Louisville women's basketball -- Cards end first half on 19-2 run...coast by UCA 87-60 -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HINES-ALLEN DROPS 25, WEATHERFORD'S DEFENSIVE SPARK GETS CARDS BY SUGAR BEARS. 

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game

It took the Louisville Cardinals 13 minutes to get rolling Friday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center, but once they did...they put together a magnificent seven minutes of basketball to push past Central Arkansas and secure a second round game against DePaul Sunday in the NCAA women's basketball tournament. 

Game time Sunday is 2:30 p.m. 

It was the Sugar Bears who were displaying the emotion and hustle early in the contest. Although the Cards jumped out to a 5-0 lead after an Arica Carter jumper two minutes into the contest, UCA fought back and grabbed a 13-12 lead on a Taylor Baudoin layup with 4:28 left in the first period. 

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game

Behind Baudoin and Brianna Mullins the #14 seed in the Dallas Region would take a 18-12 advantage before Louisville was able to get back within three on a Myisha Hines-Allen jumper with five second left on the clock. 25-22 wasn't the score  Jeff Walz or the 5823 fans wanted to see...but Hines-Allen was starting to get untracked and had eight first quarter points.

The Sugar Bears weren't ready to dissolve, though...Dakota Weatherford's tenacious defense was giving them fits and her 'plus one' gave the Cards a 29-27 lead a minute and a half into the second stanza. Maggie Proffitt countered with a three for UCA and Sandy Jackson's jumper tied the contest at 32-32 with 6:29 until halftime.

Then, the Bears went into hibernation.

Hines-Allen nailed two jumpers in a row and Asia Durr connected on a put-back and it was 38-32 Cards. UCA took a time out. It didn't help. 

Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game

Sam Fuehring found success in the paint and Hines-Allen swished the nets on two consecutive jumper and suddenly it was 44-32 with 2:47 until half. The Cards were on a 12-0 run and the Sugar Bears were befuddled. Durr hit another jumper and a score and free throw from Mariya Moore had the Cards on a 17-0 run and leading 49-32. Central Arkansas finally ended their 5 1/2 minute scoreless streak on a Baudoin jumper...but Moore scored off a Sam Fuehring assist with 22 seconds left in the second and it was 51-34 UofL at the halftime buzzer. 

The Cards would steadily increase that lead throughout the third quarter...a Durr three made it 62-43 Louisville halfway through the half and Moore cashed in on a trifecta to increase the lead to 71-45 at the 1:44 mark. Fuehring's layup with 56 seconds left in the quarter set the tally at 73-49...Louisville got 14 of their 22 points in the third in the paint and Hines-Allen already had her 25 and was done for the evening. 

GUESS WHO? A-TAYY and TIA!  (Photo by Charlie
Springer- UofL Card Game) 

The final quarter provided a heavy dose of Brianna Jones, Weatherford, Fuehring, Erin DeGrate and Taja Cole. Louisville held the Sugar Bears to 22.2% shooting (4-18) in the final ten minutes and DeGrate had half of the Cards 14 points as the Cards continued to out-play UCA. Two DeGrate free throws gave Louisville a 87-57 lead, their largest of the night, but a late Central Arkansas three set the final score at 87-60.  Cards win! Cards win! 

Game time against DePaul Sunday will be 2:30 p.m. GET YOUR TICKETS! It will also be shown on ESPN 2. 

HOW DID FRED DO? 

Free Throws. The Cards sank 16 of their 21 charity attempts for a 76.2% and that's good enough to award a capital F. Moore gets an extra high five for her 7-8 foul line performance and DeGrate went an impressive 3-4. 

Rebounding. Louisville won the rebounding battle 41-38 but was outrebounded 10-7 in the first quarter by UCA. No Cards hit double figures in the grabs department...but only Sam Fuehring played more than 23 minutes...so that's not real surprising. We'll allow a lower case "r". Louisville had a decided height advantage...even with the second squad in.

The Blue Demon enjoyed the first game...

Easy shots. With an overwhelming 50-18 points-in-the-paint advantage and 54.8% shooting, Louisville did quite OK in the interior. Only Cortnee Walton seemed to be struggling with her shot and that's understandable with a broken pinky. UofL made 9 of 11 layups in the first half and 10 of 12 in the final twenty minutes. We'll bestow the capital E with no reservations. 

Defense. Although the Cards seemed sluggish and not very effective early in guarding the Sugar Bears, the spark of Dakota Weatherford in her seven first half minutes was worth the price of admission alone. Central Arkansas ended up shooting 32.9% for the game after the hot start...so we can let a lower case "d" slide by here...mostly because of the attack Yorkie wearing #15. 

WHAT WE LIKED

Mrs Sugar Bear is a cutie! 

