesn't. But, it's pretty much Sugar Rodgers and four or five girls named Mary when the final analysis comes into play. ( A Rick Pitino non-sequiter, altered for Cardinal Couple purposes.)

So, how do the Lady Cards defeat these Hoyas? Feed Sugar misinformation about game time and site is my suggestion. Or, study the DePaul game film (they beat Georgetown back on Jan. 3rd.) Glance at the Notre Dame, Maryland and LSU DVD's also - they put "L"s in the Georgetown win-loss slate. Survive their full-court, in your face, relentless pressure. Rebound. Send them to the line - they're 14th in the conference in free throws. And, keep Sugar out of the recipe.

Both teams are 15-4. Both teams are 4-2 in the BIG EAST. They may look even at a statistical glance, but this one isn't being played on paper. It's a ESPN2 game, so viewers will probably get Beth Mowins and someone like Kara Lawson or Rebecca Lobo getting a Sugar rush. Maybe they could get 70's pop-icons The Archies to sing thier bubble gum classic "Sugar, Sugar" at halftime. Maybe the Cards could counter with the Guess Who crooning "No Sugar Tonight". Maybe I listen to too much of the "oldies" station.

Good luck, Lady Cards. Bring some Splenda, a great sugar substitute. Let's hope the ugliness that occurred two years ago in the pre-game doesn't rear its ugly head again Sunday. This bunch of Lady Cards are bigger, stronger and meaner than the bunch that travelled up there in 2010 and would wipe the table clear of Sugar and the other Georgetown condiments.

-- David Watson puts salt in his coffee, pepper on his strawberries and oregano on his cereal. We call him 'Sweetness' (behind his back.)

*********************************************************

Skylar and Natalie still
sit atop the standings.

Going into the weekend, the BIG EAST race remains pretty much the same as it was last week. All Notre Dame, all of the time. Rutgers took a surprising conference loss Tuesday night, so the Irish sit atop the conference standings. Here's the deal.

Notre Dame                6-0
Connecticut                5-1
Rutgers                       4-1
Georgetown               4-2
St. John's                    4-2
Louisville                   4-2
DePaul                       3-2
WVU                          3-2
USF                            3-2
Marquette                  3-3
Villanova                   2-3
Providence                2-3
Syracuse                    1-4
Cincinnati                  0-5
Seton Hall                  0-5
Pittsburgh                  0-6

Good games ahead for the weekend. Here's the line-up and predictions. We're 8-1 this week, only blemish was St. John's upset win over Rutgers.

Saturday action:

Villanova at Notre Dame. Irish in a rout. Only question here is if they can hit 100 points against the Wildcats.
West Virginia vs. Pitt. The WBB version of the 'backyard brawl' Pitt hasn't won yet in the BIG EAST. We're not seeing it happen here.
St John's at Cincy. The Red Storm has hit hurricane strength as it heads inland to blow away the winless in conference Beermats. Poor Cincy...their last three have been Notre Dame, UConn and now the Red Storm. Someone call in the Red Cross.
Rutgers at USF. This is the pick of the week in "games we wish we could attend." Rutgers is reeling from the St. John's loss. USF strong like bull after beating DePaul. We'll go with the Russian Rocket and take USF.
Connecticut at DePaul. With Keisha Hampton, we'd be tempted to predict an upset. Keisha isn't walking through that door, though. UConn wins. Anna Martin goes for 20+ for Doug Bruno.
Providence at Marquette. Another toughie to pick. Providence is 0-3 on the road in the BIG EAST, so we choose Plouffe-quette .

Sunday action:

Syracuse at Seton Hall. (Yawn...) The "Q" gets a road win over the Pirates. Syracuse wins. Next?
Louisville at Georgetown. We're divided on this one. Paul taking the Hoyas, Sonja sticking by her Lady Cards...so we're not including this one in our picks. (sue us).
.
..
...

Cards first half run enough to beat Providence 64-48

2012-01-19T00:18:00.002-05:00

.
THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Bria Smith's 12 points lead Cards past Friars

The Lady Cards used a 16-2 first half run to pull away from the Providence Friars and survived a rough spot to take the win in front of 7987 fans in the KFC YUM! Center Wednesday night.

Starters: Vails, Warren, Shoni, Smith and Burke

Louisville was in a battle with Providence the first five minutes of this one...leading 7-6 after Lola Wells laid in a layup with 15:22 to go in the first half. At the 8:18 mark, the Cards enjoyed a 23-8 lead. Smith got the run started with a jumper in the paint. Sherrone Vails connected on a layup next and added a free throw to increase the margin to six. Shawnta Dyer scored in the paint to make it 14-6 with 13:19 left. After a Providence score, the Lady Cards took off again. Two Becky Burke free throws, two straight layups from Asia Taylor and a three from Burke had Louisville up 23-8 with eight minutes left in the first half.

Then...came the drought.

Providence responded with a 11-0 run over the next seven and a half minutes, aided by seven UofL turnovers, to close to 23-19 when Alicia Cropper hit a jumper with 1:34 remaining. Louisville needed to stem the tide and got the answer from Nita Slaughter...who canned a three with 37 second left in the half. The Cards took the 26-19 lead into the locker room at half.

Louisville shot a surprising 43.5% in the first twenty, despite the drought. Burke led Louisville with eight points...the Cards played everyone but Sara Hammond in the first half and held Providence leading scorer Teya Wright to zero points, on 0-2 shooting in 15 minutes.

Louisville saw their lead drop to five at 15:53 in the second stanza when Wright hit a free throw...completing the last of her three points for the contest. UofL responded with a 11-3 run, though...and led 41-28 after Dyer connected inside at the 13:19 mark.

Providence would hang in stubbornly for the next six minutes...trailing 52-43 with 7:01 to go...but the Cards sealed the deal with a game ending 12-5 run the rest of the way...leading 64-46 after a Taylor layup with 33 seconds left.

Besides Smith's 12, Burke hit double figures with 11 and Nita Slaughter showed up with 10 points in 18 minutes. Asia Taylor turned in a big effort for the Lady Cards with eight points on 4-6 shooting and 10 rebounds in 14 minutes.

The Cards go to 15-4 with the win...and 4-2 in conference. Louisville ended up shooting 52.1% for the game and 6-15 from trifecta land.

Georgetown next on Sunday in DC.

WHAT WE LIKED:

-Hot shots....Louisville shot 52.1% for the game, despite taking 12 less shots than the Hoyas. All those who scored were 40% or better from the field except Shoni (2-8)

-Overcoming the 'stop Shoni syndrome'. The Friars employed a chaser and had Shoni bottled up most of the night. The Lady Cards responded well, though...finding the open player and getting balanced scoring. Shoni got five assists out of the deal, as well.

-Asia's influence. This may have been her best effort of the year. Two points away from a double-double with eight points, ten boards, two blocks and no fouls or turnovers in 14 minutes. Atta-girl #31! Keep those kind of efforts coming!

THINGS TO WORK ON:

-Consistency. Ask Jeff Walz and he'll tell you the same. The 7 1/2 minute stretch with no points was tedious and, at times, downright embarrasing. Walz did seven substitutions in the abyss...finally Slaughter mailed a three in and the crisis was over.

-Charity tosses. Louisville is usually a 70% + FREE THROW shooting squad. Last night they were 8-13 (61.5%) No player atempted more than three. The "bigs" tried six, the rest seven. The rest win...making six of the seven.

Minutes played. Shoni 39, Burke 29, Smith 28, Vails 23, Slaughter 18, Dyer 18, Warren 17, Taylor 14, Jude 5, Hammond 5, Harper 4.

Cards won the points in paint battle 32-22. PC had 20 points off of 19 Louisville turnovers...Louisville 19 points off of 11 turnovers. The Lady Cards got nine second chance points, PC seven. PC had eight fast break points, Louisville six. Louisville got 25 bench points ( Slaughter 10, Taylor 8 and Dyer 7).
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Cards hope to keep up with the pack tonight

2012-01-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

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Wednesday Cardinal Couple

-Cards need win to keep place with front runners

-BIG EAST results from Tuesday night

When the Providence Friars come to town tonight to face off against the University of Louisville women's basketball tonight at 7 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center, the Lady Cards be trying to keep pace with league leaders Notre Dame, UConn, Rutgers and Georgetown. This Friar team will be no pushover and Louisville will need to play 40 minutes and avoid lapses that plagued them against Rutgers on Saturday.

The improvement of the Lady Cards front line needs to continue to climb the ladder of success...Providence is one of those typical BIG EAST teams that'll battle an opponent on the boards and try to keep the game in the 60 point range. Louisville hasn't lost in the Downtown Arena this season and shouldn't tonight...but it won't be a feel-good 20+ romp we'd all like to see.

Game on WKRD 790 with the superb team of Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson. BE there, the Lady Cards love you in the seats.

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Some surprises in Tuesday night BIG EAST action.

-- WE told you a few days ago that the USF Bulls would pull some surprises and upsets this season. They did just that last night with a 66-63 win over visiting DePaul in overtime. The Russian rocket Inga Orekhova could have won it in regulation for USF but missed a free throw. Steady Jasmine Wynne had 16 for the Bulls...who are rapidly becoming our third favorite team in the BIG EAST behind Louisville and Rutgers.

--Notre Dame continued the incredible scoring onslaught they've been putting on opponents with a 120-44 shellacking of Pitt in the Joyce Center. Eight ND players finished in double figures. Impressive.

--We were surprised to see that St. John's knocked off Rutgers 62-57...but not shocked. WE saw what they can do in their place...beating Louisville...and they got 17 from Eugenia NcPherson and 15 from Nadirah McKenith to do the same to the Scarlet Knights. 942 showed up to see this one...

--WVU won the battle of D1 schools in the wild and wonderful state...knocking off Marshall 69-57 in Huntington. Taylor Palmer had 17 fro the Eers...who played in front of 3264 fans...not bad.

--Villanova got 22 from Laura Sweeney in a 52-30 win over Penn. They take the Philadelphia Big 5 title. Cheers...

--Georgetown demolished another one Tuesday, leaving Marquette in their wake with a 67-39 win. Suger Rodgers with 18 for the Hoyas.
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Providence will prove tough test for Lady Cards

2012-01-17T09:51:00.000-05:00

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Frentic Friars will challenge Cards

The Providence Friars (10-8, 2-3) come into the KFC YUM! Center Wednesday night fresh off a win Saturday over West Virginia 51-48 win in the Dunkin' Donuts Center. They've also knocked off DePaul in BIG EAST play this season...60-52 at "the Donut".

It's one of those games where if Louisville wins, not too many eyebrows will be raised. IF the Friars knock off the Lady Cards, though...it'll add to the league-wide viewpoint that head coach Phil Seymore has a contender in the BIG EAST this year.

The Friars have also beat Clemson earlier in the season. Losses have come to Boston U., Virginia, Rhode Island, Brown and Delaware. Conference losses have been administered by Villanova, UConn and St. John's. Providence is 6-3 at home, 4-5 on the road.

Leading threat for PU is red-shirt senior forward Teva Wright. The 6'1" forward averages 13.3 p.p.g and grabs 9.9 rebounds a contest...nearly a double-double on the season. Aiding her in the Providence offense is senior guard/forward Rachel Barns. She's good for 11.5 p.p.g. and is the leading three point threat...producing 26 threes in 85 attempts.

Providence also features Lauren Okafor...a former Lady Cards target from a couple of years ago. The sophomore is a 6'3" center who goes to the boards hard on both ends of the court.

Head coach Phil Seymore is in his 7th year as the Providence skipper. His Friars went 13-16 last year and did not participate in post season play.

Could be a trap game for the Cards. Like Rugters, they rebound well and can score in the paint. They can also light you up from outside with Barnes and several other Friars. Whether Louisville will continue with the 2-3 zone that stymied the Scarlet Knighs Saturday remains to be seen. Louisville would certainly enjoy another big effort from the "bigs" Weds. night and we can hope that the 'stop Shoni' strategy that recent opponents have been employing fails.

Providence plays in about 400 fans for their home contests...so a big turnout of Lady Cards fans could definitely play in Louisville's advantage against the Friars.

At 3-2 in the BIG EAST, a loss against the Friars would push Louisville even further behind the unbeatens in the BIG EAST...Notre Dame and Rutgers. Let's hope the Lady Cards are all "cooking" against the Friars Wednesday night...
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Marion County High School vs. Manual

2012-01-16T18:37:00.002-05:00

In a recent post I talked about the upcoming game between Marion County High School and Manual High School.

The teams met this past Saturday in what looked to be a marquee matchup between the top two teams in the State. The game appears to have lived up to all the hype.

Marion County won the game, but not until two free throws were made with 2.7 seconds left, by junior Logan Powell. The final score was 63-61.

Louisville 2013 (verbal) commit Kyvin Goodin-Rogers put up a double double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Makayla Epps, also a Louisville (verbal) commit in the class of 2013, scored 16 points and dished out 8 assists.

The two, along with senior and Dayton signee Bre Elder(11 points), led the team in what will likely be the first of several meetings between the two teams. Marion County lost the last match between the two in the Sweet 16 last year.

Marion County (14-2) remains unbeaten against in-state competition.

This looks like another outstanding performance by our “baby birds”. Not to wish away their high school years, but I certainly look forward to seeing these two in Cardinal Red a few years down the road. Until then, I look to catch these two in action in the upcoming state tournament.

Cards fare well in Kentucky Invitational

2012-01-16T07:00:00.003-05:00

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lockhart wins triple jump, Abdullah gets second in shot put.

-Sunday BIG EAST WBB results and standings.

Theophille placed
second in the
high jump.

Charachesicia Lockhart won the triple jump competition in Saturday night's Kentucky Invitational at the Nutter Field House in Lexington...leaping 12.22 meters and setting a qualifying mark for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships. Teammate Michelle Theophille finished second in the high jump and was one of three Lady Cards who qualified for the BIG EAST in the event...along with Megan Schubert and Kim Carderio.

Also qualifying for the ladies was Holly Knight, who finished 11th. in the mile and 10th. in the 3,000 meters. Madie Davidson got her ticket for the indoor championships with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000.

Ahlivia Spencer qualified in the 800 meters and Margret Harris punched her ticket with a third-place finish in the 60m prelims.

Khadija Abdullah took second place in the shot put and Amashi Kendall finished fourth.

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In Sunday BIG EAST women's basketball...

-Marquette travelled to Madison Square Gardens and knocked off St. John's 63-55 behind Katherine Plouffe's double-double of 18 points and 11 boards. The Golden Eagles trailed 32-28 at the half but went on a 14-4 run to begin the final twenty minues and never trailed after that.

-Georgetown handled Syracuse with surprising ease in D.C. with a 69-42 dismantling of the Orange. Sugar Rodgers led the way for the Hoyas with 23 points. Georgetown led 41-13 at halftime.

Only one game involving a BIG EAST school today on Martin Luther King Day...UNC and UConn face off on ESPN2.

Standings thru Sunday...

Notre Dame                    5-0 17-1
Rutgers                           4-0 15-2
UConn                            4-1 14-2
DePaul                           3-1 15-3
Georgetown                   3-2 14-4
LOUISVILLE                  3-2 14-4
West Virginia                 3-2 12-5
Marquette                      3-2 12-6
St. John's                        3-2 11-7
South Florida                 2-2 10-8
Villanova                       2-3 11-6
Providence                    2-3 10-8
Syracuse                        1-4 12-7
Cincy                             0-4 9-8
Pittsburgh                      0-5 8-10
Seton Hall                      0-5 7-12

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Lady Cards fall to Rutgers

2012-01-15T11:16:00.005-05:00

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SUNDAY WITH THE COUPLE...

-Cards need to use Rutgers loss as a building block

-BIG EAST Saturday results.

"Big shot" Becky played
45 minutes yesterday.

The University of Louisville women's basketball team was no doubt heartbroken after losing a close contest in overtime on the road to Rutgers yesterday. Louisville led at the half, led by 13 in the second half and had a great chance to win at the end of regulation. Some circus shots by Rutgers and untimely miscues by the Lady Cards took them to defeat, though. A solid effort from Walz's crew, but people don't read "solid" into box scores and W/L records.

