Amanda Butler leaving Louisville for College of Charleston -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

BUTLER GOING FROM A CARDINAL TO A COUGAR

The word is out...Amanda Butler is leading Louisville to become the head coach at the College of Charleston. A return to the state of South Carolina, where she coached Clemson before becoming a Cardinals assistant. 

The opening is there because of the past CofC coach Robin Harmony leaving the Cougars to become the head coach at Pitt. So, Harmony goes from being a Cougar to a Panther and sources close to Cardinal Couple, who have a great insight to the operations and workings of Cardinals basketball indicate the move was expected. We, of course are still the bad boys of journalistic media in UofL's eyes because of a hijacked Twitter account. All we can say i we have followed all the things to get us back in there but other forces are working to keep us out of the information loop. 

Butler was aided in getting the job by Debbie Antonelli, a South Carolina resident and well respected college impressario and voice. 

Butler said: 

"This is a championship team with a opportunity to build a legacy. that is based on returning. John Groce touched on it a lot a lot more than I did...the challenge of a new landscape is being able to talk about that openly and honestly. But the reality is...how important is legacy to you?...How important is history to you? "

Let's not forget the valuable two years she spent under Jeff Walz about roster building and management, 

The Cougar are in the CAA, or Colonial Athletic Association. She'll be facing school such as Campbell, Stony Brook, Elon, Monmouth, Towson and William and Mary. In the season just ended, CofC was conference champ at 16-2 and went 27-6 overall. They went into the NCAA Tournament as a #14 seed and was eliminated in the first round by Duke. 

No immediate word on players returning or who recruiting will focus on. We also can't verify if Anaya Hardy, who is leaving the Cards roster will be going to CofC with Amanda. Hardy is the second Cardinal to announce they are entering the portal, along with Isla Juffermans. Also, Shay Robinson is leaving his assistant coaching position at Louisville to go to Florida. He's the one I always got mixed up with Lamont Russell. 

We will watch with interest on who Walz gets in to replace them.  Only  Jonneshia Pineda and Brittany Morris remain on the WBB coaching tree along with Walz. 

paulie

GOING THROUGH THE E-MAIL FOLDER -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

YOU SEND 'EM...WE'LL ANSWER THEM

One of the many fun things about running a website and doing a radio show is that we get e-mails from a vast array of people about a variety of subjects. Every once in a while, I like to post a few up (names ALWAYS withheld) with my reply. Snark and sarcasm sometimes come into play  

We joke on The Right Side Of The Site that the staff chimps print each one out, cover it in banana pudding and feed it to Bill The Goat after replying to you...actually, that isn't true...ol' Paulie adjusts the spectacles and sends a garbled response to each sender after mas tequila and a trip to the Oasis. 

What is going on with Dakota Weatherford?  We've received several inquiries about "the attack Yorkie" who shone so brightly throughout the 2015-16 WBB season. It seems her name is no longer on the WBB Roster over at gocards.com according to a few of you. I had CoCo the Chimp verify that (and, yes, it's true...she is no longer listed on the roster) so I sent several bloodhounds to the Belknap Campus to see if they could track her down. They came back with Sidney Melton and several unpaid parking tickets. 

Calls to Walz resulted in discussions of iambic poetry, the Derby contenders, a challenge to see who could hit the most free throws blindfolded and a lengthy review of the Keynesian economics platform. 

We expect the mad scientist will divulge more on this later when he feels it's time to do so and...on a personal note...c'mon people, it's not even May yet! Channel some of that women's basketball energy over to softball and lacrosse for a few weeks for ol' Paulie and the squads. OK? 

Is anyone else leaving the UofL WBB Roster? 

I get speculation on this from people who put way too much thought into it. I've heard, from a few of you, a varied range of possible departures...from Erin DeGrate to Brianna Jones...with a dash of Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring thrown in for seasoning. 

Let's turn this around. Let's play this game. Who else is leaving the UK WBB Roster? With the recent announcement of 6'2" freshman Batouly Camara and assistant coach Tamika Williams-Jeter jumping off the ship...UK has had six departures since the fall. For you conspiracy theorists out there among you, that's a much better story. 

Players come, players go. It's a fact of life in women's college basketball these days. Don't lose sleep over it.