Hines-Allen throws another hammer...she's like a fine wine...continuing to improve with age. 12-17 shooting and a team leading seven rebounds. Several of her first-half moves were in the "did you see that?" category and she showed why she was the ACC Player of the Year once again today. 

Defensive Dakota...the spark and enthusiasm that the diminutive destroyer shows on the court transfers rapidly to the fan base..she got the Cards and the supporters going and had three of Louisville's seven steals. Weatherford's defense turns opponents' skies cloudy.

Getting Moore...It was a relief to see the sophomore bounce back from her less-than-desirable ACC Tournament. She realizes there is a lot more to the game of basketball than just successful shooting and yesterday afternoon she displayed the things quite successfully that don't make the stat sheets. 

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Gotta depart from the slow start. A similar beginning against DePaul like UofL displayed today versus UCA will have the Cards watching the rest of the tournament on television instead of going to Dallas. 

See the three. Although Louisville held the Sugar Bears to 35% shooting beyond the arc...the opponent was getting a lot of open looks. That could increase dramatically against DePaul...who spreads you out and has razor-sharp passing skills. The Blue Demons also went 11-21 from three-point range...and a similar performance Sunday could sink the Cards.

You can't really complain too much about a 28-point win to start your tournament run, I guess...but the road gets much tougher Sunday. Louisville will need to play a 40 minute game and contend with a Blue Demon squad that goes to the boards very well and has no difficulty scoring. 

Survive and advance. The Cards eventually connected Friday against a gutsy but less talented opponent. They'll face a much stiffer test Sunday against a much more disciplined and excellently coached DePaul team...who had little trouble knocking off JMU 97-67 in the first game Friday. 

A special thanks to Charlie Springer for the great photography work today!  

__________________________________________________

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We've got a great radio show planned for today...filling the net with lots of basketball and we'll toss in a little swimming, softball and lacrosse for good measure. Recorded some very good audio from Selection Monday and Friday Hoops as well...so you don't want to miss our broadcast on WCHQ 100.9 FM and on the internet at crescenthillradio.com at 11 a.m. this morning! 

March Madness, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

___________________________________________________

PICK 'EM UPDATE

After 16 games, we have two people that went a perfect 16-0 in their picks. Congratulations to The Real Joe Hill and The Deb Factor for their excellence. Several contestants recorded 14-2 success and there is a log jam of folks at 13-3. 

Good luck to all today and remember it ain't over till it's over! 

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- Up first...the Sugar Bears...Lacrosse grounds the Griffins. THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY !!!!

SUGAR BEARS SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE SURPRISE

Somehow, they got there.

A seventh-place pre-season pick in the Southland Conference didn't phase them. A 17-15 record from 2014-15 was in the rear view mirror. Upset minded Sam Houston State in the conference tournament finals couldn't bring them down. The Sugar Bears, the 14th seed in the Dallas region, are dancing. The opponent? The powerhouse Louisville Cardinals in the KFC YUM! Center on Friday around 2:30 p.m.

These Bears went 28-3 for the regular season and tournament. They are on a nine-game win streak and complied a 16-2 conference record. A review of their schedule reveals only one embarrassing loss...a 102-47 thrashing from Tennessee in their second game of the season in Knoxville. 

Players to watch for? Guard Maggie Proffitt, a 5'7" junior guard leads the Sugar Bears in scoring with 14.3 ppg. Central Arkansas is a guard-oriented squad...Brianna Mullins, a 5'6" junior guard adds 10.5 ppg and has distributed 110 assists. Add 5'6" senior guard Jameka Watkins to the mix, with her 118 assists...and the Sugar Bears have their own version of Attack Yorkies.

CAU may be height-challenged, with their tallest starter... Raquel Logan checking in a 6'1"...but they did out-rebound their opponents by an average of eight rebounds per game. Defense does it for Sandra Rushing's squad...they limit opponents to 51.8 ppg...while averaging 65.3 a game. They also pass the eye-test with 73% marksmanship from the charity stripe. 

For Louisville, the four fundamentals will need to be employed for a win. Solid defense, aggressive rebounding, taking good shots and finding Myisha Hines-Allen are the keys to a Louisville victory. 

The Cards have won 24 of their last 27 games and feature Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and All-American candidate Hines-Allen, who averaged 17.5 ppg and 8.4 rebounds a game. Louisville could use a resurgence from Mariya Moore from the deep and a strong rebounding performance from Cortnee Walton. Asia Durr off the bench has been spectacular lately for UofL and the spark and hustle of Briahanna Jackson will be keys if the Cards are to advance to Sunday.

The teams have no common opponent for comparisons...checking the RPI's reveals UofL at #14 and Central Arkansas at #90. It's hard to imagine Louisville not winning this by 20+ but it is Tournament Time and no opponent can be overlooked. 


