LOUISVILLE WBB TRAVELS TO FACE DEPAUL TONIGHT -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS TO FACE BLUE DEMONS IN WINTRUST ARENA

(AD and Walz appear to be sharing a light
moment with Geno a few years back)

In the history and rivalries of Louisville WBB, there are certain teams who have fared pretty well against the Cards over the years. UConn certainly comes to mind, although the Cards have played the Huskies closer in the past few years -- winning two of the last three. You can probably toss NC State into that mix, the Wolfpack have taken the last three contest over the last two years -- on home, away and neutral venues. And, despite winning the last six against them, the Cards are behind in the series against UK 23-34.

One could add DePaul to the list of teams that have played Louisville close over the years. DePaul leads the all-time series 17-16, and the teams are 4-4 in their last eight meetings. Jeff Walz is 7-4 against the Blue Demons since he arrived at Louisville. 

The Cards are just 1-3 in Chicago, though, since Walz took over the Louisville WBB program.

(Stay away from that one, Jeff. She's from Illinois 
and I'm gonna get her) 

LAST TIME OUT

UofL did decimate DePaul 116-75 two years ago in the Jimmy V Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena, in Connecticut, the last time the squads played -- and six of the current Cardinals were on that team: Hailey Van Lith, Liz Dixon, Kasa Robinson, Merissah Russell, Norika Konno and Olivia Cochran. Louisville had been on the schedule to play UConn, but COVID had caused the Hukies to back out and DePaul agreed to step in. Louisville scored an all-time high in points in this one. 

Going back further,  some might remember DePaul knocking Louisville out of the NCAA Tournament, in the KFC YUM! Center, back in March, 2016  A surprise it was, at  72-71.

The two were both members of the Big East and Conference USA together and it's the first UofL trip to play DePaul in Chicago since 2013. 

So...what does this group of 2022-23 Blue Devils look like? They re 9-3 on the season and on  a five game win streak. They've defeated Pitt, like the Cards did, and knocked off another ACC school in Miami. They also own a win over Maryland  (who was #14 in the nation at the time). Texas administered a pretty good beat down of them, though, to start the season... 105-62. 

DePaul averages 80 points a game while allowing 67

Aneesha Morrow is the big gun for DePaul. The 6'1" sophomore forward out of Chicago, averages 26.3 points a game and 12 boards, She put up 45 in a win against Northwestern and 42 in an early season loss to Cleveland St. 

Darrione Rogers adds 19.3 a game...she's a 5-11" junior who also played her high school ball in Chicago. Rounding out the double figure producers is Kendall Holmes, a 5'11" junior guard from Plainfield, IL who is good for 10.2 a night. It would appear Dougie likes 'em homegrown...seven of his student-athletes are out of Illinois. 

So, how does Louisville gain a win in a town and against a foe that hasn't been too kind to them over the years? The Cards have a huge height advantage -- no one on DePaul's squad is over 6-1", so you think the Cards would want to and be able to control the boards. Often, one sees the smaller teams focus on "the run" and getting up and down the court quickly, so Louisville will need to get back quickly on defense and try to prevent the fast break, layups style of hoops. Hitting free throws could be key, too. The Cards are shooting a sparkling 77% from the stripe this season. 

Do the Cards have a defensive stopper for Morrow?  Normally, I'd say Kasa Robinson, but it appears she might be having lingering effects from the concussion suffered in the loss to MTSU. Since then, she's played sparingly (although she sank eight out of ten free throws against UK). 

The Cards have won four in a row since that embarrassing loss to Middle Tennessee and three of them have been on the road -- although I have to wonder if playing Bellarmine at Freedom Hall can really be considered a road trip...Louisville had more fans there and I doubt he Cards were on the bus very long, if at all, to get to the grand old structure. 

The Cards have been playing better team defense and going to the boards better, too.  Probably one of the things it'll come down to is controlling the pace. Walz might go "smaller" and not play Liz or Josie right off, to see how the Cards handle the fast pace of Blue Demon hoops. It's all speculation, though...we'll know for sure when it tips off. 