WHY DIDN'T CANDACE PARKER MAKE THE OLYMPIC TEAM?

This one is puzzling to all. The roster will be announced Wednesday and the over/under on UConn players that'll go to Rio is currently at 5 in Vegas.

Personally, I think it's a shame.

Parker still has game and she is a great ambassador for women's basketball. Geno will formulate some type of response, he may have already....but as I tweeted out when I heard about her omission: 

" Leaving Parker off the USA team is like not inviting LeBron James to a dunking contest. Incredulous."

IS KELSI WORRELL THE BEST WOMEN'S ATHLETE TO EVER PLAY AT LOUISVILLE? 

That's a tough one. She certainly would rank in the top three, in my opinion. If I was forced to give you a "top five" of UofL women's athletes...she'd be in there with Angel McCoughtry, Lola Arsenbekova, Aja Sherman and Nikki Boltja. What say you? Is Kelsi top of the list? 

So...keep those e-mails coming. We relish your opinions, feedback and commentary. 

paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville Women's Basketball -- Myisha Hines-Allen named All-American ...Friday CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN SELECTED TO COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS FIRST TEAM

For Myisha Hines-Allen, the honors keep rolling in. 

The sophomore forward out of Montclair, N.J. was named to the College Sports Madness All-American first team Thursday afternoon. This latest award comes after being named ACC Player of the Year and ACC All-Tournament Team. 

All she's done for the #8 Cards (25-7) this season is lead them in scoring (17.5 ppg), rebounding (8.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (54.0%). Add in the 11 double-doubles she's posted this season and the 11 times she's scored at least 20 points in a game...and MHA has been quite the busy student-athlete over the last several months....gathering the ACC Player of the Week three times.

In conference, she's third in scoring, third in rebounding, seventh in field goal percentage, eighth in free-throw percentage, second in defensive rebounding and fifth in offensive rebounding. 

Hines-Allen is just 56 points away from being the 26th. player in Cards WBB history to score 1,000 points....with several tournament games (hopefully) ahead of her and two more seasons. 

She's got some good company on the first team...with Breanna Stewart (UConn), A'ja Wilson (South Carolina), Makayla Epps (Kentucky) and Jamie Weisner (Oregon State). 

The ACC placed two players on the second team with Brianna Turner from Notre Dame and Duke's Azura Stevens. Aaliyah Whiteside (Ga.Tech) was selected for the fourth team. 

The numbers and awards are great...but if you ask Hines-Allen what matters most...she'd be likely to tell you that she'd gladly give up all the accolades for a chance to go to the Final Four in Indianapolis this year with her Cardinal teammates. 

Certainly a duplication of what she's done so far this season would be a prime factor in any post-season run Jeff Walz's Cardinals might be on the verge of. 

Even if she thinks she's a point guard on occasion. 

Congratulations to #2 and keep the stats pumping in the "second" season of the year that'll begin next week. The Cards will be having a selection show Monday night the The Sports and Social Club...located at 427 South 4th. Street. 

This is a switch from previous years...where the team has watched the selections from Cardinal Arena. I can remember years back when there were a few coaches and players huddled at Beef O' Brady's to see where Tom Collen's squad would be headed. Then, a gathering at the Parrish House...where people were lined up outside an hour before the doors opened. 

Speaking of such...the doors will open at 6 p.m. at The Sports and Social Club for the selections and the seating is first come, first serve. Be advised and plan accordingly. 

___________________________________________________

SOFTBALL GOES FOR TWO TODAY

It looks like clear skies for Louisville Softball today at Ulmer Stadium. The "hit and pitch" Cards will play a double-header today in conjunction with the Louisville Softball Classic. 2:30 p.m. is the approximate start time for Louisville vs. Jacksonville State and the Cards will face Dayton around 4:30 p.m. It's going to be a great day weather-wise for watching balls fly out on Brandeis Ave. 

Fence up! 

paulie
xxxxx

ACC DAY 2 ACTION AND LACROSSE DOWNS NORTHWESTERN -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

All Day Hoops...all day thrills

Beginning with Miami's thrashing of Pitt and ending with NC State roughshodding the B.C. Eagles, day two of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, NC was action-packed.

It opened with Miami jumping out to a 18-12 first quarter lead and never looking back. Adrienne Motley had 19 for the Canes...who will get FSU Friday. 