The team needs to use the loss as a important building block to future success. What should Louisville "takeaway" from this one? (A term our buddy Howie Lindsey loves to overuse...takeaway.)

-Yes, Louisville..you can play a zone effectively. The Lady Cards were in a 2-3 zone defensively against Rutgers. It worked most of the time. Zones are designed to make an opponent shoot from outside. Rutgers has had problems with outside shooting this season. Erica Wheeler had a career game yesterday against Louisville, other than that...the zone did what it was intended to do. We'd like to see the Lady Cards in it more often.

Louisville plays Rutgers
to within three with just
five points from Shoni.
Who'd thunk it?

-A rotation that works. Walz used Smith, Burke, Shoni, Vails, Dyer and Warren extensively yesterday. It worked. Louisville substituted less than at any other time this season...Jude, Hammond and Harper seeing spot relief and Slaughter and Taylor no time. Whether it was just a one game deal or not obviously remains to be seen...but players build continuity and togetherness when they're on the court together. Witness Rutgers yesterday. Four players had 68 of their 71 points. This time of year, you need combinations that work well together.

-Go big, go big. The "bigs" had 40 of Louisville 68 points yesterday. Getting the ball inside worked. Combine that with Smith's ability to drive and either score or go to the line and Louisville actually won the points in the paint battle 34-30 against a brutal Rutgers front line. Yes, Shoni had a "off" shooting game. That won't happen often. We were impressed with Vails, Dyer and Warren's work inside the paint. WE hope it continues to improve. If opponents continue to employ the "stop Shoni" strategy...Walz has a remedy.

-Finish the game. Louisville had Rutgers on the ropes with a 41-28 lead in the second half. Teams like Notre Dame and UConn take situations like this and drive the final nails in the opponent's coffin. Louisville let Rutgers go on a 11-2 run to climb within four. For Louisville to become a Notre Dame or UConn, they have to develop a killer instinct. And, play effectively against a press.

Even though yesterday's game goes into the "L" column, we're still encouraged about how the Lady Cards played on the road, in a hostile environment and against a top ten team. Something they can use when on future road trips to Georgetown, DePaul and West Virginia...where the crowds will be less, the competition good but not top 10 quality and we get television on two out of the three.

SONJA SAYS...

Who knew about Erica Wheeler? Her best game of her career. A falling down, shot clock beating 3 when Louisville had two chances to get the ball and preserve the lead late. Karma's a &^%$# sometimes. I hope that yesterday's effort continues. I hope that Asia, Sara, Nita and Jude don't get discouraged by their lack of playing time yesterday. You know Shelby won't. Their times will come. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (I think Spock said that in "Star Trek") and Louisville had good chemistry yesterday.

PAUL:

From 14 at the start of the year, to 11 and down to six yesterday. The Louisville coaching staff knows so much more than we, the fans do, about this team. Jeff Walz out coached C. Viv yesterday. Erase two key turnovers late in regulation yesterday and the Lady Cards leave with a win. I'll agree with Sonja that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. And, you never know. Wednesday night could be a breakout game for Sara Hammond. We know Asia Taylor can rebound and play defense. We've seen Jude handle the point with skill and Nita has had great perimeter shooting games. Shelby the Yorkie is a threat anytime she hits the hardwood. You go with your current strengths and that's what the Lady Cards did yesterday. Tomorrow, it could change. If the ones who didn't play much want to play more, they must challenge those in front of them for playing time.

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An upset, a closer than expected game and a few blowouts highlighted the rest of the BIG EAST women's basketball schedule yesterday. Here's what went on.

-- UConn got 22 points from Tiffany Hayes in a 72-49 rout. This one was actually close for awhile...the Wildcats led 16-11 in the first half and closed it to 41-36 in the second half before the Huskies took over. UConn played a five guard lineup at times. Hmmm....

--Providence turned a ten point halftime deficit into a three point win against WVU with a 51-48 win. Surprise, surprise...Barnes had 19 for the Friars. The Rhode Island college comes to Louisville on Wednesday. Rut, row....

-- Notre Dame got 21 from Lexingtonian Natalie Novosel and 17 from Deve Peters in a 76-50 slashing of Cincy. UC had their highest attendance of the season thanks to the Novosel fans heading up 1-75 to see her play.

-- DePaul also got a big game from a Lexingtonian...Anna Martin tossed in 29 against Pitt to lead the Blue Demons to a closer than expected 86-83 win. Pitt was down 12 before roaring back to make it 84-83. Martin hit two insurance free throws with 19 seconds left to preserve the win.

--South Florida got another big game from the Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova and their other two talented guards in a 68-49 win over hapless Seton Hall. Inga tossed in 20, Jazz Wynne added 14 and "shootin' Saunders" contributed 10 for the improving Bulls. Said it earlier and will say it again, Jose Fernandez's squad is going to pull off some upsets the rest of the way....

SUNDAY ACTION...

Syracuse and Georgetown
Marquette against St. John's

We'll take...the Hoyas and the Red Storm in these. Both will be close.

How are we doing?

We went 4-1 yesterday...Providence's win over WVU the only incorrect pick. Only loss of the week...so far. We'll see if we can finish 8-1 for the week.

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We had a lot of very good picks in the Rutgers "name the score and winner" contest. 42 of us participated and we could grumble about the game going to O.T. but we won't. Your winner was "Uncle Miltie" Milt Strasberg....who offered 70-66 Rutgers.

We'll do it again when we can get more gifts cards out of Panera. It's like trying to climb Mt. Everest in a speedo, but they eventually come through...
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Lady Cards lose in overtime 71-68 to Rutgers.

2012-01-14T17:19:00.004-05:00

GAME REPORT:

-Louisville loses by 3 in overtime.

Erica Wheeler hits a desperation 3 with the shot clock running out in overtime to give the Scarlet Knights a 70-68 lead with 1:13 left to give Rutgers a lead they would not relinquish. Louisville could not score on their final possession, Bria Smith missing a driving layup, Shawnta Dyer rebounding the miss but is stripped by Khadija Rushdan, who is then fouled by Becky Burke. Rushdan hits a free throw for the final margin with 1.3 left. Louisville could not get a shot off on the inbounds play.

The action was fast and furious from the opening tip. Burke nailed a three to give Louisville the early lead but five straight Rutgers points gave them the lead. A Sherrone Vails layup tied it at 5-5 but the Scarlet Knights responded with 5 straight again to lead 10-5 with 15:45 left. Louisville rallied back with Shawnta Dyer inside and regained the lead 15-14 in Shoni Schimmel's only basket of the first half. The Cards would stretch that out to 23-17 after two more Dyer baskets, A Cierra Warren layup and score from Vails inside.

The 2-3 Louisville zone was confusing the Scarlet Knights but they went on another 5-0 run to tie it on a Wheeler 3 - her second of six in the game. The final 2:23 of the first half belonged to the Lady Cards, though...Warren with a put back, and then a layup on a Shoni feed. Becky Burke's three had UofL up 30-23 and two Shelby Harper free throws made it the Lady Cards by nine. Cierra Warren missed the first of a 1 and 1 with .02 left in the half...but the Cards took a 32-23 lead into the locker room.

Dyer led Louisville with 10 points, Warren and Burke had six each, Vails 4, Smith, Shoni and Shelby (the "S" squad...) 2 each. Sara Hammond played in the first half but did not score. Jude Schimmel, Nita Slaughter and Asia Taylor did not see action in the first twenty minutes. Rutgers was led by Monique Oliver's 10 points.

Louisville pushed the lead to 11 when Warren hit the opening bucket of the second half an held a 41-28 advantage with 16:30 left in the game when Burke hit three free throws after being fouled on a three point attempt. Rutgers responded with a full court press, though and it seemed to rattle the Cards. The Scarlet Knights took off on a 11-2 run to close within 43-39 after a April Sykes jumper with 11:52 to go.

A technical foul was called on Rutgers' Monique Oliver for taunting at the 10:36 mark and Shoni hit 1 of 2 free throws...but Rutgers took off on a 11-4 run to grab the lead at 50-48 when Sykes hit two free throws with 6:41 to go. Louisville tied it on two Smith free throws and the game went back and forth in lead changes for the next four minutes...Sykes canning a three to put Rutgers up 58-56 with 2:53 remaining. Smith tied it with two more charity tosses at the 1:58 mark, after a Scarlet Knight free throw following Vails fifth foul. Two more free throws from Smith gave Louisville a 60-59 advantage with 29 seconds left. Wheeler tied it with 1 of 2 free throws and 16 seconds on the clock. A Shoni errant pass gave the ball back to Rutgers with 8.7 left but they could not score on two attempts and it was 60-60 at the end of regulation.

The Lady Cards drew first blood in overtime when Warren connected in the paint. After Oliver countered with a jumper, Warren put back a missed Cardinal shot and UofL led 64-62.

Sykes was effective for the Scarlet
Knights in the second half.

Sykes bombed a three with 3:15 left to make it 65-64 Rutgers but Burke nailed both charity tosses with 2:26 left to give the Lady Cards a 66-65 lead. Oliver hit another jumper to make it 67-66 but a Dyer putback had Louisville on top 68-67 with 1:43 to go. That set the stage for Wheeler's heroics and Louisville loses by three in overtime.

The Cards shot 43% for the game but went just 2-9 from three range, both hit by Burke. Rutgers shot 39%, hit a season high 9 of 17 three pointers (6 from Wheeler, 3 from Sykes) and outrebounded the Cards 40-33. Louisville did hit 20-22 free throws. They committed 18 turnovers. 21 points from the "killer B's" today (Burke and Bria) and Smith had the final four Cardinal points in regulation.

Dyer led Louisville in scoring with 16 points. Warren had 14, Burke 11, Vails 10, Smith 10 Shoni 5 and Harper 2. Hammond and Jude played but didn't score. Taylor and Slaughter did not see action. For Rutgers, Wheeler led all scorers with 23 points (17 in the second half), Sykes had 19 (17 in the second half) and Oliver finished with 17. Rushdan had nine for R.U.

WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE GAME:

-Big effort from the "bigs". 40 points from Vails, Dyer and Warren. Some excellent passing from Shoni and Smith to set them up, but a lot of hard work from the trio against the talented RU front line.

-Smith at the line. The freshman showed nerves of steel with 6-6 free throw shooting in the final 6:39...when Louisville needed her.
Her drives to the basket resulted in missed shots but free throw attemps...which she cashed in on.
THINGS TO WORK ON...

-Rebounding. Louisville was killed time and time again on Rutgers putbacks and Oliver and Sykes did most the damage. Rushdan was effective as well.

-Shoni shutdown. The Scarlet Knights kept Shoni from creating...just five points in 45 minutes. She did find others open and they benefited...but when was the last time she played a game without hitting a three and got shut out in the final 13 minutes of a game?

All in all, a heartbreaking loss that the Lady Cards suffer. A great effort by Rutgers in front of 5,500 fans to overcome the Louisville second half lead and win. A team that was second worst in the league in three point percentage gets hot today. Defense was the difference... and Rutgers played it better.
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Rutgers next for Lady Cards

2012-01-14T08:17:00.005-05:00

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville faces tough road test against the Scarlet Knights.

-Saturday action and predictions...WBB

Jeff Walz's University of Louisville women's basketball team returns to the east coast for hoops action today...visiting the 14-2, 3-0 #8 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Game time is 2 p.m. Programming note...the radio feed locally will be on 1080 AM. WHAS and WKRD are slotted for Cats and the UofL men's team. Hey, 1080 is better than hard to pick up 101.7 FM. Thanks, UofL!

Ok, girls...back to practice. We know you're cute and witty...

The Scarlet Knights handled Pittsburgh last time out pretty easily 63-39. Senior Khadijah Rushdan scored a game-high 14 points against the Panthers and junior Monique Oliver added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. In the game, Rushdan scored 12 of her points in the first twenty minutes, leading RU to a 37-24 advantage. Senior April Sykes had nine first half points and finished with 11. She is getting close to the career 1000 point-mark with 980 currently on the books. It also seems she's picked up a bit of maturity in her senior season. Lady Cards fans might remember her cheap, flagrant foul last year as the game ended in the KFC YUM! Center. Louisville won 56-45. Sykes had 20 points in the contest, launching nine 3-pointers against UofL and hitting three.

The Scarlet Knights dominated Pitt offensively, outscoring them 40-12 in the paint. They also dominated the second chance points 20-6. The defense was there for C.Vivian Stringer's squad as well...Pitt did not score inside until 3:34 remained in the first half. Rutgers scored 29 points off 21 Pitt turnovers.

Only Miami and Tennessee have hung losses on RU this season. Rutgers is seventh in the BIG EAST is scoring offense (65.7) and third in scoring defense (51.7).

Sykes (no relation) can take over
games.

Rutgers gets it done with the team concept. Sykes (14.4) and Rushdan (12.4) are the leading scorers, Oliver leads in rebounds (8.2) and also shoots 55% from the floor. Erica Wheeler is the theft leader, with 34 in 16 games. She also leads in blocked shots with 30 this season...fourth best in the BIG EAST. Wheeler and Sykes are the three point threats.

Impact players for the Scarlet Knights also include Betnijah Laney and Briyona Canty. Rutgers will try and use their incredible strength in the paints and Stringer's dreaded "55" defense to keep the Lady Cards off balance and away from the boards today. WE don't expect a high scoring affair in the RAC. We hope that the "stripes" don't get whistle-happy either, but with the physical play of C. Vivian's squad...it could happen.

Louisville simply MUST get some sort of positive production out of the combination of "bigs" Warren, Vails, Dyer, Taylor, Hammond and Slaughter. Rutgers will try to contain and shut down Burke and Shoni Schimmel's outside shooting and Smith's penchant for driving the baseline and scoring. Whether or not Jude Schimmel and Shelby Harper can have much of an effect on the talented RU guards remains to be seen.

We'll have a full recap of the action for you here at CARDINAL COUPLE later today.

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Besides the Lady Cards and Rutgers...five other BIG EAST contests are taking place today. Here's who is playing and who we pick...

West Virginia at Providence. A good matchup. WVU is 3-1 in conference, Providence 1-3. The home court advantage for the Friars won't be enough...WVU goes to 4-1.

UCONN at Villanova. Another Husky blowout. Yawn. Next?

Notre Dame at Cincinnati. The Irish may get a tough test from the under-rated UC guards but the Irish prevail here by 20 or so.

USF at Seton Hall. We think the USF guards will have another field day. They should handle Seton Hall by double digits.

Pittsburgh at DePaul. Even without Keisha Hampton, DePaul is still a top five BIG EAST team. They'll handle the 0-4 in BIG EAST Panthers with little problem.

WE are split on the Louisville v. Rutgers game...Sonja picking the LADY CARDS and Paul choosing Rutgers...so we're not making this one part of the prediction thread. GO GET THE UPSET, LADY CARDS...

How are we doing? Quite well, thank you. 7-0 on the week. We expect to be 12-0 after today.
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Cardinal Softball in good hands with Pearsall

2012-01-13T05:05:00.009-05:00

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friday cardinal couple...

-Sandy Pearsall had depth, experience and speed for Cardinal softball this year.

- A thriller in Memorial...

-One last chance to grab the bread...

-Watson replies

(With no UofL women's basketball news to report today, we use this opportunity to catch you up on two of our favorite sports at UofL...women's softball and men's baseball....Enjoy!)

CARDINAL COUPLE got the rare chance to hear both UofL women's softball head coach Sandy Pearsall and head baseball coach Dan McDonnell share the same stage last night and after hearing both speak about their programs...it's easy to get excited about both their upcoming seasons. We'll focus mainly on the softball team today...because that's what we do here at CARDINAL COUPLE...women's sports. Before we do, though...WE promised Coach Dan that we'd plug his upcoming Louisville Baseball Winter Camps. Here's the details...

-January 14-15, 21-22 at Jim Patterson Stadium (or various indoor facilities if weather dictates).

-Camp information.
Session 1-Pitcher/Catcher/Infielder Speciality Camp
Saturday, January 14th. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 2-Hitting Camp
Sunday, January 15th. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 3-Hitting Camp
Saturday, January 21st. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 4 - Pitcher/Catcher/Infielder Speciality Camp
Sunday, January 22nd. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The camps are open to anyone in grades 1-12.

Coach Dan had this to say about them...