DePaul will be a good test for UofL and, after it, the Cards are off for a week on Christmas vacation. 

Here's a pop quiz for you... "Which state has sent the most student-athletes to this year's UofL WBB program"?

A) Kentucky B) Georgia C) Florida D) Tennessee

(answer below)

GUESS WHO ?

Jared will have the write up on this one against Dougie and DePaul...and normally you could expect several selfies in his column, but since this one is in Chicago, I doubt he drives up there after work to attend.  Check out his article, tomorrow.

The photo above is him and Louisville Volleyball student-athletes Ceci Rush and PK Kong, who were attending the men's basketball game vs. Lipscomb Tuesday night. (We won't go there, in terms of discussing that one...)

paulie

(answer to pop quiz question is "B" -- Georgia. Olivia Cochran and Morgan Jones. 

Top 20 matchup today in Cards WBB vs. DePaul -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS AND BLUE DEMONS SQUARE OFF IN JIMMY V CLASSIC

It's a matchup between two top-20 squads today in Uncasville, CT at the Mohegan Sun Arena when #5 Louisville takes on #20 DePaul. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and will reach a nationwide audience -- being shown on ESPN. 

We all know the great success Louisville has had to start their 2020-21 campaign. so let's concentrate on the Cards foe today as we get you ready for this one. The DePaul Blue Demons come in at 1-1. They fell to a very good Texas A&M squad 93-91 to begin their season and then romped Chicago State 128-66 after that. They set an all-time high for points scored in the Chicago State game, put six players in double figures and forced 19 first-half turnovers in the contest.

DePaul put up an eye-popping 40 first-quarter points against the Cougars and led 67-32 at the half. 50-83 from the floor gave the Blue Demons a 60.2% shooting percentage in the game and they also fared well from beyond the three-point line, making 19 of their 30 attempts. 

It was a reserve -- Kendall Holmes -- who led the way for Doug Bruno's squad with 23 point and she went 6-8 from three point range. Homes, a 5'11" freshman had to be a pleasant surprise for Bruno -- she played a scant three minutes against Texas A&M, missed her only shot and had two turnovers and two fouls. How effective she'll be against the Cards defense remains to be seen. 

I'll look at a few others as threats to the Cards and I'll start with Sonya Morris. This 5'10" junior guard has had outing of 22 and 21 points and has shot 54% from the floor. She's made six threes in two games  -- Bruno's squad is in love with the three and has hoisted 63 of then in their two games -- hitting 28 for a 44% percentage. Last year Morris was named the Big East Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and she's on this year's Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List

Dee Bekalja and Lexi Held are a couple of 5'10" guards who also have been filling up the bucket early for the Blue Demons. Held (19.0 ppg) has been named to the 2020-21 Naismith Trophy Watch List. Bekalja has logged the most minutes on the court for DePaul and averages 19.0 points an outing. 

                                (Will the Blue Demons "go to Church"?) 

Deja Church transferred to the Blue Demons after two years at Michigan and averages 17 points a game. She played in 30 games last year for Bruno and the 5'11" senior was third last year in the Big East in free throw shooting percentage. Freshman Darriane Rogers bears some watching as well, she comes in with very respectable credentials, including honorable mention her senior year to the Naismith Trophy All-American Watch List. 

So, will this be a run-and-gun-, up-and-down the court shoot-out that many are predicting? A lot of our readers are predicting both teams score in the eighties for this one and the pressure is going to be on Walz's squad to control the tempo and pace of the game and try to keep DePaul's guards at bay. 

On the other hand, Louisville is just about any opposing coach's worst nightmare and the Cards can come at you in waves. Evans, VanLith, Cochran, Smith, Russell, Parker, Konno, Balogun and Dixon and on-and on -- the roster has an all-star feel and makeup to it and the Cards have quieted both their opponents, allowing just 60 points-per-game average and allowing just a 30% success rate from the floor. A hustling, multi-faceted defense has 24 steals and 17 blocked shots. 