Duke and Virginia was an epic battle. Duke looking horrible with three point execution from the Blue Devils

(1-15) but they got huge inside games from Azura Stevens and Oderah Chidom and held off Faith Randolph to advance and face Notre Dame with a 57-53.

Game three was even more exciting...Wake Forest leading Georgia Tech almost the entire way before falling in the final five seconds on two Roddreka Rogers free throws. Amber Campbell missed a follow up at the buzzer that would have tied it.  With the 67-65 win...the Rambling Wreck gets the Cards at 6 p.m. tonight.

In the nightcap NC State ran past B.C. 42-18 in the first half en route to a 74-60 win. Kith Spencer led the Wolf Pack with 17 points on 6 for 7 shooting and 4-4 from the charity stripe. 

Boston College got 16 from Nicole Boudreau and 14 out of Kellie Hughes. The two took 19 threes and hit 10. NC STATE and Syracuse will meet in the final game of tonight's quarters. 

So Louisville will battle the Rambling Wreck at 6 p.m. tonight and will need to contain the powerful trio of Aaliyah Whiteside, Roddreka Rogers and Antonia Peresson. They'll counter with the ACC Player of the year in Myisha Hines- Allen, first team ACC Mariya Moore and first team ACC Freshman Asia Durr. 

No word yet on the status of Cortnee Walton. The Cards leading rebounder dislocated her non-shooting pinky in the Pitt game Feb.28th. 

The Cards should handle Georgia Tech without much trouble. Louisville won the regular season contest in Atlanta 78-65.

LACROSSE DOWNS NORTHWESTERN 10-4

Louisville Lacrosse goes to 6-0 with their first-ever win over Northwestern 10-4 Thursday afternoon at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cards got an early goal from Cortnee Daley, who had three scores on the day. After falling behind 2-1, Louisville went on a 4-0 run to end the half...two net-finders from Julia Wood, Kaylin Morissett connecting with nine minutes left in the half and Daley making it 5-2 with 1:48 on the scoreboard. 

After a Wildcat tally to begin the second stanza...Morissette connected with 22 minutes remaining and then set up Kelli Gerding 22 seconds later for the 7-3 Cards lead.

Northwestern would cut the lead to 7-4 before UofL went on a 3-0 run over the final 15 minutes with goals from Wood, Daley (their third each) and Heidi Smith.

The win equals the best start in Louisville Lacrosse history. Brittany Read had 13 saves in the match.

Louisville returns to ACC play Saturday when they host Notre Dame. Action begins at 2 p.m. 

If you're not in Greensboro with us...get out there!

Paulie 
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball wallops Miami 79-50 -- Friday CARDINAL COUPLE

TWO HUGE RUNS SEND CARDS SOARING OVER THE HURRICANES.

No one could blame the UofL players if it seemed like a home-court advantage Thursday night in Coral Gables, FL against the Miami Hurricanes. The UofL men's team, who plays Miami Saturday, and a large contingent of Briahanna Jackson's family and friends were on hand to witness a 29-point demolition of the 'Canes to push Louisville to 14-1 in the ACC.

The Cards actually trailed UM early...when it seemed neither team could find the basket with a GPS device...until Mariya Moore buried a three that was the start of a 7-0 run. Miami would lead one more time at 11-10 before UofL closed the period on a 8-2 run with two scores from Jackson, a Cortnee Walton jumper and two Myisha Hines-Allen free throws. Louisville led 18-13 after ten minutes and Jackson had seven of the Cardinals points. 

As it turned out...Louisville was just getting warmed up. Jeff Walz put four freshmen and Arica Carter on the court to begin the second period...Asia Durr hitting a jumper at the 8:40 mark to make it 20-15 Cards...and Taja Cole connecting to make it 22-19.

Then, the Hurricanes ran out of wind.

UofL went on a 20-2 run over the final 7:14...Durr hitting a driving left-handed layup at the half-time buzzer to make it 40-21 Louisville. Defense and rebounding were the catalysts for the scoring....Miami was 1-11 on their final shots of the half and six Cards scored in the spurt. Louisville held a 27-14 rebounding edge and HInes-Allen and Jackson had 11 points each for UofL. 