I'd like to invite everyone to the 2012 Winter Baseball camps. Our camps will be held at Jim Patterson Stadium and other indoor facilities on the University of Louisville campus. We will be offering two hitting camps and two defensive speciality camps. Our staff will help you improve your game through lectures, drills and game situations. The baseball season is right around the corner and we want to help you get ready!

Cost for the camps is $100 per session. Any camper attending multiple camps will receive a $25 discount off each additional purchase. You can contact Brian Murdorf at 502.852.1217 or bmundorf@louisville.edu for registration forms and more information.

The chance to learn and prosper from the teachings of the Cardinal baseball coaches is a great opportunity. Paul wishes they'd been around when he was struggling to hit a curve ball or hit the plate with a throw. No Derek Jeter here...

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Coach Sandy Pearsall is Louisville softball. She took the job in 2000 to build the program from scratch. It's gone well for her and the University of Louisville. Four straight BIG EAST Tournaments at Ulmer Stadium. NCAA Regionals. One of the most competitive programs in the BIG EAST year in and year out. As Sandy prepares for 2012 (the team is already practicing) she's faced with some interesting challenges and great potential. Gone via graduation is the left side of the infield in Chelsea Bemis (3B) and Colby Wherry (SS). Competition is intense for these two spots and Coach Sandy informed me that she just might put two freshmen in the spots, duplicating what she did four years ago when Wherry and Bemis were freshmen.

Trimble can do it all!

Returning, though...are some pretty valuable and skilled players. Jordan (Jordy) Trimble sat out last season after breaking a ankle chasing a fly ball. She's back....Cardinal fans and looking great on the field. Pearsall let us know that the versatile Louisville Manual grad could play any of the nine positions on the field and she'd been seeing some time on the pitching mound in addition to her outfield skills. The bat has never been a problem for the redshirt sophomore and she's wowing the team and staff with her prowess. Look for Jordy to have a big season for the Lady Cards.

She's one of many that return with valuable game experience. Starters Alicia Wolny (1B), Jennifer Esteban (OF), Maggie Ruckenbrod (C), Kristin Austin (OF), Katie Keller (INF) and Hannah Kiyohara (INF/OF) all return to give the Cards a solid and powerful batting lineup. The three main pitchers on Pearsall's staff from last year return as well in Caralisa Connell, Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard.

Recruiting has also been good for Coach Sandy. The freshmen are Trista Cox (C/1B), Kayla Soles (SS/3B) Kirsten Straley (OF) and Whitney Arion (SS/3B/OF). Arion had a great fall exhibition season with the squad and all four girls will compete for playing time.

Another great aspect for Cardinal softball this season is that beer will be available for purchase at home games. Whether or not that has kept attendance from capacity or not is anyone's guess...but it's nice to know that the ladies get the same privileges and concession capabilities as Coach Dan's team this year. None in the press box for us, of course...we'll have to sneak out and watch a few innings from the first base line and avoid Jack Wimsett...

Coach Pearsall is also having a skills camp...but it's full...so I guess we won't be sending Sonja out to run the bases with her gazelle speed and grace. Both coaches have banquets coming up, though...and here's the information on them...

SOFTBALL BULLPEN CLUB DINNER
Saturday, Jan. 28th. 7:30 p.m. @ The Galt House
Speaker is Natasha Watley - two time Olympic medalist.

BASEBALL
Friday, Feb. 3rd. 7 p.m. @ South Wing-KEC Center
Speakers are former Cardinal Trystan Magnuson and former New York Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite.

We encourage our readers to support both these programs with your attendance at their games. WE took in softball a lot last year and really enjoyed the atmosphere, action and abilities of the Cardinal players. Ulmer Stadium is state of the art - the best softball park in the BIG EAST - and a great place to watch a game. The outfield berm is a fun, party atmosphere if you don't want to do the bleachers thing. Same goes for Jim Patterson Stadium, where Coach Dan's guys do battle. Both softball and baseball are great family venues as well and we hope are readers will "take themselves out to the ballpark" and root on both these top-flight and talented squads.

CARDINAL COUPLE plans an interview with "Coach P" in a couple of weeks to get a little more in-depth on the season and squad and we invite you to join us at the Softball Bullpen Club Dinner.

Not to worry, the Lady Cards basketball team plays at 2 p.m. that Saturday...so you've got plenty of time to do both. For ticket information to the banquets, check out http://www.uoflsports.com/

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Mathies (#1) celebrates the winning bucket over
the Lady Vols last night in Lexington.

Got back home last night to catch most of the second half of the women's basketball game between top 10 Kentucky and Tennessee. What a thriller that one was! We're by no means ready to don blue shirts and memorize the Kentucky fight song, but you had to be impressed with the efforts of senior Kentucky guard A'dia Mathies against Pat's Vols. 34 points and a game winning, floating, driving score from the paint for the Louisville Iroquois grad with 4.3 seconds to go. A sold-out Memorial Coliseum. Pretty good stuff for a Thursday night in mid-January...

We knew the Cats had something special when they trounced the Lady Cards earlier this season. They impressed us even more last night with their domination of Tennessee early and then their rally to regain the lead after the Vols seemingly had the game won. This Pat Summitt's squad was missing Tabor Spani last night, but played with a lot of confidence and pride to overcome a 11 point UK lead and take a three point advantage late in the game. Got a feeling we'll be seeing both of these squads march deep into the NCAA Tournament this March.

As for Mathies, it may have been the best individual performance we've seen out of a player so far this season. Our Sandy Walker was at the game and hopefully she'll stop by later today with a few observations and comments. UK 61- Tennessee 60 in a classic fight to the final buzzer. South end girl...representin'...

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WE'D also like to remind you that you have one more chance to win a $25 Panera Gift Card if you can correctly pick the winner and closest to the final score of the Louisville vs. Rutgers game Saturday afternoon. Frankly, we're gonna brag a little bit...since two CARDINAL COUPLE staffers have won the previous two contests...David Watson (St. John's) and Paul (USF). Think you have what it takes to knock us off our lofty perches? E-mail your winner and final score guess to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by 1 p.m. Saturday. We'll even give you our picks for the game...

Paul. I see a hard fought battle, maybe overly defensive at times, but a close contest, low scoring that has Rutgers prevailing on their home court. Let the boo birds chirp, but I'm going Rutgers 56 - Louisville 51. I still love ya' Lady Cards...make a liar out of me!

Sonja. Walz vs. Stringer. What a matchup! The two are also good friends but they probably won't be bestowing compliments on each other during the forty minutes or war. Gotta stay with my Lady Cards in this one...they pull off the upset of #8. Let's say Louisville 63 - Rutgers 61.

David. The UofL men's team has had their burp at the banquet this season with the inexplicable loss to Providence in the Dunkin' Donut Arena. Time for the Lady Cards to have theirs. The experienced and deep Scarlet Knight squad gives Walz and company all they want. Rutgers 69 - Louisville 47. Go ahead, blast away at me, readers. I'm used to it. Just don't bring my mama into it.

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(We've received several e-mails and comments that have been unfavorable on a couple of David Watson remarks in his columns. WE have forwarded these to him and offered him a chance to reply. His comments are below. CARDINAL COUPLE does not always agree with columns written by our writers and contributors and their remarks are not the official stance of CARDINAL COUPLE on the items they address. Watson's words below)

First, let me start off by saying that the way Paul and Sonja have always described CARDINAL COUPLE to me is that it is the fan voice of UofL women's sports. Fans aren't always in agreement all the time. They have different viewpoints. Paul and Sonja run them all, though, unless profanity or obscenity gets involved. As it should be.

Several of you have taken offense on a couple of comments I've made over the last couple of days. I would tell those of you upset with me that you have the right to be so. We're in America, land of the free and home of the brave. My comments were not designed to hurt or belittle any current, former or potential UofL women's basketball players. I am a big fan of the program and of many other UofL sports teams. If I have offended anyone with comments I've made, I am sorry I hurt your feelings or dismayed you. That was not my intent. I have been told that my sense of humor and sarcasm is hard to take at times.

That is something I must work on. Once again, apologies to those who have trouble with it.
Please rest assured that I respect and admire the young college athletes that compete in sport. I have a daughter that will be one next fall. I know what they go through.

Finally, I'd like to thank Paul and Sonja for giving me the chance to write for CARDINAL COUPLE and chance to address these items in an open forum. There are blogs and sites out there that would not.

I'll try to do better. I applaud the UofL fans out there that take time to read this blog and that faithfully cheer on women's sports at UofL. I'm a fan, too. I always will be.

GO CARDS and thanks for the comments.

David L. Watson

(Having known David for several years, I can testify on his great level of fan support. He drives in from Central Indiana dozens of times each year to watch various UofL sporting activities. Although we may not agree with his comments and phrasing at times...we will never censure or strongarm anyone who wishes to contribute here. We've suggested a more mild and moderate aprroach to him...he agrees that it's probably needed. Paul)
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From a UofL trustee...name withheld

God bless Cardinal Couple. The day in, day out support they give UofL women's athletics, free of charge, is amazing. They let everyone speak. They do not restrict. I hope the readers of this site appreciate that. They do this with scant funding, no corporate backing and no official of Louisville monetary support.

If you don't like it, my advice to you is to quit accessing the site. As a trustee and avid supporter of ALL UofL sports, I am very grateful for this site and the freedoms and accesibility it provides. I hope they continue to make it available. All people can write here and comment here. They promote UofL women's sports day in and day out. Our local newspaper and media outlets do not. As an individual who has seen times in years past where my freedoms and rights were not upheld, I thank Cardinal Couple for being what they are. God bless you Paul, Sonja, David, Jenny, Sandra and all who give this site to us.
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One game at a time

2012-01-12T13:27:00.006-05:00

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(David Watson is a special contributor to CARDINAL COUPLE. Here's his rant for today...)

One game at a time. Just like the old gospel spiritual.."One day at a time, Sweet Jesus." Just like the old TV sitcom "One Day At a Time" with Mackenzie Phillips, Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli.

David secretly wanted
to be part of the cast
on "One Day at a Time."

Jeff Walz didn't envision it being this way. Not with the roster he had coming into the season. Patton didn't have such a strong force marching into Nazi Germany. Then things blew up. Tia Gibbs, the Walz- named "glue" of the team, became unglued at the shoulder. Monique Reid hobbled, broken, sore and finally on the shelf while the doctors fix her knee. Could she have just left the points per game and rebounds with someone? Charmaine Tay, vanishing like D.B. Cooper into the night - back to Jersey, off to Clemson and toting her unquestionable point guard skills and questionable academics.

Another year of "best expectations gone south". This team, in it's original state, had a shot at a BIG EAST top 3 or 4 finish. Now, they'll be lucky to finish in the top eight.

But, before you start storming the castle gates and calling for my head on a stick - stop, take a breath and review some of the rest of the schedule with me. Even if Coach Walz insists we can only take it one game at a time. Let's just cut class (maybe with Charmiane Tay) and prognosticate. He's too busy trying to figure out how to beat the Scarlet Knights to miss us, anyway.

Saturday @ Rutgers. Difficult but not impossible. No way that the Cards get this "W" with 1-9 shooting from Bria Smith and Becky Burke 1-9 from three point land. The Scarlet Knights aren't #8 in the nation just because everyone loves C.Vivian Stringer.

1/18/12 hosting Providence. Not a guaranteed "W". The Friars have Barnes, Wright and former Cardinal target Lauren Okafor. They beat DePaul. True, they can't shoot or defend the three but they rebound well. Maybe Louisville ekes one out here, maybe not.

1/22/12 @ Georgetown. Can Louisville slow down the Sugar Rodgers express? She's the leading scorer and three point maker in the BIG EAST. She's also got some pretty good sidekicks in RubyLee Wright, Tia Magee and Adria Crawford. Cards will need a better effort than the one they produced against USF or St. John's.

1/28/12 hosting Villanova. A better Wildcat squad than last year. Laura Sweeney and Rachel Roberts can score with the best in the BIG EAST. They'll "three" you to death if you let them...they're second in the BIG EAST with 141 made in 16 games. Bombs away.

So, these next four are crucial before Louisville takes on the murderers' row of DePaul, West Virginia, and Connecticut in late January and early February. A 3-0 sweep against these three isn't likely. A 0-3 plummet is entirely possible.

So, if the Cards can go 3-1 against Rutgers, Providence, Georgetown and Villanova, I'll be happy. I see more like 2-2.

Let's do the math. 3-1 currently in the BIG EAST. I'm saying 3-4 in the next seven. 6-5 with five games left. Out of those - (Syracuse, at Pitt, Notre Dame, DePaul again, and at Seton Hall) let's optimistically say the team goes 3-2. A 9-7 record heading into BIG EAST Tournament play. If lucky.

Yes, Virginia. This is one tough conference.

If anything, the Lady Cards have heart. Check out Paul's article on the diminutive Shelby Harper over at UofL Card game. http://www.uoflcardgame.com/

Now, back to your regularly scheduled "one day at a time" programming. Someone hand me the remote. I want to see how many UofL men's team supporters are on the bridge ready to jump.
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(David Watson is responsible for the snow blanketing Louisville on Thursday afternoon and we'll expect more of his flurries down the road. Give him grief or agree with him in the comments section. HE thrives on it...)
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Cards rally, hold on against stubborn Bulls 63-57

2012-01-11T21:33:00.129-05:00

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE GAME REPORT

-Vails, Schimmel and Harper lead Cards rally to defeat Bulls

-By the numbers...

-Vote for your favorite coach

-BIG EAST recap and preview

Louisville got a huge lift from Sheronne Vails at the foul line this evening and timely off the bench play from Shelby Harper to overcome a eight point USF lead in the second half and win 63-57. Shoni Schimmel had 16 points for the Cards and Vails sank 10 out of 11 free throws and finished with 14 points to send the Lady Cards to 14-2 and 3-1 in BIG EAST play.

STARTERS: Vails, Burke, Smith, Shoni and Dyer

Lady Cards warm up for the game...Asia doing it headless !
Nice picture, Paul...

The Bulls looked like they'd be a tough match up with their guard play during pre-game analysis and this proved true as they roared out to a 5-0 lead in front of 8000 at the KFC YUM! Center - behind the shooting of Jasmine Wynne. Louisville finally got on the scoreboard when Shoni nailed a three at the 17:36 mark...it was the start of a 9-0 run that gave the Cards a five point lead when Asia Taylor hit a layup with 15:01 left in the first half. USF rallied back behind some incredible long range shooting by Inga Orekhova, who nailed a couple of threes to knot it at 13-13 at the 12:31 mark.

Dee Kanter and her crew didn't do that bad of a job...
Louisville 12 fouls...USF 23.

Louisville went on a 5-0 run to grab a 18-13 advantage after a Becky Burke three and another Taylor layup and kept the five point lead at 22-17 after Vails hit two free throws with 8:48 to go.

It was the last scoring the Lady Cards would do for awhile, though...USF responded with a 11-0 run over the next five minutes - getting three free throws from Orekhova, a layup from her and Kaneisha Saunders, layup from Wynne and a jumper from Saunders to grab a 28-22 edge with 4:21 left. Walz needed offense but it didn't develop until the Cards got two straight jumpers out of Cierra Warren in the final minute to cut a eight point Bulls lead to four...making it 33-29 at the half. It could have been two points seperating the squads, but Bria Smith missed a layup after a steal as the clock ran down.

The USF guards were killing the Lady Cards...tallying 29 of their first half points...the 6'3" Orekhova with 11 points and Wynne and Saunders with nine each. Louisville's scoring was spread out among five players...Vails and Burke with seven each, Warren with six, Shoni adding five and Taylor totaling four. Walz played everyone but Harper in the first half...Bria Smith was 0-6 from the floor, the Cards were 10-26 for 38.5% and were narrowly leading the rebounding battle 22-21.

Without Louisville's 7-8 free throw production, the gap could have been larger....Walz needed to find a way to slow down the hot guard trio for USF and create some turnovers...USF had but four in the first 20 minutes.