I expect the Cards to create an enormous amount of defensive pressure on the Blue Demons and that'll develop, hopefully, into something Louisville has excelled at this season -- points-off-turnovers. DePaul hasn't encountered Louisville's length yet this season and if Evans and crew are able to go at full-tilt and speed, it could be an early evening for the Blue Demons. 

It should be a fun one. If you tired of Rebecca Lobo's call of the game and her sometimes obvious attempt to build up a Louisville foe and dress down the Cards -- go to Nick Curran and AJ on 790 Cards Radio WKRD. What else would you expect of an ex-UConn Huskies player, right? 

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

If you were wondering who the six multiple Wooden WBB Award winners were that we asked you to try and recall earlier this week...here you go: 

2019 and 2020 -- Sabrina Ionescu

2015 and 2016 -- Breanna Stewart

2012 and 2013 -- Brittney Griner

2009 and 2011 -- Maya Moore

2007 and 2008 -- Candace Parker

2005 and 2006 -- Seimone Augustus

And, we've had nine entries in the "pick the Louisville vs. DePaul score "contest. It's not too late to play, just enter you pick in the comments section. I finally got Sonya's pick -- she says Cards 71 - DePaul 61. 

Have a fortunate Friday. Stay safe, wash, mask and sanitize and be sure to join us for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast tomorrow at 11 a.m. 

paulie

 

ACC Freshman of the Week -- Schedule Change -- Eyes of the Media -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Hailey Van Lith Named ACC Freshman of the Week

Freshman sensation Hailey Van Lith was named ACC Freshman of the Week for the first week of basketball. Van Lith is coming off back-to-back solid performances in her first two games as a Cardinal.  She averaged 16.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game.  She also shot 52% from the floor while going 6-for-12 from three-point range.

In the win against EKU, Van Lith posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

HVL is the first Louisville player since February 2016 to win ACC Freshman of the Week.  Asia Durr took the honors back then.

I suspect we will see plenty more honors this season for Van Lith.

UofL WBB Changes Schedule

What a surprise... another schedule change.  This time, it's a good one.  Instead of another team dropping from the schedule we see the addition of another.

DePaul will play the Cards on Dec. 4 in the Mohegan Sun Arena at 6:30 p.m.  The Blue Demons replace UConn on the schedule. DePaul holds the all-time record between the two former Big East foes, 17-15.  They also won the most recent match-up in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

The Blue Demons are 1-1 to begin the 2020-21 season. They brought in a strong Texas A&M squad Saturday and fell 93-91. Texas A&M has former Cardinal Ciera Johnson on their roster. She had eight points and 12 boards for the Aggies in their win. 

Last night, DePaul hosted Chicago State. We tease occasionall about the "fake state" schools but last night's game was no laughing matter, they fell 128-66 to Doug Bruno's bunch. It was a all-time high in points scored for the Blue Demons. 

A Home Game in the Eyes of the Media

Paulie and I drop little hints of what it's like being media at women's basketball games on occasion.  However, we never really gave a full breakdown of what goes on.

So grab some popcorn, sit back, relax, and prepare to be jealous of our luxurious lifestyle.

THE WAY IT WAS

Most of us usually arrive about 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Parking for media is in the Witherspoon parking garage east of the stadium.  The walk typically isn't bad unless the weather is extremely cold.

Paulie got granted permission to park under the KFC YUM! Center this year. Age comes with some benefits, I suppose. Sonja is usually with him, she seems to be more popular than him with the KFC YUM! personnel and UofL staffers. 

We enter on the east side of the stadium (the Media Entrance)  below the Second Street Bridge.  Like everyone else, we go through metal detectors and bag checks.  We have more leeway with our bags because we carry equipment such as computers, tablets, and cameras If we do not already have a season credential with us we are able to pick up game passes just past security.