Miami would have one last, fleeting moment of glory...scoring the first five points of the third quarter. Here came Air Raid Louisville again, though...a 21-0 run four the next six minutes...that included two Moore threes and a Jackson jumper that set the tally at 63-27 with a minute left in the third stanza. Louisville led 64-30 after three and Hines Allen had 15 points...including a sizzling 9-10 from the foul line.

LOUISVILLE MBB was on hand for the game
(Photo by KK) 

At the 8:21 mark of the final period Walz turned the floor over to freshmen Brianna Jones, Taja Cole, Sam Fuehring, Erin DeGrate and attack Yorkie sophomore Dakota Weatherford. The score was 71-33. 

DeGrate scored six of the Cards final eight points and the second squad battled Miami's starters the rest of the way to get the 79-51 win. 

HOW DID FRED DO? 

Free throws were 18-28 and that's below our standard of 70%. It should be noted again that Hines-Allen was 9 for 10 from the line and DeGrate and Fuehring were a combined 5 for 11. We can't award the letter "F" here for overall effort...but we'll surreptitiously try to sneak it to Myisha...

Rebounding ended up a landslide Cardinal victory 53-28. No Card hit for double figures...but all 11 players who saw action had at least one. Capitol "R" easily here. Repeat and apply again....and again.

Easy Shots doesn't get a letter here, even though Louisville had 32 points in the paint. MHA was 3-12 for the game and Carter 1-6. 22 second chance points is nice, though. 

Defense was spectacular Thursday night. The Cards forced 18 turnovers, had five steals and held Motley and Thomas to 21 points. Capitol "D"...embellished, underscored and highlighted. Miami scored 51 points....20+ under their average. 

WHAT WE LIKED

A great day for B.J. It was great to see her hustle, scoring and overall play return to form. When she's rocking, it helps the Cards present another different and additional challenge for an opponent to overcome. Miami looked shell-shocked at the end of the first half. B.J. seemed quite happy.

Spurtability. The term is attributed to basketball star-turned-announcer Clark Kellogg and Louisville had two great spurts against the Canes. Louisville could have won this game by 50 but Walz shifted into neutral and let the second squad battle Miami's starters.

Beating a top 20-ranked team. Always good for the RPI, the tournament seeding and especially when it is in their gym.

WHAT NEEDS WORK

After a nice win like this one, it's hard to come up with much. We'll just go with free throws and struggling early.

All things considered, a big-time win against an opponent that scared me and plenty of other people. What a difference in this team from the first time the Cards were in Florida this season. 

The train rolls on. Gathering steam, speed and momentum. 

__________________________________________________


BATTER UP! 

Don't forget...the Red and Black Classic gets underway today for Louisville softball at 1 p.m.

Yes, today's action will probably be a little chilly but the rest of the weekend looks pretty good. The Cards (6-3) face Cleveland State in the opener and Kent State after that. 

Oh....take me out to the ballpark...


paulie
xxxxx

Lacrosse travels to Vandy...ACC Tournament starting to shape up -- Tuesday CARDINAL COUPLE

BATTLE OF UNBEATENS IN NASHVILLE

When the Louisville Lacrosse squad takes on Vanderbilt today at 4 p.m. in Nashville, it will be an early season battle on undefeated teams. 

The Cards (3-0) have not been seriously challenged in wins over Marquette, Temple and Denver. The Commodores (2-0) have gathered wins over Kennesaw State and Furman. 

Louisville looks to continue the "share the wealth" philosophy on the attack. Four Cardinals have six or more goals this season...Kaylin Morissette producing seven and Hannah Koloski, Julia Wood and Cortnee Daley netting six each. 

UofL is averaging 12 goals per game while the tough Cardinal defense...led by goalkeeper Brittany Read, Steph McNamara, Emily Howell and Blair Bernhardt are allowing just 4.67 scores a contest. 

Louisville is #13 in the latest Inside Lacrosse poll. Seven ACC squads are in the top 14. 

__________________________________________________


ACC TOURNAMENT STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE

As #10 Louisville and the rest of the ACC schools go into their final two games of the ACC regular season...the conference tournament is starting to take shape for the five day affair in Greensboro. Anything can happen in the wild and wonderful world of the ACC...of course...but let's take a prognosticating look at some possible scenarios.