The team battled pretty evenly for the first three minutes of the second half. Shoni got the crowd fired up when she swished home a three to get Louisville within two at 39-37 with 16:57 to go. USF went on a 6-0 run after that, though...getting scores from (who else?) Wynne and Saunders to hold a 45-37 edge with 13:03 on the clock. The crowd was getting nervous and edgy, USF's guards showed no inclination to slow down and Louisville was on the ropes. A Shoni jumper cut it to six but USF still led 47-39 when Wynne took a fast break layup to the hoop at the 10:17 mark.

With Shelby Harper in the game, part of a four guard Lady Cards lineup, things began to change for the better. Warren connected inside, Smith knocked down a jumper and hit the plus one. Warren cashed in again from the paint, rolling one in after a hard foul from USF's Akila McDonald. She had to leave the game, but Sherrone Vails sank the free throw and it was tied at the 8:53 mark. Shelby Harper put the Cards ahead with a driving lane layup 30 seconds later, Shoni electrified the crowd with a deep three and Vails connected on a pair of charity tosses. The Cards had rolled off a 15-0 run and led 54-47. USF started fouling the Cards and three free throws from Harper and one from Burke had the Lady Cards enjoying a 58-49 advantage with 3:50 left.

USF play by play announcer
takes a photo of the rowdy
crowd at the YUM...Fun guy
to talk to!

Game over? Not hardly. Wynne responded with a three and Caitlin Rowe connected in the paint to cut the Cards lead to 58-54 with 1:54 left. Smith dropped in two free throws to put Louisville back up by six, but Saunders found the hoop and added a free throw to pull USF back to within three at 60-57 with 37 seconds left. USF had a chance to climb within one or tie but Saunders missed a jumper and Orekhova was short with a three attempt with 22 seconds remaining. USF had no choice but to foul...and two Vails free throws and one from Harper provided the final 63-57 Lady Cards win.

It wasn't pretty...but thanks to a gutty effort from Shelby Harper and Sherrone Vails at the end, Louisville used the 13 for 19 free throw edge (USF went 1-5 in the second half) to secure the win and survive against a gritty, never-say-die group of inspired Lady Bulls. Louisville used a four guard lineup most of the final ten minutes to counteract the quickness of the USF squad and it worked tonight. Wouldn't recommend it against DePaul, Rutgers, UConn or Georgetown...but it got UofL a "W" tonight...and Walz showed us again this evening why he's one of the best in college basketball. The substitution strategies worked well tonight, the combinations on the court clicked most of the time. Walz will kid you that he hasn't scored a point in five years here...but his coaching tonight was just as responsible for the win as any of the player's scores or efforts tonight.

Shoni's 16 led the Cards. Vails finished with 14 (and 10-11 from the line) and Warren closed out the double figure scorers with 10. Burke had eight (on 1-9 three point shooting) and Harper added six points (and six rebounds!) in 11 minutes. Smith contributed five points on 1-9 shooting, Taylor had four points and six boards in 13 minutes.

Jude, Dyer, Slaughter and Hammond played but did not score.

For USF, Wynne finished with 20, Saunders 18 and Orekhova 11 (all in the first half). Burke and the Lady Cards did the job on the Russian rifle in the second half...she was 0-2 from the field.

WHAT WE LIKED:

-Harpin' on Harper! The blonde spark plug came in and gave the Lady Cards her best 10 minutes of basketball this season. She also got the crowd back into the game and received a standing ovation when she went to the line with six seconds left in the game. Well done, Shelby! Short people rock!

-Vails assails the paint. Love the aggressiveness and pluck out of the sophomore tonight. 14 points, 8 boards, 4 blocks and just 1 turnover in 26 strong minutes.

-Shoni magic. Her 4 for 9 three point shooting a step in the right direction...we're continually amazed on just how far out she hits these from...

THINGS TO WORK ON...

-Consistency. Louisville made two great runs in this game, especially the 15-0 one in the second half...but defensive lapses and errors almost let USF back in it with less than a minute to go. Seal the deal, shut the door and turn out the light on them, ladies!

-Zero fast break points. The Cards had a couple of opportunities but missed layups. A tough one was at the end of the first half when Bria missed a "gimmie" as time ran out...could have made it a two point halftime game.

Louisville heads to Rutgers next. Tough opponent, tough place for a visiting team to play and a top 20 matchup. For tonight, though...a brief time to enjoy a...well...ugly but functional win over an opponent that got just eight points out of their post players.

BY THE NUMBERS:

-Louisville shot 37.3% (19-51) against the Bulls and went 5-18 from the deep. The Cards hit 20-27 free throws. (74.1%). USF took an incredible 18 more shots than Louisville (24-69) for 34.8%, was the same from trifecta land as the Cards and went 4-10 from the foul line. Take out Smith's 1-9 efforts and Becky's 1-9 3-point woes and the Cards shooting looks much better than it actually was. Warren was 5-6, Shoni 5-11 and Taylor 2-4.

-Louisville won the rebounding battle 44-40. Vails led UofL with eight, Warren had seven and Harper and Taylor six each. The Cards had 10 assists (Shoni 3) and eight blocks (Vails with four).

-Louisville had 19 turnovers (Shoni four) compared to just 14 USF miscues. The Cards forced six steals (Smith two) and USF had 12 robberies.

-Points in the paint went to USF 24-20. Saunders had 18 of these for USF, Warren 10 for the Lady Cards. Points off turnovers was in USF's column with 15, compared to UofL's 12. Both teams had 11 second chance points.

-Burke had 38 court minutes tonight, Shoni 35, Smith 34, Vails 26, Jude and Warren 14 each, Taylor 13, Harper 11, Dyer 8, Hammond 6 and Slaughter 1. The freshmen played 54 minutes out of the 200.

-Warrne was the only Cardinal to foul out, Harper had three and four Cardinals were whistled for one each. USF had four players with four infractions each (Johnson, Conner, Wynne and Rowe).

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St. John's blew out to an early lead and put away Syracuse 70-58 in the battle of New York State last night. Four Red Storm hit for double figures. WE'RE 8-0 this week in predictions. No BIG EAST games on tap until Saturday...when six games will feature 12 BIG EAST schools in action. The lineup:

West Virginia at Providence
Louisville at Rutgers
UConn goes to Villanova
Notre Dame visits Cincinnati
USF travels to Seton Hall
Pittsburgh heads to DePaul

Sunday action:

Syracuse hits the nation's capitol to face Georgetown
Marquette and St. John in Madison Square Arena.

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UofL Sports website http://www.uoflsports.com/ is having a contest to select the best coach for 2011. Vote for your favorite there. Some tough candidates in Charlie Strong, Arthur the Swim Coach, Karen Ferguson Dayes and Ron Mann...but we voted for Walz. A deep run in the NCAA Tournament last year, having to deal with losing two of his best players for this year but still at 16-3 and a fear that if we didn't, we'd be banned from getting halftime cookies in the Media room.

You can also get the players and coaches comments at the site from last night. Due to some dummy forgetting to take the voice recorder off of "pause" last night, all of Paul's brilliant and thought-provoking questions were unrecorded last night for CARDINAL COUPLE. Give a chimp a toy, and see what happens?
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USF squares off against Lady Cards tonight in KFC YUM! Center

2012-01-11T09:17:00.016-05:00

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Bulls come to town with new weapon, hopes.

-BIG EAST Tuesday results

Jose Fernandez is the head coach of the USF Bulls. One wouldn't blame him if he gets a bit confused at times. His twin sister act that led USF last season is down to one sister...and she shares the same name as a UofL Football wide receiver. His leading scorer per game has played just once in a USF uniform and Jose shares the same name as a popular economics professor at UofL and Paraguyan political power broker. Plus, USF usually comes up as University of San Francisco when you do a "google" search.

Andrell Smith is one of
Charlie Strong's wide
receivers.

One thing is for certain, however. Jose brings a talented team into the KFC YUM Center Weds. evening to face a Louisville squad coming off a somewhat surprising loss to conference foe St. John's on the road.

USF (9-7, 1-1) has played some pretty good competition this year. Unfortunately for them...they've lost to it (Fla. St., Arkansas, Miami, FL., Auburn, Dayton, Georgetown). Idaho State has also corralled the Bulls. They do have a win over Cincinnati at Cincinnati. The rest of the wins have been against the pastries that most school fill their non-conference plates with.

Inga hit six threes
in her first game as
a Bull.

They recently gained the services of 6'3" guard Inga Orekhova...who sat out the first 15 games because of transfer rules. She made an immediate impact, scoring 18 against the Hoyas...all from 3-point range. Just what Louisville needs to face, a tall guard who can shoot from outside. Here's a look at some other Lady Bulls of note...

Wynne is a talented
point guard who can score

Jasmine Wynne is a 5'7" senior point guard averaging 15.9 ppg for Hernandez. She's a three point threat also...going 14-50 from beyond the arc.

Kaneshia Saunders also hits for double figures for USF with 12.1 ppg. She's a 5'7" junior guard.

Andrell Smith, the
USF guard.

The remaining twin - Andrell Smith - can fill it up from outside also. With 8.4 ppg and a impressive 24-80 from the deep, she provides stability and experience. Her twin sister Andrea is sitting out the season with a knee injury after leading USF in scoring last season. They're not related to the Cards wide receiver. All three are from Florida...the girls from Lakeland and transferred in to USF from Gulf Coast C.C. The Cards receiver hails from Miami.

Tiffany Conner comes off the bench for the Bulls and can also fire from trifecta range...going 11-38 this year.

USF averages 65.6 a game while allowing opponents 62.1 points per contest. Opponents are outrebounding them 44.1 to 40.6 a game. The Bulls have forced an impressive 364 turnovers a game (23 a game) while committing just 294. Aggressive guard play seems to be the key to USF success, they have plenty of shooters when they get the ball.

Jose Fernandez took over head coaching duties in 2000 after serving as an assistant and then interim coach that season. He is 1-3 against Walz, the Bulls are 3-21 lifetime against Louisville. Louisville won last year in the USF SunDome 66-55 behind Monique Reid's 27 points. Shoni had 16.

Sonja sees it:

So, how do you stop a 6'3" guard who loves to shoot from outside when your tallest starting guard is 5'11"? Simple, you keep her from getting the ball. An aggressive full court defense, trapping the point guard and chance-taking man-to-man pressure when they cross the timeline. You can't sit back and let them bomb you all night. You lose if you do. The 'stop Shoni' syndrome will probably be employed tonight...time for the rest of the offense to step it up. On Bria, on Becky...on Asia and Dyer. Make this one not a nail-biter down to the wire. Lady Cards 77- Bulls 59.

Paul predicts:

So, how do you stop a 6"3" guard who loves to shoot from the outside? In the words of Tony Soprano...fagettaboutit. It's her first road game. She hasn't seen the likes of 12,000 howling at her. Take care of the other defensive assignments and the win will come. Play your game, outscore the opponent and use the crowd to your advantage. This is a game where Louisville's much mal-aligned front line could gain some redemption. Feed the bigs, go to the boards, give Louie the Cardinal Bird a sign that says BLOCK OUT LOUISVILLE and make him carry it the whole game. If Inga wants 30 points, give them to her. Just keep the rest of the team to about the same and score 65 or better. Walz 66 - Fernandez 60.

(We'll have a full recap of the action...and comments from Jenny and Sandy after the game tonight. You need to get out there and watch it if you can. If not WHAS-TV locally and CARDS RADIO 790 AM/101.7 FM will have the broadcast.)

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We went a perfect 5-0 in predictions last night on BIG EAST WBB action. (Pat on the back, hearty handshake!) We needed a last second miracle to get there...Katie Young drilled a 40 foot buzzer beater to lead Marquette past Villanova 51-50. In other action...

-Notre Dame romped the Hoyas 80-60. 22 for Skylar, 13 for Sugar.

-UConn cooked the Friars 96-35. Hartley and Hayes with 19 each.

-Rutgers invaded the Pete and won 63-39 vs. Pitt. Rushdan with 14.

-WVU put four in double figures in a 79-63 win over Seton Hall.

Tonight, besides the Lady Cards vs. Bulls...Syracuse hosts St. John's. We'll take the streaking Red Storm here over the Orange.

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Answering your recruiting questions

2012-01-10T20:24:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the reader who asked about Marion County verbal commits Makayla Epps and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers. I was negligent in omitting information regarding them as well as 2012 signee Megan Deines.

Megan Deines 2012 signee is a 6-1 guard playing for Glendale High School in Springfield, MO. While I cannot find official stats for her this season, several of the articles I have found on line report repeated double digit scoring for her. I also found a nice article that I think is worth sharing.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20111226/SPORTS0103/112260352/megan-deines-glendale-kxtr

More information is readily available regarding Marion County 2013 verbal commits Makayla Epps and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers. Marion County also attended the Nike Tournament of Champions (TOC) this past December. It appears the team went 2-2 matching up against some of the best talent in the country.

Marion County is currently ranked #1in the State and 26^th in the country according to Powerade Fab 50. Marion County will be playing local basketball powerhouse Manual High School on January 14 at Marion County. This should be a good game, Manual being ranked #31 nationally in the Fab 50.

Makayla Epps , point guard, is averaging 15.7 ppg, 3.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.8 steals. Kyvin Gooden-Rogers a forward is averaging 14 ppg, 8.5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocks. These are nice stat lines for these young ladies. They are leading their team in a 13-2 season thus far, the only losses coming in the TOC.

David Watson asked about Aja Ellison, daughter of former Louisville star Pervis Ellison. Last I have heard Coach Walz offered a scholarship to this young prospect (class of 2014) last spring in her freshman season. I cannot find any official stats on Aja, or any additional information about what other programs are recruiting her, but articles on-line indicate she is scoring a lot. A very recent performance had her scoring 25 points and pulling down 17 rebounds for her team, Shipley. Pretty impressive for a sophomore.

Following recruiting is difficult. Athletic programs are not allowed to comment on player recruitment until a player signs their National Letter of Intent. Media outlets are allowed to talk to recruits, so often I am finding my information by way of ESPN Hoopgurlz and various other recruiting websites and blogs.

Smith named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

2012-01-10T09:00:00.007-05:00

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Bria Smith named BIG EAST freshman of the week

-It's not too late!

-Catching up on BIG EAST WBB

Lady Cards freshman guard Bria Smith was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the week after helping the Cards to a 1-1 record in BIG EAST play last week. It is the first time a Cardinal freshman has received the award this season. Bria is averaging 11.5 p.p.g. for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards.

Smith led UofL in scoring this past week, with 16.5 a game. She tallied 16 against Marquette and had 17 against St. John.

The Lady Cards host USF Wednesday night at the KFC YUM! Center for a 7 p.m. tip. WHAS TV will have the broadcast locally as will CARDS RADIO 790 AM/101.7 FM.

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We're no experts, but we bet that
Alex Flanagan would pick UofL.
(After she finished playing with
her hair...)

HAVE YOU gotten your entry in for the final score and winner of the Lady Cards vs. USF game on Wednesday night yet? The winner wins a $25 gift card to PANERA bread. That should cover a nice meal for you an a couple of friends...or (if you take Michael Stewart...) a drink for you and meal for him.

Here's a recent entry we got from Nat B. (a USF fan):

USF 66
Louisville 56

Think you can do better? Send your guess (or educated opinion):

cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

Or, if you're a bold soul who wants the whole viewership to see your pick...feel free to leave your selection in the comments section of today or tomorrow's entries.

Entries need to be in by Weds 7:30 p.m. Just for the record...Sonja says Cards 77 - USF 59. Paul picks Cards 63 - USF 60.

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As the league heads into this week's action...the standings.

1. Notre Dame        3-0
2. Rutgers               2-0
3. UConn                2-1
    Louisville
    De Paul
    Georgetown
    Villanova
    W. Virginia
    St. John's
10. USF                  1-1
11. Syracuse          1-2
      Marquette
      Providence
14. Cincinnati        0-3
      Pittsburgh
      Seton Hall

There are some very interesting matchups for Tuesday night.

-Georgetown takes the Sugar Rodgers show to South Bend to play the Irish. Whether they can contain Novosel, Diggins and the rest of Muffet's "Tough-ettes" remains to be seen, but we're predicting the Irish are still unblemished in conference play after this one.

-Providence heads to Husky Country to try and muzzle Geno's
Dogs. We were impressed with PU's win over DePaul. News
flash. This ain't DePaul, Friars...UConn by as many as they want.