Get your tickets if you haven't already. E-mail Jeff Walz for a note to your employer if there are work conflicts. It should be a fun Friday afternoon...the DePaul v James Madison game should be an entertaining opening game that will feature two teams that can get it up and down the court with alacrity. Looking for an early round possible upset-special? JMU, a #11 seed,  has won their last 20 games in a row...DePaul was on a nine-game win streak before being eliminated from the BIG EAST Tournament by St. John's in the quarterfinals. 

See you tomorrow at the YUM! 

__________________________________________________ 

RAPID START LEADS LACROSSE TO 15-7 WIN

Louisville Lacrosse scored three goals in the first three minutes and ran off the first six scores against Canisius in Buffalo, NY Wednesday afternoon to improve to 7-1 on the season. The #6 in the nation Cards also found a new scoring threat in sophomore Madison Hoover...who netted three of Louisville's first five goals. 

The Cards held the Golden Griffiths scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the contest and took a commanding 12-3 lead into halftime. 

Canisius showed heart and moxie by not rolling over for the Cards...actually outscoring UofL 4-3 in the final thirty minutes. By then, head coach Kellie Young had begun substituting liberally, the outcome successfully secured. 

Kaylin Morissette continued her domination on the draw...winning 16 of the 24 face-offs...which is a season-high for her and three Cardinals had three goals or more each...Julia Wood getting a career high 4 scores and Kelli Gerding joining Hoover with a hat trick. 

Brittany Read had eight saves in goalkeep...the Cards had a 36-23 shot advantage. 

The LAXCards return home for a 1 p.m. Sunday match-up against Coastal Carolina. Whether it's a North or South Carolina coast...we're not exactly sure...but were pretty sure it's on the Atlantic Ocean.

_________________________________________________

CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB PICK'EM

It's not too late to get in the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB TOURNAMENT PICK 'EM! We've had a great response so far...on the line is a $25 Gift Card to either Cracker Barrrel or Panera.

And, it's free! 

Peyton working on his pick...EWWWW!

Either leave your picks in the comments section or e-mail them to Sonja at cardinalcouple@twc.com

You can check the comments section for some of your competitors picks and here's a link to download a blank bracket...

LINK: http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/women_2016_final_w_records.pdf



Entries in by Friday noon, please. 

paulie
xxxxx

Louiville women's basketball gets 3rd seed...will face Central Arkansas in Dallas Region at KFC YUM! Center -- Tuesday CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FACE 28-3 #14 SEED CENTRAL ARKANSAS FRIDAY 2:30 P.M. IN FIRST ROUND

An overflowing crowd, minus Jeff Walz...at home nursing a 101 temperature and flu...packed The Sports and Social Club at 4th Street Live Monday to watch the Selection Monday NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Special.

For Louisville, a bit of good and bad...getting a #3 seed and opening in the KFC YUM! Center Friday at 2:30 p.m. but drawing the red-hot Southland Conference regular and tournament champion Central Arkansas Sugar Bears...who went 28-3 on the season and are owners of a nine-game win streak. 

Only Tennessee, Abilene Christian and Northwestern State hung losses on Sandra Rushing's squad...who were a preseason seventh place pick in the Southland but found a way to get it done all season long. 

The Cards will not get the chance to play in Lexington if they can get past the Sugar Bears and either #6 DePaul or #11 James Madison...UofL was placed in the Dallas Region where Baylor got the #1 seed and #2 went to Oregon State. 

Asia Durr was impressed with the evening and the activities:

"It's exciting and I'm hyped up already. I'm just ready for the game on Friday. I'm just taking it all in. It's my first time ever but I'm just ready to play...but we just have to take it one game at a time. Going to Lexington would have been great because we would have had a lot of our fans there but I'm just excited to be here." 

The Cards did avoid a couple of arrows by landing in the Dallas Region...Notre Dame ended up as the #1 seed in Lexington and #2 Maryland got the #2 slot. Oregon State is the #2 seed in Dallas and could await the Cards if they can win the first and second round contests.

Kentucky got handed a gift when they were presented with the chance...as a #4 seed ...to play four games in a row in Lexington. 

Surprisingly, only five ACC teams received bids...Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida State (#6), Miami (#5) and Syracuse (#4). Both NC State and Duke were not selected for the NCAA Tournament...meanwhile, the SEC got nine teams into the dance. 

UConn was the overall #1 seed and will play in Bridgeport, CT. South Carolina got the #1 seed in the Sioux Falls Region. 

We'll have more on the breakdown of Central Arkansas and some key match-ups as we get closer to Friday action. We have a download available for you on the women's bracket below:

NCAA Women's Bracket Link: http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/women_2016_final_w_records.pdf

** Be sure to enter the CARDINAL COUPLE PICK EM by submitting your entries in the comments section (see Sonja's today) or by sending them to cardinalcouple@twc.com  A $25 gift card to Panera or Cracker Barrel to da winnah! **

paulie
xxxxx