Notre Dame (14-0) and Louisville (13-1) are in the catbirds seats for #1 and #2 seeds. The Irish finish with Clemson and Boston College, both obviously easy wins for Muffet. Louisville has a bit tougher road...travelling to Miami and finishing with Pitt at the KFC YUM! Center. 

The battle for the final two double-bye slots involves Florida State, Syracuse, Miami and long-shot NC State. 
The Seminoles have lost their last two and have tough tests remaining against NC State and Miami. Syracuse has just one game left...against BC. Miami has the Cards Thursday and ends against FSU. NC State would need wins over Florida State and Clemson...and some upsets in the rest of league play to get to a double bye status. I'm seeing Syracuse getting the #3 seed and Florida State ending up as the #4. 

Seeds #5 through #9 get a single bye and will start action on Thursday. I'm predicting NC State gets the five spot, Miami goes to sixth, Duke winds up in the seventh slot, Wake Forest takes eighth and Georgia Tech or Virginia (with Faith Randolph back) climbs to ninth. The Cavaliers get stumbling UNC at home and travel to Virginia Tech to end the season. Georgia Tech goes to Pitt and ends by hosting Wake Forest...so these slots could be shuffled around a bit. 

I see Georgia Tech, Pitt, UNC, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Clemson starting action on Wednesday. Let's put my projected #10 seed Georgia Tech put against #15 seed Clemson and #11 seed UNC and #15 Boston College in opening day matchups. We'll give Virginia Tech the #12 seed and they'll do battle against #13 Pitt on day one. It might be Virginia in #10...some close match-ups slated in these final two days of regular season play. 

Four games hit the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday. If we're on my projected course...NC State would face either Pitt or Virginia Tech. They should be able to handle either and advance. Miami would get the winner of UNC and BC...they should be able to handle the Eagles but might struggle against UNC. Duke would face either Georgia Tech or Clemson (I'll predict Clemson) and Wake Forest and Virginia would battle to advance to the quarterfinals. Let's ride with Virginia.

As far as tackling the quarters...that's a little more than I'm ready to take on today...I'm probably nowhere close so far...so we'll end the prognostications. 

We'll take a look at these predictions and see how well we do after the Wednesday and Thursday sessions. We'll also offer a free ACC Tournament Challenge here at the site once the brackets become official and award a $25 gift card
to the lucky winner from either Cracker Barrel or Panera.

paulie
xxxxx

Lousiville women's basketball -- Virginia has "Faith" tonight in Pink Out game, Softball travels again -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

CAVS 2ND LEADING SCORER BACK FROM THUMB INJURY

When Louisville WBB faced Virginia in Charlottesville back on Jan 14th., the Cards took a 59-41 win back with them to Louisville...Myisha Hines-Allen scoring 16 for Louisville. UVA was without Faith Randolph, their second leading scorer. The second team All-ACC selection in the 2014-15 season had broken her thumb a week earlier in a lopsided loss to Notre Dame...in the fourth quarter and long after the outcome had been decided. 

With her gone, the 'Hoos went 2-7 over their next nine games. Makayla Venson, Virginia's leading scorer tried to pick up the slack but head coach Joanne Boyle was missing the speedy senior guard...Randolph is the only senior on the Cavs roster. 

She returned on Valentine's Day, appropriately enough, and played 36 minutes in the UVA win over Boston College. The doctor's time-table had her on schedule to return tonight against the Cards. Randolph lobbied for action against Syracuse on Feb. 11th....a game UVA lost 91-57. 

Randolph will be ready for tonight and will be taking pre-cautionary measures: 

"My thumb will be wrapped in tape the rest of the season but that's kind of a blessing in disguise, though, because when you shoot the ball...your really not supposed to bend your thumb...so it's good form." 

Virginia (14-12, 5-8) is probably not an NCAA Tournament this season...unless they get hot late and win their final four -- plus make a strong showing in the ACC Tournament.

Louisville (20-6, 11-1) is ranked #11 in the nation. Besides keeping an eye out for Venson and Randolph, the Cards will need to contain Lauren Moses...a strong post that is capable of a double-double anytime she steps on the court and shut down Aliyah Huland El off the bench. 