-Pittsburgh hosts Rutgers in the Peterson. C. Viv has been getting
spectacular play out of her freshmen and that should continue
tonight against a Panther squad looking for answers and a BIG EAST win.

-Seton Hall travels to wild and wonderful West Virginia to visit the
Mountaineers. WVU has another Carey type, "knock 'em down and pound them in the paint" squad and they should get plenty of thumps in and win over the "still not ready for prime time" Pirates.

-Marquette looks to defend "the Al" against a surprising bunch of Villanova Wildcats. We think that Plouffe has sufficiently recovered from the Cardinal shutdown from last week and MU gets the win in a close one against the "VillaSweeney" bunch.

(How'd we do last week? We predicted 18 BIG EAST contests. We went 14-4. Don't worry, we're not headed to Vegas to start betting WBB in the sports books. We doubt they'd take the action, anyway.)
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Recruiting Corner

2012-01-09T22:01:00.005-05:00

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- Jenny Catches CARDINAL COUPLE up on the recruits...

2012 Signee Cortnee Walton and her St. Mary High School team in Phoenix, Arizona recently won the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona. Cortnee’s St. Marys team is currently ranked number 1 in the country by Powerade Fab 50 of high school teams and is currently 11-0.

2013 top prospect Mercedes Russell is having a fantastic junior year of basketball for Springfield High School, in Oregon. Mercedes is a 6-5 post player who recently helped lead her team to victory in the title game of Energy Classic in Gillette, Wyoming. Mercedes broke scoring records for the tournament by scoring 90 points in three games. In the championship game Mercedes notched a triple-double scoring 37 points, pulling down 17 rebounds and blocking 10 shots. This highly contested recruit lists Louisville as one of her schools of interest.

2013 top prospect Stephanie Mavunga, from the nearby suburbs of Indianapolis, plays for Brownsburg High School. Stephanie is ranked 15^th in the country and is a 6-2 forward. Stephanie also lists Louisville as a school of interest and is also having a great junior year. Stephanie recently scored her 1000^th career point while leading her Brownsburg team to a three-peat in the Hendricks County girls basketball tournament.

Stephanie and Mercedes both will be in town visiting when Louisville takes on #2 Notre Dame on Presidents Day, February 20 at the YUM Center.

(Bria Smith was named Freshman of the Week in the BIG EAST for her two outstanding performances this past week against Marquette and St. John's BE SURE to check out TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE for the details...)

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Michael Stewart Senior Highlights at Large

2012-01-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

These are Seneca High School OL and LS Michael Stewart's Senior Highlights. Michael has interest from several schools and those will keep rolling in. A favorite of CARDINAL COUPLE..."Big Stew" gets it done, as you'll see in the highlight films.

There's No Place Like HOME!

2012-01-09T20:57:00.038-05:00

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-LADY CARDS RETURN TO THE KFC YUM! CENTER

With 6 Big East teams currently ranked in the top 20 Louisville (13-3) (2-1) cannot afford to let any non-ranked opponent escape with a win. 7 PM Wednesday finds the University of Louisville at home against one of those non-ranked opponents, the University of South Florida Bulls who are (9-7) and (1-1). Last Saturday they were defeated at home by 16th ranked Georgetown 66-56 but earlier squeaked by Big East conference foe, Cincinnati 58-55. Both teams are definitely in need not only for a win but for a resurrection of earlier hopes and goals for their Big East results. Let's hope that the return to a home environment, with their 6 game home winning streak, will be an emotional boost that our team needs so make your plans now for Wednesday at the YUM!

Although the Cardinal women have been outscoring their opponents 74-59, with the loss of Mo's 13 point a game aveage everyone will need to step up to the plate and contribute a little extra while definite attention will need to be paid to 5'7" senior guard Jasmine Wynne who is contributing an average of 15.9 points per game (double figures for a 12th straight game) and 5'7" Junior guard Kaneisha Saunders who averages 12.1 points. A relative unknown who may require continuous awareness, particularly behind the 3 point line, is Inga Orekhoba, a 6'2" Sevastapol Ukraine native who averaged 19.2 points a game playing at the GUARD position on her Junior college team. The transfer student immediately contributed 18 points ( all from behind the 3 point line) in her only Division 1 game which was played Saturday against Georgetown. If this pattern remains I would expect the Bulls 65.6 points a game average to increase.

Their remaining height comes from 6'4" junior center Caitlin Rowe. South Florida's guard heavy line up and Caitlin's low 5 rebound per game average contributed to Georgetown's 32-16 scoring dominance in the paint. Hopefully we can mimic Georgetown's 50-37 rebounding dominance of South Florida as normally are only slightly out rebounded by their opponents.

Again this game is an opportunity for the Louisville fans to create an unfamiliar atmosphere for incoming visitors as South Florida's home and away average attendance is < 700 per game. If Louisville fans come through like we have come to expect, crowd noise and support could not only provide difficulties for the Bulls but emotional energy for the Cardinals. On Wednesday the women will not have be competing with the Louisville men on TV or the KY men playing at Freedom Hall so there are no excuses for Louisville women's basketball fans to come to the game and do your part to support the team.
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Cards need Shoni more than ever now

2012-01-09T08:53:00.004-05:00

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-David Watson checks in...

(David Watson is a special corresponent for Cardinal Couple. Here's today's take from the lefty...)

So, like I told you what would happen several days ago, the University of Louisville women's basketball team travelled to New York and took the loss. I'm not bragging, or particulary happy about it but the writing was on the wall. No starry-eyed, optimisism about this bunch without Reid and Gibbs. A leader hasn't emerged out of the rest of the remaining players yet. One needs to step up. And the choice here is Shoni Schimmel.

With leadership comes responsibility, though. At least on the basketball court if not so much in politics. Knowing when to shoot and when to pass. Knowing when to pass and not to dribble. The right word at the right time to a teammate, coach or official.

Time to be the
leader, 23.

Is it too much to ask of a sophomore? Not on this team, where only one senior and two juniors exist. Shoni has been under the spotlight since she was throwing no-look passes as a pre-teen on the Umatilla Reservation. She's responded well. From what Paul tells me, she's articulate, accurate and informative in post-game press conferences.

Time to grow up, Ms. Schimmel, Sr. Time to assume the role. Time to build upon the legacy. Next year, Ms. Reid and Gibbs will be back with you, we're assuming. Go ahead and return to the free-wheeling, OMG type passes and bombs from the sidewalk on Main Street in front of the YUM Center then. For now, you're needed to provide stability, security and consistancy to a bunch that sorely needs it.

David Watson

Right now, your team needs you to do more than just be flashy. Use the opportunities you've been blessed with and make a difference. The Lady Cards season depends on it. Become the head brave of this squad of Cardinals.

You're going to get double-teamed and draw the opponents best defensive player. Get used to it. The "stop Shoni" campaign that Paul talks about isn't going away. Use it to the team's advantage.

(David Watson used similar skills when he guided his 4th grade kickball team to the grade school championships in Muncie, IN.)

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Here's a take on the St. John's vs. Louisville game from our buddy Rebecca, who runs the intensely informative and entertaining "GAME NOTES OF DOOM".... a great blog about St. John's WBB and the New York Liberty WNBA team.

Definitely worth a read! Click the link below and enjoy!

http://gamenotesofdoom.blogspot.com/

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More on the loss to St. John

2012-01-08T20:44:00.008-05:00

Well, Sonja got it right. A St. Johns team at full strength and playing very well at home was enough to get the win today.

Unfortunately.

In an effort to recognize the good things our team is doing, I have to give props to Becky Burke and Bria Smith today. Those two young ladies were shooting the lights out. We needed more offensive help today, though. With game plans in place to take away Shoni’s offensive game, we need more point production from other players. Today, our Cards fell short in that effort.

I have been saying, and I apparently will continue to say, we need more and consistent production from our “bigs”. Our true centers Cierra Warren and Sherrone Vails combined for a total of 4 boards in a (combined) play of 31 minutes. You will not win Big East games with those numbers. Nita Slaughter nabbed 4 boards in 4 minutes and Shawnta Dyer grabbed 7 in 27 minutes. Let them play. Make Warren, Vails and Hammond earn their spots on the hardwood. Height should not guarantee you a starting spot, not when you do not use it.

Another area of growth needs to be assists and turnovers. While the Cards took a little better care of the ball today, only committing 15 turnovers, only 9 buckets were assisted. This is another area where the Big East will chew you up if these numbers do not get better.

I know this team is shorthanded. Losing Tia Gibbs and Mo Reid are blows to the team. But, NEWSFLASH ladies!!! You have the talent to overcome those losses! There is a deep and skilled bench this year. Every one of you are donning that uniform because you have something to offer, a skill or talent that when combined with the collective talent of the team, makes you a great team.

Now darn it, get in that film room, hit that hardwood, and figure it out. You are better than you are performing. I know it. The fans know it. I know your coaches know it. Get out there and show it!

(Thanks to Jenny for her observations! CARDINAL COUPLE readers may have noticed that both Jenny and Sandy are now contributing directly with articles and columns to the site instead of e-mailing us with articles...which we were printing out and entering. WE feel this will make CARDINAL COUPLE much more timely, interesting and up-to-date. David Watson and Donny will be doing the same. Let them know in the comments column or by e-mail to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com how they're doing! So far, we give them both "A+" and seats in the front of the class.)

Paul

Softball Banquet & Clinic

2012-01-08T19:07:00.010-05:00

The 2012 Softball Bullpen Club Dinner will be held on January 28, 2012. a silent auction will begin at 6:00 pm with dinner and the program beginning at the Archibald Room of the Galt House. The headline speaker will be Natasha Watley. As a two time Olympic Medal winner, NCAA Champion and professional player she is sure to be an inspiration as an example of someone who values her education as well as the sport which brought her there. She is still playing professionally but also is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Business after graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology.

Coach Sandy Pearsall and the U of L Softball team are already preparing for the new season as they begin play on February 10-12 while participating in the FIU Combat Classic held in Miami, FL. This year follows a 38-20 season where they were runner-up in the Big East Championship and earned a berth in the NCAA regional. Seven starters and 15 letter winners return - all of which along with the new arrivals would love for you to come out and enjoy the fun and relaxed atmosphere of their home games. You can cheer them on while sitting in comfortable chair back seats of Ulmer Stadium at Cardinal Park or while sharing a camp chair, ground blanket and picnic dinner with friends while watching the game behind the outfield.

Louisville Softball also offers a Winter Holiday Softball Camp where clinics will be led by the Louisville Softball coaching staff and team on January 15, 2012. Our information is that Sessions II and III for the 13-18 year olds are still available only for those wishing to be placed on a waiting list. It appears that there is still room available for 8-12 year olds. See
http://www.uoflsports.com/camps/lou-camps-w-softbl.html for details.

Thanks to the U of L Sports.com web page from which much of the factual information was obtained for this article. The complete article including sponsor and presentation information can be read from http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/120211aaa.html. for banquet information you can check the referenced website, phone 502-852-0706 or E-mail: cakrel101@louisville.edu.

(Good stuff, Sandy! WE look forward to another spring at Ulmer and the excitement of college softball and the P.A. duties of J-Bone. We'll have more from Sandy Pearsall later this week. We always look forward to article from Sandy Walker -Paul)

St. John's Post Mortem

2012-01-08T18:01:00.009-05:00

On Thursday Paul called out through his and Sonja's website and wondered of my whereabouts. Actually I had sort of mentally hibernated because I just really did not know what to make of last Tuesday's Marquette game. Yes, we had won but the mechanics and game basics I needed to see just were not there. I saw lots of dribbling, particularly in the 1st 1/2 of the game. Actually I saw lots and lots of dribbling all around the top and passes to others who were also standing around the top who then dribbled a lot more while apparently hoping that someone on defense would fall down so we could pass to their non-defended position.

Years ago there was a commercial where the senior citizen actress became famous for asking, Where's the Beef? Well after dozing on and off through parts of today's game against St. Johns I am asking, Where's the Heart? because I did not see heart or hustle where the players on the floor looked or acted like they really wanted the ball. As a result, today we no longer were able to slip by with a win.

What Louisville does not have are front court players who are a threat to score either off the pass or rebound. Mo is gone, for at least this year. Today's those starters contributed a total of 0 points and 2 rebounds. Without a front court threat, future opponents will continue to overload on Shoni and the fans will continue to watch lots of guards dribble the ball with no picks, screens or give and goes because there is no place for them to go except to continue to dribble and pass to each other around the perimeter. The season could become extremely long unless somoene steps up to the task of if not dominating, at least holding their own in the front court. My vote, which holds no value, is to start Sarah and Cierra. Let them play until they foul out for enough games that they finally gain enough game time experience to be able to mature into the powerful and dominating players they will eventually become.

Second half spurt sends St. John's past Lady Cards

2012-01-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

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CARDINAL COUPLE GAME REPORT:

-Louisville gets "Mac attacked" in 72-64 loss

Eugenia McPherson had 16 points and Nadirah McKenith added 15 to lead the St. John's Red Storm past Louisville in the Carnesecca Arena Sunday afternoon by eight points. The Red Storm utilized a 16-6 second half run over seven minutes to turn a 43-43 tie into a 59-49 advantage with 4:39 left. The Cards would get no closer than six the rest of the way.

STARTERS

Shoni, Bria Smith, Asia Taylor, Sherrone Vails, Becky Burke.

The Lady Cards came out strong to open today's game, zipping out to a 5-0 lead in the first 2:30...all on Bria Smith scores. It was the largest lead Louisville would have all day. St. John's would respond with a 8-0 run of their own, though taking a 8-5 advantage after McPherson cashed in on two free throws with 15:37 left in the first half. The Lady Cards would battle back...a Shoni putback, Shawnta Dyer inside score and Bria Smith steal and layup gave the Lady Cards a 13-10 advantage at 13:10.

Bria had 11 in the
first half for UofL

And...that's the way the first half continued to go. St. John's tied it at 13-13, Becky Burke drilled a three to put Louisville back up. The Cards trailed 20-16 at the 6:51 mark, but back-to-back threes from Burke and Jude Schimmel put them back up by two with five minutes to go. A Smith steal and lay-in made it 24-20 Cards. Once again, here came the Red Storm, though...outscoring Louisville 8-3 over the final four minutes to take a 28-27 lead to the locker room.

Louisville had 11 first half points from Bria...Burke had 6 on two 3-pointers and Jude contributed five off the bench to lead the Cards. Shenneika Smith's defense on Shoni had her limited to just two first half points and 1-7 shooting.

Louisville and St. John's both shot 11-28 from the floor for 39.3% shooting, both squads had seven turnovers and St. John's led the rebounding battle 20-16. Louisville's guards had 24 of the team's 27 points and Walz played everyone but Shelby Harper in the first twenty minutes.

The Lady Cards were missing layups and inside shots, standing around on offense and if it wasn't for Louisville's 8-2 advantage on points off turnovers, the margin could have been greater. Still, UofL was in it, on the road and battling.

Becky Burke got Louisville back into the lead with a 3-ball ten seconds into the second half but SJU tied it up seconds later. The teams went back and forth for the first five minutes of action, the Johnnies going up 41-37 when Mary Nwachokwu scored inside at 14:10. Bria and Cierra Warren hit back to back jumpers to tie it, though and Shawnta Dyer took a pass from Shoni and scored to knot it at 43-43 with 12:12 on the clock.

That's when the wheels fell off the wagon for the Lady Cards.

A McPherson basket and free throw put St. John's up to stay. Da'Shena Stevens connected on two charity tosses to make it 48-43. Bria sank two foul line tosses to cut it to three...but the teams traded hoops and a Stevens jumper with 7:47 remaining started St. John's on a 7-0 run that pushed them to a 57-49 advantage when Shenneika Smith hit her second three of the season to give SJU a 57-49 margin with 5:08 on the clock.

Bria Smith picked up her 5th foul at 4:39 to go and Nwachokwu hit both free throws to make it 59-49. Warren countered with two straight scores inside for the Lady Cards and a Shoni drive got UofL within six at 61-55...but the Cards couldn't stop the Red Storm defensively and three straight SJU scoring possessions had Louisville on the short end of a 67-55 score with less than a minute to go. The Lady Cards started pressing, got scores from Jude and two from Burke to cut it to 68-61 with 30 seconds left..but the Red Storm hit their free throws the rest of the way and led 72-61 before a meaningless buzzer beating three by Burke made the final 72-64.

Burke led the Lady Cards with 19 points and was 5 for 8 from beyond the arc. Bria Smith ended with 17 to complete the Lady Cards in double figures. Shoni and Warren had eight each, Jude finished with seven, Shawnta Dyer contributed four and Nita Slaughter ended up with one. Taylor, Vails, Harper and Hammond all played but did not score.

Besides the "Macs" in double figures for SJU, Smith had 11 for them and Stevens had 9 points and 10 grabs. St. John shot 44% for the game, Louisville
finished at 40%. The Cards were 6-18 from trifecta land, went 8-12 from the stripe (compared to SJU's 17-27) and had 15 turnovers.

The Cards weren't aggressive enough on defense over the final 12 minutes and Shoni never got into a rhythm due to the stellar defense Smith played on her. Rebounding today was a particular woe...Louisville losing the boards battle 43-33 to the athletic Red Storm.

A somber Jeff Walz touched on a few areas in post game comments, expressing his disappointment in the Lady Cards second half performance, particularly in team defense and defensive rebounding. He wasn't pleased with the Cards passing and assist numbers either and planned on reviewing the game film and doing some teaching when the Cards practice Monday.

And...it's a Lady Cards team that had the opportunity to get a key, early season conference road win against an experienced and improving foe...but couldn't stop the slashing, penetrating Red Storm when it came to crunch time.

Louisville (13-3) returns to play Wednesday night against USF....who knocked off a good Providence team yesterday. The Lady Cards need to turn it around quickly...a nice overall performance by returning freshman Bria Smith today in front of probably less than 1000 fans....but a road loss that could have been prevented with a little more solid defense, board effort and inside play. Out of Louisville's 64 points...51 came from the guards.

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Congratulations to CARDINAL COUPLE Special Correspondent David Watson who wins the $25 Panera Card with his pick of 71-70 St. John's in the contest. He was one of only five to pick the Red Storm. Gee, we got a smart staff!

(We wish he'd been way off today, though...)

We'll do it again for the Wednesday contest against USF. Just e-mail your score and team you think will win to us at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com
Entries in before tipoff Wednesday night, please. We got a close one at 1:45 p.m. today that came in second but was too late and not elgibile.

Get the winner right and get closest to the final score and nab a $25 Panera Gift Card. We'll run the contest as long as the supply of cards holds out...
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Harvard risk taking pays off against St. Johns

2012-01-08T11:32:00.004-05:00

I always take an interest in players, coaches or employers who operate outside of the box and who are willing to take a risk of doing something different such as continuing to allow a player to be on the floor with 2 fouls in the first 1/2 or the football coach who goes for it on 4th down.

This makes me curious if Coach Walz will run our normal defensive game against St. Johns today or follow the example of the gamble taken by Harvard women's coach Kathy Delaney-Smith whose team was 5-5 at the time of their December 22, 2011 meeting with St. Johns. She gambled that St. Johns's could not win while shooting only outside jump shots and in doing so instructed her players to sit back in a tight zone for the entire game which included not defending against the three while packing all of the gaps so the drive was not available.

From the field St. Johns hit only 27-77 for a total of 56 points for the game. Fortunately for Harvard, they were able to score 63 points which produced their first win over a BCS conference opponent this season.

Sandy W.

Notre Dame women retain # 2 ranking over UConn

2012-01-08T11:04:00.006-05:00

How awesome was it that yesterday women's Basketball had 2 national games on prime time Saturday sports on CBS!?!?

I had predicted that both games should be VERY competitive as at 2 PM CBS featured Big Ten Conference Michigan Spartans (10-5) meeting at the home of and defeating the 19th / 22nd ranked Penn State Lady Lions (11-3) at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA by a score of 75-65

At 4 PM CBS featured Big East Teams where the 2nd ranked Connecticut Huskies now (12-2) and (2-1) were playing at the home of 3rd ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish now (15-1) and (3-0) which is the Edmund P Joyce Center in South Bend, IN.

It was Notre Dame's time to shine as it was their game to lose in the comfy confines of their home arena with a more than ready and very vocal crowd.

With the UConn - ND women's game shown opposite the University of Louisville men who were at home also against ND it made for an interesting situation, but one which could be handled. We taped both games and each time one had a time out... we switched and caught up play of the other game although I have to confess that we ultimately stayed on the UConn - ND game through the overtime as it better caught our attention as the games neared their end and went into overtimes. It was interesting to see and compare the styles of both the men and women's Notre Dame teams with both eventually pulling out the win as the women defeated UConn 74-67.

Sandy W.

St John vs Louisville today in WBB!

2012-01-08T11:03:00.001-05:00

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Sandy previews the game

-Sandy discusses attendance

(Sandy Walker is a contributing writer to CARDINAL COUPLE. She looks at today's game against St. John's)

Today the #12 Louisville women (13-2, 2-0) are up against the St. John's Red Storm in Carnesecca Arena on Queens, NY. A homecoming for Cards freshman guard Bria Smith. St. John (9-6, 1-1) have won their last two in a row and are tough at home, despite attendance numbers below 1,000 a game. It is possible that Bria fans will be able to offset any "6th. person" advantage the Red Storm is used to having.

St. John's is led by 6'1" junior guard Shenneika Smith who helped the Red Storm beat Providence 57-41 earlier this week with 18 points. She's not the only one Louisville has to worry about, though. Eugeneia McPherson has had ten straight double figure scoring performances this year. Da'Shena Stevens is healthy and will join Amber Thompson inside to pose a strong paint threat. Point guard Nadirah McKenith is also healthy and directs the offense for Kim Barnes Arico. Off the bench, the Johnnies rely on 5'9" guard Keylantra Langley and 6'2" forward Mary Nwachukwu. It should be interesting to see how Louisville's 74-58 season scoring advantage holds up against the multi-talented Red Storm.

I'll also be curious to see the Lady Cards blocking out performance - St. John's out rebounds opponents by three a game. With Louisville out rebounding their opponents by six a game...hopefully this will be an area where UofL will excel.

Control of the boards is a great key to a quick transition game for the offense.

An important road test for the Lady Cards. Emotionally and educationally. Plans to visit the 911 Memorial didn't jell in time. Maybe the Cards can create some memories of their New York trip on the hardwood today.

Today's game is on ESPNU. Cards Radio 790 AM / 101.7 FM will also carry the broadcast with Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson. We're always looking for additional feeds and watching/listening options. Let us know in the comments section. We're looking for a Jan. 14th. Rutgers game feed currently.

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Louisville women's basketball fans do not have to be told that this year's schedule has been and will continue to be difficult to be a regular body in the seat. Attendance is the primary method that any fan has to show their support of the women's program so we at Cardinal Couple strongly encourage you to come out and support all of the UofL sports teams. The upcoming Lady Cards WBB game against USF at the KFC YUM! CENTER is Wednesday, Jan 11th. at 7 p.m. and a fine chance for you to show your support! BE there!

It is great that WHAS is televising the game and for those of you who just absolutely cannot attend a middle of the week game (like Sonja) we're glad that it is there for you to watch or listen to. Why not both attend and record the contest? Best of both worlds...Also, if you run into media providers for Cardinal Athletics...be sure and thank them and let them know you support their broadcasts. Matt Andrews loves it when Paul compliments him on broadcasts.

Come out and be a part of it. Last season, Louisville was second in the nation for women's college basketball attendance. The numbers for 2010-11:

1. Tennessee                  212,128          12,537
2. Louisville                        162,892          10,859
3. Connecticut                 208,910          9,496
4. Iowa State                  159,293          9,370
5. Notre Dame                 145,293          8,553

We need fans to hang in there as fans in the seats rather than a potato on the couch. According to the various schools reported "official websites"...this year to date attendance for Louisville is 9,948 per game (higher than Baylor or UConn).

We need to boost this number during conference play. See you at the YUM!

-Sandy

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We'll have full post game coverage of today's game here at CARDINAL COUPLE later today. GOOOOO CARDS!
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Previewing the St. John's Lady Red Storm

2012-01-07T07:18:00.001-05:00

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-We look at Lady Cards next opponent...St. John

-Our questionable analysis of the game...

-Irish vs. Huskies today in BIG EAST WBB

-Who's the "bowlmeister?"

The University of Louisville women's basketball team faces St. John's Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in New York. Louisville's Bria Smith gets a homecoming of sorts, returning to the New York area where she played her high school basketball at Christ the King High School. The Cards will need to bring more than Bria, though, if they hope to defeat a dangerous Lady Red Storm team that is 8-1 when they play in the cozy confines of Carnesecca Arena in Queens.

St. John is 9-6 on the season, 1-1 in BIG EAST play and comes into the game off a win over Providence 57-41. They've lost to St. Bonaventure, Hofstra, Iowa, DePaul, Baylor and Harvard. Key wins include Memphis and Providence.

The Red Storm has recently been going with a starting lineup of Nadirah McKenith, Shenneika Smith, and Eugenia McPherson at guards and Amber Thompson with Da'Shena Stevens in the paint.

-McKenith, a 5'7" junior, is the point and according to head coach Kim Barnes Arico, one of the best in the BIG EAST. Hobbled early in the season with a sprained right knee, McKenith appears to be back at full strength and averages 11.9 a game for the Red Storm. She had 10 points against Louisville last year in the Cards 84-73 win in the KFC YUM! Center.

-McPherson is the leading scorer for St. John's, averaging 14.3 p.p.g. The 5'8" junior is also the main 3-point threat for Barnes, with 19-46 results for the season. She tallied 15 points against the Cards last year and has led the Johnnies in scoring nine times this year, including 23 points against #1 Baylor.

-Smith is second in scoring for the Lady Red Storm with 12.5 a game and also the leading rebounder with 7.6 grabs a game. The 6'1" junior torched the Lady Cards for 23 points last year and will pose match up problems again this year for Jeff Walz's squad.

-Thompson is the newcomer to the St John's mix, a 6'2 freshman that is second in rebounding for the season with 7.4 per game. She also averages 8.6 p.p.g. and will give the Lady Cards fits in the paint if left unattended.

-Stevens may be the best known Red Storm player, the 6'1" senior has made life miserable for UofL all four years of her career. She's only averaging 6.8 points this year, but had 11 points in 20 minutes against Louisville last year before foul trouble sent her to the bench. She sat out the first ten games of the season, rehabbing a off-season injury, but is back now and a definite inside threat for St. John's.

The Red Storm also bring 5'9" sophomore guard Keylantra Langley and 6'2" red shirt sophomore forward/center Mary Nwachukwu off the bench for minutes. Former Louisville Manual star Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin is on the St. John's roster but sees only about five minutes a game in a reserve role.

St. John's averages 62.2 points a game an allows 55.7. They grab 38.5 rebounds a contest and allow 35.7. The Johnnies turn the ball over an average of 21.9 a game and force 25.3 miscues. They pilfer 14.2 steals against the competition and are stripped 11.1 times a game.

Kim can coach

St. John is coached by Kim Barnes Arico. She's in her tenth year as the Lady Red Storm skipper an has compiled a 161-130 record at the program. She's led the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and the Red Storm were ranked in the AP Top 25 most of the season last year, climbing as high as 17th.

Jeff Walz is 4-1 against St. John's lifetime, the loss coming during the Cards 2009-10 season when an undermanned Lady Cards squad travelled to Queens and got romped 91-56, part of a five game losing streak that the team suffered during that difficult season. Louisville leads the lifetime series 6-2.

SONJA SEES IT...

"I'm not usually a glass half empty type of person but this one Sunday really scares me. Whereas Louisville started the season at full strength and has been decimated by injuries, St. John's started the year with injuries and is now back to full strength. They've got multiple scoring options, they're strong inside and have one of the best back courts the Cards will face this year. They play well at home and, hopefully, the influx of Bria Smith fans will help offset the home court advantage. Although the Red Storm don't bring in big numbers for home contests, this one should be pretty well attended on Sunday and with Louisville's propensity for getting off to slow starts, I worry that the Cards may dig themselves a big enough hole early against this veteran and experienced team that they can't get out of. If Louisville wins, it won't be by much. Both of Louisville's losses have come on the road this year."

PAUL COUNTERS...

"For all the talent that exists on the Lady Red Storm squad, they still don't have a Shoni. They'll try to stop her, which should create opportunities for Bria, Becky and the "bigs" to benefit. Jeff Walz excels at finding a key player to shut down in games...they stifled Plouffe earlier this week. The problem is, St. John's has any of four players who can take it to you effectively. I look for defense to go out the window in this one and expect to see a high scoring, up and down the court affair. Louisville gets the advantage in this type of contest, their depth and transition quickness should be the deciding factor in a Cardinal win. It won't come easy, and as Sonja said, the Lady Cards simply can't sleep through the first few minutes of either half against St. John."
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A good Saturday match up on the tube today when UConn and Notre Dame go to war in WBB in South Bend. #2 vs. #3. Diggins vs. Hartley. Geno vs. Muffett. Irish vs. Huskies. Should be a fun one to watch. We'll go with home court advantage here and take UND. That ought to fire up all of our Connecticut readers....

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Paul is leading in a Bowl Game contest he's in at a local establishment. After last year's horrific prediction performance, this borders on a minor miracle...but the "big guy" is 27-5 so far with just three left. His losses have been Utah State, Louisville, Air Force, UCLA and Va Tech. He can finish no worse than second, and his final three picks are Pitt., N. Illinois and LSU. A nice first place monetary award is in the offing. Thanks to Bobby Petrino last night for giving him a two game lead on the pack and go Panthers, N. Ill. and LSU!
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Watson column...BIG EAST stats

2012-01-06T06:00:00.005-05:00

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Watson wonders...

-BIG EAST WBB rolls on

-Bria Smith article

(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. He takes time today to send us these musing. Enjoy!)

These two drive the
Notre Dame train

I guess I have to wonder just how huge the Saturday WBB game between UConn and Notre Dame can be this early in the BIG EAST schedule. This is a game that needs to be played in the last week of BIG EAST regular season scheduling. It's obvious these two are going to be atop the BIG EAST schedule (at least to me) when March 2nd. rolls around and the teams convene in Hartford for the Geno Auriemma Invitational (aka the BIG EAST tournament). Who's going to knock either off besides each other? DePaul? Not likely. Louisville? Only if Tia and Monique return (once again, not likely) and Walz finds a two game eligibility clause to play Angel and Candyce against them.

Rutgers? Well, difficult but not impossible. And, C.Viv. has both visiting the RAC this year. The problem is that the games are back to back. Would the Scarlet Knights have anything left for UConn if they should pull the upset against N.D.?

Oh, wait. They DO face up again Feb. 27th. in the XL to end the regular season. Never mind.

(David Watson)

Those who pooh-pooh BIG EAST football need to sit down and shut up. Bowl games this year? Louisville has the only loss. Rutgers 27 - Iowa State 13. Cincinnati 31 - Vanderbilt 24. West Virginia (still scoring) - Clemson (on the plane and headed back to South Carolina. Coach class.) Pitt can make it a 4-1 BIG EAST advantage with a win over SMU Saturday. And you thought BIG EAST football was dead.

So is Notre Dame better than UConn this year in BIG EAST WBB? I asked five followers of the league. All agree. All also live within a hour's drive of South Bend. Hey, no one said it was an objective poll. They're #2 and #3 in the nation. The Saturday game is on CBS at 4 p.m. At least we won't have to sit through Brent Musburger or Doris Burke on the audio.

Just how good is Sugar Rodgers of Georgetown? She had three pretty incredible games as of late. 34 points against Vermont and 36 against Dartmouth. I know, not exactly great competition, but she had 28 points in a 59-50 loss to DePaul Tuesday night. Oh, the things Jeff Walz could do with her in the red and black.

Finally, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I caught a dinger of a cold on December 24th. and kept the Kleenex and NyQuil people in business for about 10 days. Just beginning to feel better. My New Year's Eve was spent sipping chicken soup and ginger ale. Yeah, that David - a real party animal.

(If we know David Watson, that ginger ale probably probably had a dose or two of "Kentucky's finest" mixed in with it...)