Following a blueprint of the strategy that got the Cards past the Cavs last month would work well here. Louisville held Virginia to six first period points in the first meeting and the Cards forced 19 turnover while allowing UVA just 33% shooting. 

Be sure to wear your pink tonight for Breast Cancer Awareness. Even if you don't own pink, wear a pink ribbon to show your support. The game tips at 7 p.m. and ESPN 3 will have coverage. We also recommend the audio from Matt and AJ on Cards Radio KRD 790...and if the sync up gets too annoying, stick with the radio call and then glance at the laptop for a replay of the really good plays. 

I'm offering WorldWide the write-up for Friday. He has gone "groundhog" on me and hasn't written in what seems like six weeks. Regardless, one of us will recap it here at the site later today or early Friday. 

                *              *              *  

SOFTBALL READY FOR NEXT CHALLANGE

Coming off a 4-1 stay in Corpus Christi, the Louisville Softball team heads to Raleigh, NC for the ACC/BIG10 Challenge this weekend. While there, they'll team up with NC State in cross-conference games against Wisconsin and Nebraska...four games over a three-day span. 

I caught up with Coach Pearsall and got a great interview that we'll air on our Saturday radio show...the highly acclaimed CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR.

Here's a couple of teasers to listen for in the interview: 

-- Who did Coach Pearsall have to 'bring back to earth' during the Islander Invitational? 

-- What impresses Coach Pearsall about ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week Megan Hensley? 

-- What worries Coach Pearsall about the Cards home-opening weekend? 

For these answers and much more, be sure to catch the broadcast Saturday at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM or on the Internet at www.crescenthillradio.com. 

You can also catch our archived broadcasts there, too! Please listen to and support local, non-profit community radio. You just might find out that you like what you're hearing...

paulie
xxxxx

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

DUO COMBINE FOR 44 IN CARDS 14th STRAIGHT WIN

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

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

Durr commented on the run:

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

Why the hesitation? Coach Walz had no answers.

Referee Billy Smith was dancing all day...

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


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

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

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

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

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

HOW DID FRED DO ?

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

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

We're 99% sure that WASN'T Willie Nelson walking by the refs.

Easy Shots: Way too many easy and open looks missed in the beginning of this game. The Cards made 16 shots in the paint but missed 21 and eight of the misses were layups. No "E" awarded here. That 37% shooting could have been much higher if layups and putbacks would have fallen. 

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

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

WHAT WE LIKED:

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

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

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

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Sonja was not thrilled with the first ten minutes...or me taking
pictures of Deb Antonelli. I'm not sure which issue got me the
sour look. 

1) Avoiding the slow starts. UofL missed 18 of their first 22 shots. Six of their 12 turnovers came in the first ten minutes. They got away with it tonight. Against a few of the future ACC opponents, those numbers might equal a loss or much deeper hole to dig out of. 

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

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

Photo by Charlie  Springer - UofLCardGame.com

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

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

__________________________________________________

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com

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

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

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball uses balanced effort to extend streak to 13...Cards 75-Clemson 33

FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES HELP CARDS CAGE THE TIGERS

With ACC doormat Clemson visiting the KFC YUM! Center Thursday night, it was the hope that Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz might get his reserves some extended playing time in the contest. 

It happened way sooner than most of the 8379 in attendance expected it. With the Cards up 4-0 after two Sam Fuehring free throws, Walz replaced starters Mariya Moore, Arica Carter, Cortnee Walton, Briahanna Jackson and Fuehring at the 8:03 mark with Asia Durr, Brianna Jones, Dakota Weatherford, Erin DeGrate and Taja Cole.

Was the mass substitution planned or because of poor performance? 

B.J. FOR TWO! (PHOTO FROM CHARLIE SPRINGER - UOFL
CARD GAME) 

"We didn't start out with the energy Coach wanted...so he put in the second group and I feel like they did a good job and got us on a run." Briahanna Jackson offered in the post-game press conference. 

Walz elaborated on that when it was his time to take the podium: 

MY FAVORITE CHEERLEADER TURNS COURT INTO CORT

" It was by performance...or lack thereof. We turned the ball over two out of the three first possessions and that's not acceptable so I just tried to get their attention. The five I put out there really did well and brought the energy we needed and played well. I was excited for them." 

Indeed, they did.

After a Clemson basket, the "second group" went on a 11-0 run over the next three minutes and a Durr three-pointer had the Cards ahead 15-2 with 5:10 left in the first period. Walz brought the starters back a minute later and Louisville held a 23-8 lead after the first ten minutes. 

(PHOTO BY CHARLIE SPRINGER
UFL CARD GAME)

Although not quite as dramatic as they were to start the game, the substitutions continued over the next 30 minutes. No Cardinal saw less than 16 minutes of action or more than 29...those top minutes going to Fuehring, who started in place of Myisha Hines-Allen, who was not in attendance due to attending funeral services of her grandmother in New Jersey...but expected to return for Sunday's game against WFU.  

So, Sam...what say you about the start? 

" I kind of wasn't expecting to start but I'm always ready to come in and do the work. I think I've gotten better at handling the ball and have gotten stronger...because they've [opponents] been pushing me around...

The Cards -- as a whole -- also continued to get stronger as the game progressed...pushing the lead to 39-12 at the half. The Clemson point-total was not the lowest scored in a half by an opponent in Louisville Women's basketball history, though. Houston Baptist managed only eight against the Cards back on 11/17/10. 

Clemson was shooting 21.4% from the field (6-28) after the first twenty and had not converted a three in six attempts. Fuehring, Moore and Durr all had eight points for Louisville, the Cards were 5-9 from the deep and shooting 48.4%.

GO...YES...BUT WHERE IS THE QUESTION?

Things continued to get worse for the Tigers. The Cards led 45-16 after Walton layup and "plus one" and then went on a 8-0 run to hold a 53-16 edge after a Jackson three with 3:28 left in the third. After 30 minutes of action, UofL was up 58-23 and Jackson had put in 13 points...nine of then from trifecta range. 

Walz had Fuerhing, Cole, Weatherford, Durr and Jones on the floor for the majority of the final period...everyone's favorite "attack yorkie" Weatherford becoming the final Cardinal to score at the 4:35 mark. By then it was 67-27 and Louisville rolled to the final 42 point-win despite not scoring in the final two minutes.  

SOMETIMES GETTING THERE IS HALF THE BATTLE

At least Clemson didn't foul in the final seven minutes. Some ACC schools do have sense enough to know when they're beat. 

Jackson's 13 led the way for Louisville...Fuehring and Durr added 12 each and Moore finished with 10 to round out the double figure scorers. Cole added eight, Jones six, Carter five, DeGrate four, Walton three and Weatherford two. 

A expected romp over a lesser opponent, impressive from the tenacity of the defense, overall production and shooting...especially the 9 for 23 three point numbers...

I'LL just drive my car past the security checkpoint, Worldwide.

HOW DID "FRED" DO?  


FREE THROWS:  Our benchmark here is 70% and the Cards were 8-12 for 66.7%, so we cannot award an "F" here. Erin DeGrate's 0-3 numbers need work, Fuehring's 4-5 stats impressive. 

REBOUNDING: The Cards get a capital R for this stat...getting 50 grabs to Clemson's 27. Walton and DeGrate had 10 each and Louisville had 19 offensive boards while limiting the Tigers to just nine.

EASY SHOTS: Louisville had 25 in the paint or layup attempts but just scored 14 points in the paint. DeGrate had several "bunnies" and putbacks roll off the rim...so we can't award an "E" tonight.

DEFENSE:  Clemson went 0-9 from three point range, shot just 30.2% for the game, committed 21 turnovers and the Cards got 12 steals while holding the Tigers to 33 points. Call no more witnesses, DA...you get a capital "D"...and I should probably award a second one as well...FRDD shall be the final reckoning on Fred for 1/28/16 and Clemson.

DOES ANYONE LOVE PLAYING HOOPS MORE THAN
THESE TWO? 

One wondered how the Cards would fare with their leading scorer and emotional leader Hines-Allen absent. They covered her absence with aplomb and handled the chore...while allowing the least points scored against them this season. Feat accomplished, business taken care of and a good time had by all (except the visitors...probably). 

You expect the kind of romp we saw tonight when top of the conference faces bottom of the conference and we got it. With a win streak of 13 in a row now....the Cards go for "two touchdowns and two extra points" (14) when Wake Forest visits Sunday. 

paulie
xxxxx