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As the BIG EAST WBB teams take a few days off before returning back to action tomorrow with seven conference games and Louisville on Sunday, let's get caught up on where the league is at. There are still seven teams undefeated in conference play...UConn, Notre Dame, Louisville, DePaul, Villanova, West Virginia and USF. Georgetown and St. John's are 1-1 and Syracuse, Cincinnati, Marquette, Pitt, Providence and Seton Hall have yet to win. The Irish and Huskies looked impressive with wins this week against Seton Hall and West Virginia and Villanova continues to surprise with conference wins over Providence and Pitt on Tuesday night. Rutgers is rolling along, appearing in the top Ten and looking awfully hard to beat.

The Villanova Wildcats are 11-3 on the season, falling only to Princeton, Delaware and Monmouth.

Player of the Week awards for the first seven weeks have gone to Sugar Rodgers three times (including the Jan. 2nd naming) Natalie Novosel, Skylar Diggins, Jasmine Crew (Seton Hall) and Laura Sweeney (Villanova) once each.

Freshman of the Week has been dominated by UConn's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (the first four weeks) and Brittany Hrynko (DePaul), Brianna Kiesel (Pitt) and Markisha Wright (Notre Dame.)

Your leaders through Dec 31st. in offensive and defensive categories:

SCORING OFFENSE

1. Notre Dame 85.9
2. Connecticut 80.7
3. DePaul        79.3
4. Louisville     75.0

SCORING MARGIN

1. Connecticut +39.2
2. Notre DAME +36.0
3. W. Virginia   +26.7
4. Syracuse      +16.5
( 5.Louisville    +15.6)

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

1. Connecticut  .487
2. Notre Dame .485
3. Marquette    .452
4. DePaul         .440
4. (tie Louisville).440

SCORING DEFENSE (Avg/G)

1. Connecticut 41.4
2. W. Virginia   45.0
3. Georgetown 49.6
4. Notre Dame 49.9
(12. Louisville   59.4)

FREE THROW PERCENTAGE

1. Syracuse      .749
2. DePaul         .744
3. Villanova     .739
4. Notre Dame .735
(7. Louisville    .700)

3-POINT FG PERCENTAGE

1. DePaul         .364
2. Connecticut  .362
3. Cincinnati     .339
4. Notre Dame .330
(7. Louisville     .312)

Attendance in the BIG EAST for home games:

Cincinnati 7 games average 594
Connecticut 9 games average 8167
DePaul 8 games average 2644
Georgetown 6 games average 569
LOUISVILLE 5 games average 10297
Marquette 8 games average 1620
Notre Dame 8 games average 8618
Pitt 10 games average 1989
Providence 7 games average 369
Rutgers 7 games average 2541
Seton Hall 8 games average 888
St. John's 8 games average 733
Syracuse 8 games average 708
USF 4 games average 524
Villanova 3 games average 922
W.Virginia 9 games average 1758

Schedule more non-conference games at home, Jeff. And, wouldn't it be a "suitcase always packed" situation if you played for Villanova or USF?

Louisville has a few players ranked in the top ten in various individual statistics. Becky Burke is tied for fifth in the league in made 3-point field goals with 32. Shoni Schimmel is fourth in assists per game with 4.9. Shoni and Bria Smith are tied for fourth in steals per game at 2.7. Burke is tenth in 3-point FG percentage at .368

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Regular CARDINAL COUPLE reader Mark S. has found this revealing and uplifting article on Cardinal freshman guard Bria Smith.

http://tinyurl.com/7dF7jn4

We shudder to think where the Lady Cards might be this season if Smith wasn't a part of the Lady Cards lineup. It almost didn't happen. Smith was verballed to Virginia out of high school. A coaching change there made her consider and she changed her choice to Louisville. Reason enough to change the name of a street on campus in her honor.

Smith has shown incredible abilities as a freshman in the Walz system and she'll be an integral part of the Cards offensive plans as Louisville goes through the demanding BIG EAST schedule.

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Cards look to improve before St. John game...

2012-01-05T07:00:00.008-05:00

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-They said it...

-A look at the numbers...

(Post game comments from Shoni Schimmel, Bria Smith, Terri Mitchell and Jeff Walz following the 70-53 Louisville win Tuesday night.)

Shoni on returning to BIG EAST play:

"Coming into the game, it was the most we've ever done on a scout of an opponent. It was a big game for us. It was at home, our second BIG EAST game...it was one we had to get under our belts for BIG EAST competition. We were excited because it was the BIG EAST and we were ready to compete."

Shoni on rebounding improvements:

"I would say we have improved. We boxed out better tonight and that got us boards. They (Marquette) only had 11 offensive boards so that was good for us."

Shoni on guards carrying the scoring early:

"We just play and whoever is open should score. That's just the way it works. We worked the inside/out game because we knew they were going to come in on us defensively...so we kicked it out and it worked."

Bria on her strong second half:

"I felt like our defense picked up and with defense comes offense."

Shoni on shutting down Marquette's Katherine Plouffe:

"She was the main key to their team. She's been a great player all year, last year too. We followed the scouting report, learned how to play her. Our posts did a great job on her. We executed on defense and that helped our offense."

Shoni on the UofL slow start to the game.

"It was just a matter of getting into the groove. We haven't played a game in a while. Since last year...( Laughter on the podium and in the press...). "

Shoni on the layoff between games:

"We did two-a-days in practice and I think that was good for us. It was a lot of work and it helped us today."

HEAD MARQUETTE COACH TERRI MITCHELL'S OPENING POST GAME STATEMENT:

"I thought our team had a lot of fight. I thought we played hard. Their (UofL's) press was slowing us up. On possessions, we weren't aggressive enough. I thought that in the game...I don't know how many times or if anybody took count...how many times we got them down to the last couple of seconds on the clock and they scored. Five? Really? I thought it was more like ten. Maybe I'm exaggerating. And, that's what a good team does. We could play smart defense and we didn't finish it. It broke our spirit near the end. Then, we're playing catch-up and taking some ill-advised shots.

Louisville played well. We have to rebound from this one quickly and get ready for Seton Hall."

Mitchell on Louisville shutting down Katherine Plouffe...

"Fouls. She was out of the game because she fouled. What they did was press us and we hung out in the back court way too long. And then...we were able to get sets. We are a set team...into our sets and offense. I think we're really good when we set screens and get the ball inside. The credit goes to Louisville for what they did and making it a game where we couldn't get set up on our offense. On the other end, we played good defense for 25 seconds and they took it to us the final 5 seconds. You can't win that way. They were patient and waiting for the right situation and right person. We've got young people out there - they're trying to grow up."

Mitchell on the KFC YUM! CENTER...

It's a great environment. Great place to play. A good basketball arena. It's loud. At the Al McGuire Center we don't sell alcohol. (Chuckling) So, we're seeing a lot of alcohol signs. You could feel the great support, the crowd was really into it. A classy place. I'm glad it's in the BIG EAST and a place we get to come and play. I've told our girls...it's the BIG EAST. You're going to play in full and tough arenas on the road. You have to come ready to play. One thing about this team. They don't take losing lightly. They'll be fired up for Seton Hall and play better and erase this loss from their memory.

Mitchell on takeaways from this game...

"We need better penetration. We need to finish on defense. We have to rebound better. Take care of the ball better. Our turnovers were careless. We had people hiding out there tonight and they need to be more aggressive and get the ball..."

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE HEAD COACH JEFF WALZ...

Walz on the layoff and practicing...

"We put in the work pretty hard. We have things to improve on. Our passing, our ball-handling. Tonight we turned the ball over only 14 times. I think that if you go back over the last five years..there's probably less than 10 times we've turned the ball over less than 14 times. I was pleased with that. When you play the style and pace we try to play, you're going to have turnovers."

Walz on game strategy...

"Our strategy tonight was to focus on the post players for Marquette. I was really impressed on film with Plouffe, Simmons and Ojulu. I really thought their post players were a big part of their game. We sent Ojulu to the foul line eight times. For a freshman, she does a great job getting to the line. On the season she's averaging about eight free throws a game, more than anyone on our team. Simmons is a terrific player, one of the best in our league. She does a great job playing within their system but she also takes advantage of opportunities to create one-on-one's. She's a handful...hard to guard.

Walz on Bria Smith...

Bria played well in the second half. She wasn't quite herself in the first half. I was really pleased with the way she picked it up. She was 6 for 15 from the field and missed three layups...one uncontested one in the second half after a steal...but that's just growing pains. The things I talked with her about...I was really pleased she turned the ball over only one time tonight. In a perfect world, Tia Gibbs is still playing and Bria has a chance to watch someone and be groomed by a very talented player. Tia's not going to score twenty a night but she understands the game so well. What I planned on was Bria going out there and playing at the same time as Tia. Now, there's a lot more responsibility thrown on Bria. I think she's responded well for a freshman and I'm just really excited to see her game continue to grow."

Walz on the final minutes when Louisville pulled away...

"You know..they're (Marquette) playing hard. They're down to eight players right now and I think fatigue gradually kind of set it. And, they got into some foul trouble, so they weren't really able to get into a flow. (Guard Gabi) Minix does a great job for them at the point, they had to sit her down for three or four minutes. It's hard right now for them and I completely understand..we're going through some of those pains ourselves. For us right now, what I'm trying to find is players that will step up on a consistent basis. When we go up to St. John's it wouldn't surprise me if Sara Hammond, Antonita Slaughter and Shawnta Dyer play 18 plus minutes. Right now, I'm judging a lot of who I put out in there in a the game by what they get done in practice. I'd just like to see some consistency... It's a growing experience and we've got a lot of young players. It's a game by game thing. You've got to make sure your kids are prepared to play. "

Walz on the rebounding effort...

"I was pleased. Tonight I thought we did a nice job of boxing out and held them to 11 offensive boards....which is a good number with their size. We're trying to preach to our kids right now about second chance points. We've got to get between 14 and 20 every night if we are going to be good. You've got to be able to score off the stick backs. Unfortunately for us, we're just not finishing them. So we've got to get out focus..when you've got a clean look at the basket, finish it. If there is someone in front of you, kick the ball back out and don't try to force it up."

Walz on attendance...

"You know tonight something I thought was great was what was going on tonight. For us to get over 8000...our men are on TV at the same time we're playing, and UK's men draw 14,700 at Freedom Hall. I think it shows a lot about women's basketball in this city that the #2 team in the nation draws only 6,000 more than we do. It says a lot about our program and a lot about our fans and I'm very appreciative of the great fans we have here."

(Just as a side note, we waited over five minutes for Terri Mitchell to make remarks. After she didn't show, it was decided to let the UofL players answer questions first. They did, and then Walz began to comment after the players, as is his custom. Mitchell finally showed up during Jeff's first minutes at the podium, so he gallantly stepped down and let her speak. She came in muttering about "whatever happened to allowing visiting coaches to speak first? We've got to get to the airport. We've got a plane to catch..." Walz later apologized for "cutting in line" to speak...but the real fault here lies in Mitchell's tardiness to the podium and Marquette's WBB S.I.D's inability to communicate that delay to the UofL folks... PAUL was all ready to take the podium and sing some Skynyrd and Allman Brothers...fortunately it didn't drop to such lowly depths...)
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Louisville played ten of the eleven available players on the bench against Marquette. Becky Burke had 38 minutes, Shoni 34, Bria 31, Asia 20, Sherrone 19, Jude 17, Cierra 16, Shawnta 12, Sara 7 and Nita 6. The Cardinal freshmen saw 56 minutes and the reserves played a total of 58 minutes.

Louisville got a perfect free throw performance from Asia Taylor who went 4-4. Bria Smith went 4-5, as did Cierra Warren. Shawnta Dyer was 1-2 and Becky Burke and Shoni Schimmel missed their only free throw attempts.

Marquette went a painful 4-18 for 22.2% effort from three point range, Gabi Minix hitting 3 for 5. Arlesia Morse, leading three point threat on the Golden Eagles, was 0-5 and Sarina Simmons 1-6. They didn't fare much better on two point attempts either...going 11-29.

Becky Burke led Louisville in steals with four. Bria Smith had three, Shoni lifted two and Shawnta and Cierra pilfered one each.

With the win, Louisville is now 14-9 against Marquette all time. Walz improves to 4-1 against Terri Mitchell and the Cards have won the last two in a row. The Cards are 2-0 in BIG EAST play, one of eight undefeated teams so far in the BIG EAST. Louisville's six game win streak is tied for third best in the BIG EAST, behind Georgetown's 11 in a row, Notre Dame's 10 straight and tied with DePaul's 5.

The Cards are one of six teams ranked in the top 25 at 13th.or 14th. depending on the pollster. UConn (2/2), Notre Dame (3/3) and Rutgers (10/11)are ahead of them and Georgetown (15/16) and DePaul (20/19) right behind them.

Overall, 15 of the 16 BIG EAST teams had .500 or better records going into Tuesday night competition, with Seton Hall (7-8) the lone sub par unit.
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(Join us tomorrow with David Watson's comments - who knows what about...he never warns us - and we'd like to know if our two contributing writers are still alive, e-mail us if you know the whereabouts of Jenny or Sandra.)
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Plouffe goes "poof"..Card guards provide proof...Louisville by 17

2012-01-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Shoni, Bria, Becky bomb the Golden Eagles

The University of Louisville women's basketball team survived a shaky start and won in the KFC YUM! Center last night in front of 8203 fans. Four Lady Cards hit double figures in Louisville's 70-53 win, led by Shoni Schimmel with 17 and Bria Smith with 16.

STARTERS: Shoni Schimmel, Asia Taylor, Sherrone Vails, Bria Smith, Becky Burke.

This one didn't get off to a pretty start. Between Marquette's turnovers and Louisville's inability to score off them, the score was 7-7 with 11:40 remaining in the first half. Jeff Walz was looking for some scoring and consistency and he found it in his star sophomore guard Shoni Schimmel. Shoni created a steal from Marquette's Katherine Plouffe, scored and then hit again on a jumper a few seconds later to give the Cards a 11-7 advantage. A pair of Asia Taylor free throws bumped the advantage to 13-7. After Marquette cashed in on two Cristina Butler charity tosses, Jude took over...burying a three and then Shoni scored on a layup to give the Cards a 18-9 advantage with 7:29 left.

Marquette, you just got Schimmeled....

Unfortunately, it didn't last. Marquette used a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to regain a 21-20 margin with 4:29 to go when Sarina Simmons connected with a jumper. Louisville turned to Becky Burke next and the senior responded with two trifectas and a layup to send the Lady Cards on a half-closing 9-2 romp to take a 30-23 lead into the locker room at the half.

For the Cards, it was guard play showing the way. Shoni, Becky, Bria and Jude had 25 of the Lady Cards points...Shoni with 10 and Becky with eight. Louisville was shooting a tepid 37.5% from the floor but had forced M.U. into 13 turnovers and Plouffe into three first half fouls and just two points.

The Cards started the second half slow...almost a tradition lately for them...and watched the seven point halftime lead evaporate to 32-30 when Marquette guard Gabi Minix nailed the first of her three-three pointers in the half with 18:04 remaining. Plouffe had a chance to tie it at the line after a Bria Smith foul but bricked both free throw attempts and the Lady Cards got a rare post player score when Cierra Warren banked in a layup. It started the Cards on a 7-0 run to make it 39-30 when Burke drained a three and Shawnta Dyer hit a contested layup with 16:27 left.

Bria battled hard in the
second half

Marquette would get no closer than seven the rest of the way. A Bria Smith tip in gave Louisville a 44-33 lead with 15:25 left. The Cards got ten points from Smith in a four minute stretch and led 49-39 with 11:26 to go.

The Cardinal guards had 40 of the Cards points at this point and Marquette was struggling for answers.

Louisville held a 61-51 lead with 3:41 left after a Simmons free throw and responded with a Smith jumper, two Asia Taylor free throws and Shoni scoring in the paint to give the Cards an insurmountable 67-51 advantage with 1:53 to go. A Shoni three closed out the Cardinal scoring with 27 seconds on the clock. Final 70 Louisville - 53 Marquette. CARDS WIN, CARDS WIN!

It was a needed win against a respectable BIG EAST foe that saw Louisville actually out-rebound an opponent by four. Surprising, given Marquette's height and physicality...but blocking out worked for the Cards last night and coughing up the ball only 14 times didn't hurt either.

Joining Shoni and Bria in double figures were Becky with 13 points (3-6 from three range) and Cierra Warren with 10 (nine in the final 17 minutes). Asia Taylor added six points and six grabs, Jude Schimmel five and Shawnta Dyer three points and a team high seven rebounds. Vails did not score. Sara Hammond and Antonita Slaughter played a combined 13 minutes for no points. Shelby Harper was available for action but did not play.

Louisville doubled the points in the paint production of Marquette, winning the battle 36-18. The Cards took the 2nd chance stat also 15-5. Points off turnovers went to Louisville also 19-10

Louisville shot 43.3% for the game on 26-60 shooting. Warren was the only player to foul out for either team...leaving the contest with 57 seconds to go.

The Cards (13-2) go to New York next to face St. John's on Sunday. Marquette (9-6) welcomes Seton Hall Saturday.

WHAT WE LIKED:

-Schimmel squared...when the two were in the game during the first half together they combined for seven straight points in a four minute stretch. Jude may have had her best game of the year last night, Shoni had an impressive first half and finished well for the Lady Cards.

-Blocking out and rebounding...Louisville did outrebound the taller more aggressive Golden Eagles despite a big effort from freshman Apiew Ojulu. Remember the name, readers...she's going to be a great one before she graduates. Ten of Marquette's 35 grabs.

-Shutting down Plouffe...It was the game plan and the superb Canadian sophomore had a weak stat line of 1-4 shooting for 2 points, 0-2 from the line, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls, 5 turnovers in just 25 minutes.

THINGS TO GET BETTER AT:

(Not a lot to point out here, but here's a couple...)

-Starts...slow starts to each half saw Louisville trail early by three and lose a seven point halftime lead. Call it rust if you want, but it's symptomatic of how the Cards have played as of late. Would love to see Louisville blow out to a 10-0 early game lead just once...or score the first 12 to begin a second half. It's all about developing a "killer" mentality.

-Threes...although Burke and Shoni hit some key ones, they were the only two going for them. Jude hit one out of one, although she had about a half dozen chances to try long range bombs and Nita Slaughter missed her only attempt.

(We'll have more stat breakdown and player and coach comments for you tomorrow here at Cardinal Couple...be sure to drink your Ovaltine and check back!)
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Lady Cards host Marquette in BIG EAST play tonight

2012-01-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Thanks for your patience

-Marquette breakdown and analysis

-Tay to Clemson

We appreciate your patience while we work out some technical difficulties at CARDINAL COUPLE. We'll still attempt a daily posting for you while we work these out...it may not be the fastest around but we'll give you what we can until we get things back to normal.

Photos and such will be something we won't be able to enter onto the site for awhile, looks like...please bear with us while we exorcise the demons from our computer. (Any holy water would be appreciated...)

-Cardinal Couple

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The Marquette Golden Eagles come to the KFC YUM! Center for a Tuesday night BIG EAST clash with the University of Louisville Lady Cardinals. The Golden Eagles arrive with a 9-5 record, 0-1 in conference and currently on a four game win streak. Notre Dame handed them their conference defeat, a rather lopsided 95-42 drubbing by the Irish.

Out of conference wins aren't all that impressive...they did knock off in-state rival Wisconsin...but have pretty much feasted on cupcakes besides that.

Marquette is led by 6'3" soph. forward Katherine Plouffe. She averages a team high 14.5 p.p.g and is co-leader on the boards with 7.9 grabs a game. She'll challenge the Cardinals inside and is a a strong, go to the hoop, type of player.

Arlesia Morse scores 11.2 a game for the Golden Eagles and is the leading three point threat...24-71 on the year. She's a 5'10" freshman guard and is adept at the three or taking a defender inside
the paint to score. Sarina Simmons, a 6'1" junior forward gives Marquette additional strength inside. She totals 10.9 p.p.g and is tied with Plouffe with 7.9 boards. The final double figure scorer for Terri Mitchell's squad is Apiew Ojulu. The 6'3" freshman center is scoring at a 10.6 a game. Scott County (KY) freshman Lauren Tibbs is another player off note...the 6'4" freshman center comes off the bench for Marquette.

Marquette is outscoring opponents 66.0 - 58.6 a game and outrebounds the foe by a 38.1 to 32.1 margin. They're
59-190 from three point range for .311.

The Cards, who have struggled most of the season with rebounding, will get a tough test tonight in the paint. Whether Walz chooses to remain with a three guard attack against the tall Golden Eagles remains to be seen - the Cards may have a little more quickness that M.U. but will need to have shots fall and be aggressive on defense after made shots to keep the Golden Eagles from using their inside attack. WE expect Terri Mitchell to subscribe to the 'stop Shoni" theory opponents have been using lately...so it'll be key for Becky to be "on" from beyond the arc and Bria to avoid foul trouble and penetrate and create.

The Golden Eagles are coached by Terri Mitchell. She's in her 16th. season and has a career record of 305-176. Last year, under her direction, the Golden Eagles went 24-9 and 10-6 in BIG EAST play. They defeated Texas in the first round of NCAA Tournament play and fell to Tennessee in the second round.

Louisville will need some big time step up from Warren, Taylor, Dyer and the other "bigs" tonight if they hope to send Marquette back to Milwaukee 0-2 in conference play.

Game time is 7 p.m. We'll have a full report for you Wednesday on the outcome.

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By now, most of you have probably heard that Charmaine Tay is headed to Clemson. We wish her the best, hope she can "make the grade" down there and has a great rest of college experience.
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Site Maintenance

2012-01-02T18:58:00.001-05:00

The Site will be down both Monday and Tuesday for maintenance. Thanks for your patience.

Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin - Auld Lang Syne

2012-01-01T11:37:00.003-05:00

( HAPPY NEW YEAR! SEE YOU MONDAY WHEN WE'LL PREVIEW
THE LADY CARDS WBB NEXT OPPONENT...MARQUETTE)
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HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

2011-12-31T22:01:00.001-05:00

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Happy New Year !!!

(From all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE...Happy NEW YEAR! We hope your 2012 is a great one! Thanks for being with us and we look forward to
seeing you in 2012 and beyond. From Sonja, Paul, Jenny, Sandra, David, Bill the Goat, Co-Co, La-La, Cletus, Mondo Vendo and Felton John...best wishes and GO CARDS!

Discussions on the Lady Cards

2011-12-30T11:30:00.003-05:00

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Thoughs and observations on the Lady Cards

With the University of Louisville women's basketball team off until Tuesday and visions of bowl games dancing maddeningly in my head...time to break the thought pattern and talk the Lady Cards. You been sending e-mails and leaving comments about Phil's rating system and advocation for a "three" big
system...so let's start there.

WE can see a lot of benefit from it, given the current case of lack of rebounds, but it's awfully hard to just sit Becky Burke down after she's been the most or second most reliable shooter on the team this year and the leading three-point threat. So, how about starting her with Shoni, Cierra, Shawnta and Asia?

That, of course, puts Bria on the bench. Tough to do with her very impressive freshman season. Inserting Burke later in the game just may be a viable option...Walz did with Reid off and on for three years...Mo still got her points.

So, Bria, Shoni, Cierra, Shawnta and Asia? I can hear the Sherrone and Sara backers over the roar of Washington scoring (again) on Baylor...

Here's what WE think Jeff is trying to determine. Eight (maybe) nine players to form a consistent, contributing and interacting core. Let's be honest. Shelby and (for this year) Jude probably aren't going to make this cut. That leaves:

Shoni
Bria
Becky
(a good guard rotation that offers shooting, driving and rebounding)

That leaves...

Cierra
Shawnta
Sherrone
Asia
Sara
Nita

All have their strong points and shortcomings. I like the hustle and desire of Asia. She just needs that consistent effort game after game. It's there, she needs to find it. I also like Cierra in this mix. She's the best inside player, the way WE see it..now that Mo is sidelined. She's 6'5". Just go to the basket and forget about the fade away, off angle hook shot. If you want a third "big" I think you have to go with who's been hot lately and that is Shawnta.

So, we'll offer Shoni, Bria, Asia, Cierra and Shawnta as our picks to get introduced by Sean Moth when the game starts.

Ultimately, of course, it all depends on what Jeff sees and he knows them better than the collectiveve reader base of CARDINAL COUPLE. With his excellent coaching staff...they will make the right call, the right decision and coach them up.

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From some of the comments we get via e-mail, some of our readers are living under the illusion that the Lady Cards have won only two games, instead of having just two losses. Fan prognostication and speculation is all well and good. Remember...this is CARDINAL COUPLE, the fan voice for UofL Women's Sports...so we love, encourage and anticipate your comments.

Let's just keep in mind that this is a top 15 team, their losses have come against top 10 competition and have suffered the losses of last year's leading scorer, leading defender and a promising sophomore. They've survived two challenging road trips, the majority of their games so far away from the KFC YUM! Center and are still a very talented group of ladies. Think any programs out there would turn down Shoni, Bria, Becky or any of the rest on the Lady Cards squad?

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The BIG EAST looms ahead. Yes it will be tough. The Lady Cards can ill afford to take a night off against any of the conference members. Rutgers, Notre Dame, UConn, Georgetown, DePaul and Syracuse are very capable of hanging a 20 point whipping on this team on a home or away court. Lowly Cincinnati gave Louisville all they wanted..and the Bearcats were picked pre-season to finish down in the basement of the BIG EAST structure. Villanova is over-achieving, Providence looks improved, St. John's is still very, very dangerous despite injuries. The list goes on and on...

2012 will be a thrill packed, face in the wind roller coaster ride for the Lady Cards in the BIG EAST. IF this team can reach the BIG EAST conference championships with 4 or less conference losses, they should give Walz the Coach of the Year award.

So, there it is. Keep your observations coming. We relish them and people enjoy reading them in columns and in the comments section. Just try to remember that this team is 12-2, not 2-12.

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Lady Cards defeat UTM 70-57

2011-12-28T19:53:00.008-05:00

CARDINAL COUPLE GAME REPORT:

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Thursday with the Couple & cast...

-Lady Cards down Tennessee-Martin 70-57.

-Reports from Sandra, Phil and Jenny on the game.

-Let's go to the movies...

(Special thanks to Sandra, Phil and Jenny for the coverage. Arrived back in

Louisville at 7 p.m. tonight. Trying to get 3G coverage in the Appalachian Mountains....spotty at best. Louisville did win by 13. Good to be home. The fun and excitement of attending bowl games never grows old...but I won't be back to this particular one if the Cards draw the invite again. Paul's new bowl philosophy #1. Bowl games need to be played in warm weather. That is where I'll attend them from now on.)

OK, to the reports...

From Sandra: 12:35 p.m.

Starters Shoni, Asia, Sherrone, Bria and Becky. He (Coach Walz) started the same game of musical chairs with players One mistake and out. Becky dropped a pass early and we just now saw her return again at 6:58.

Sara (Hammond) might be having a better game. Looks stronger. More confident.

From Sandra: 1:31 p.m.

We will win but no blow out. Jeff keeps messing with combinations that are not his best players. Bewildering.

From Phil: 3:50 p.m.

So, I watched the game this morning (I've signed up for that pay per month service) and have my laptop connected to my TV. I have to say that I think Walz proved my point again. What should have been a blowout was much closer than it should have been until the very end.

Here's what we got out of the game from the effectiveness per minute ratings:

Starting at the post, Warren (1.0) and Vails (.83) were both very effective but they only played a combined 26 minutes.

Dyer (.79) and Hammond (.65) were both very effective but played only 24 minutes combined. Dyer's minutes ( 11) came at the "5" .

You have four "bigs" who play a combined 50 minutes.

Why was this game close? Burke with a negative (-.17) in 29 minutes and Harper with a negative (-.06) in 16 minutes. Those two played only four minutes less than the "bigs" we mentioned above. Go figure.

I could go on about some bizarre substitution patterns and lineups. The bottom line is that the Cards are doing something here that I'm obviously
missing. Someone please explain it to me.

Jenny's game article below...

The Lady Cards took to the hardwood today after a brief holiday break On the sidelines were both Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid. Tia, who had surgery after exams, was sporting some kind of sling keeping her arm/shoulder immobilized. Mo was obviously favoring her leg, but was standing and walking unassisted. Last report we had on Mo from the west coast had her on crutches, so it was good to see her able to bear weight.

While the Cards came out of the game with the win, it was a rusty effort at best. Sherrone Vails easily won the opening tip off, getting it to Bria who drove to the hoop and drew a foul. She cashed in on 1 of 2...UT-Martin held Louisville without a basket until the 16:51 mark when Cierra Warren finally connected. Bria Smith picked up two early fouls, but Walz let her play through it for a few minutes. Once she left, she stayed out the rest of the half. The Cards did eventually go out two first half runs of 10-0 and 8-2. UT-Martin stayed close though - by hitting five three-point attempts. The Cards did force 17 Skyhawk turnovers in the first twenty and had a 35-30 lead.

The second half started with two quick fouls on Smith. She left at the 19:04 mark and and returned later in the game before fouling out with 3:01 left in the game. The Cards could never pull away from UTM in the second half. Shoni sealed the win by leading Louisville in a late run for the 13 point victory.

UTM played their starting five 180 of the 200 minutes available. Those five had all the Skyhawk points. Heather Butler had 13 and Perica Glenn and Jaclissa Haislip added 12 each and had double-doubles with 10 boards each.

The Cards got 16 from Shoni Schimmel and 14 out of Cierra Warren. Sara Hammond grabbed a team high 9 rebounds to go with 8 points. A strong game from the freshman, nearly getting a double-double. Louisville was out rebounded 43-41. Second chance points was won by the Skyhawks 15-2. The Cards forced 26 turnovers while committing 19 of their own. Louisville also won the assists stats 15-12 .

WHAT JENNY LIKED ABOUT THE GAME...

-SARA! I've thought from the beginning she was a baller. She got off to a slow start this season, but today I saw the confidence and strong play that won her Kentucky Miss Basketball last year. She did have a few defensive breakdowns, which netted the usual sideline reprimands from Walz, but overall it was a good game for her and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

-SHAWNTA Dyer also had a nice stat line today. Seven points in 14 minutes. 3 grabs, 3 steals, an assist and block.

-STEALS. 15 today. Active hands. I liked it. Keep it up.

JENNY'S THINGS TO WORK ON:

-Slow starts. Another one today. In the BIG EAST, these will put the Cards in a big hole early.

-Rebound, rebound, rebound. Two of our four "bigs" had only 3 rebounds each. an embarrassing 13 offensive rebounds and two second chance points. I know you can do better.

The girls will hit the film room Thursday to review and discuss. One game at a time is the current Walz credo. Without Tia and Mo, it's a wise one. Each contest a challenge now that the non-conference schedule is complete.

Louisville begins BIG EAST play Tuesday, Jan 3rd. in the friendly confines of the KFC YUM! Center against Marquette. Hope to see you there!
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(A nice report from Jenny and photos, too!)

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(After getting a good night's sleep and reviewing everything we could find about the game yesterday, Paul and Sonja have come up with five things that Coach Walz may want to hit the pause and rewind button on when the team reviews the film.)

-The lack of blocking out on the boards. Should have quite a few opportunities
to review the lack of this from what we've heard and read.

-Freshman fouls. This segment could star Bria Smith, but it's a good teaching tool to show players how to avoid significant "pine time".

-Catch, set, square and shoot. Burke isn't going to shoot this badly each time out. Maybe a review of the three point attempts will teach "how not to."

-"Sho" them how it gets done. Shoni Schimmel put the team on her back and carried them to the win late. Maybe the rest of the team could pick up a pointer or two on "ready for prime time" basketball.

-Five pictures. Walz should pick his five starters for Tuesday this morning, put their pictures on the screen and challenge the rest of the team to play good enough to grab one of these spots. We'd go with Shoni, Sherrone, Sara, Jude and Cierra. Make Burke, Nita and Bria prove they want it. Good, challenging competition. Challenge Asia to pick it up. Have Shelby ready for a few back-up minutes. Make Shawnta your first off the bench and get 25 (minutes) 10 and 10 (rebounds and points) from her each night.

BIG EAST is around the corner. Grab your lunch pail and go to work, Lady Cards.

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