There is a spacious media area filled with tables, chairs, and counters.  It's easy to spread out to put our equipment down.  There is a buffet with freshly cooked food for us to enjoy and drinks galore. That buffet isn't present this year, though, due to gathering concerns. Paulie and I both head out to the floor somewhere between 30-45 minutes before tipoff.  We like to make our rounds to talk to people.  Being a social butterfly has its perks, but you also have to account for the time it may take to get there.

Floor seats are nice in terms of seeing things up close and hearing what goes on on the court.  However, it's impossible to see everything going on on the court at any given moment. Halftime is a chance for us to go back to the media room to grab cookies and more drinks and stretch our legs. I should point out that it's soft drinks or water. Media isn't allowed alcoholic beverages at their game day stations.

At the end of the game we make our way to the room where press conferences are held.  In normal times, there's a few rows of seats with all the news crews set up in the back with their video cameras.  On any given night we may see from a half dozen people up to 30 (for big games) fill the room where the coaches and select players make their way out to answer questions. Paulie will sometimes stop to talk to a player or two on his way back to the media room. He and Jess Laemmle used bumped firsts and he and Dana have been known to exchange a few comments as she heads to her corner to sign autographs. 

Paulie usually heads home after the press conferences while I stick around trying to upload videos and edit photos, which usually extends late into the night or next day.

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

This season is way different.

I show up 50-60 minutes before tipoff.  From the moment I enter the building to the moment I exit a mask is required. Security remains the same, but the media room is vastly different.  There's fewer tables and chairs are spread out.  There are very few of us inside the media room this year.

Unlike past years, there is no buffet and drinks are limited to when a staff member is there pouring them for us. We are restricted where we can walk to and all non-photographers have to sit in the upper level overflow media.  This season, Paulie and Sonya are part of a very limited media crew that now sits in the overflow media seating....high up in Sec. 119. 

I am still on the floor where I normally sit, just mostly by myself.  Taris Smith is one of the GoCards photographers who will be at the games this year.  Opposing teams may bring a photographer.  Otherwise, I am the only other one out there.

It is going to be a weird season, but what's new? Welcome to 2020.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball slugs by NC St...Lacrosse today!...Upset Friday in NCAA WBB -- Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL SWEEPS THE PACK 10-1, 12-9

Louisville Softball produced 24 hits and 22 runs in a slugfest at Ulmer Stadium Friday afternoon...sweeping the NC State Wolfpack 10-1 and 12-9 in ACC Softball action. With the wins, the Hit and Pitch Cards improve to 21-9 on the season and 7-1 in ACC play. 

Duck and cover for the reviews! 

CARDS 10 - NC STATE 1

Louisville attacked the Pack early in the first game, scoring a run in the first inning when a Lillie Goetz ground-out brought home Sidney Melton. It was 2-0 after two...Jordam McNary tripled with two outs to right field...scoring Brittany Sims.

Louisville added four more in the fourth...Goetz's two RBI double the big blow in the frame as the Cards pushed the advantage to 6-1. More strong hitting in the fifth ended it...Ashley Nikolao scoring on a McNary sacrifice bunt and Megan Hensley driving in three with her squad-best seventh home run with McNary and Nicole Pufahl aboard. 

Maryssa Becker picked up her tenth win of the year...going the five innings with six strikeouts and allowing just three hits. 

LOUISVILLE 12 - NC STATE 9

NC State started the scoring in the nightcap by plating two runs off starter Hensley. The Cards evened it up in the bottom of the first on a Hensley RBI ground-out and a Jenna Jordan run-scoring single. 

A two-run blast by NC State's Brittany Nimmo swung the advantage back to the Wolfpack but UofL exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second...Becker driving in McNary with a single and Melton scoring on a NC State error. A walk to Sims with the bases loaded got Becker home and a Pufahl single pushed two more. Melton's single capped the scoring and the Cards had a 7-2 lead. 

NC State would touch Hensley for two runs in the third and after the Cards produced two runs to take a 9-6 lead...the Wolfpack countered with three runs to tie it 9-9 in the top of the fifth. 

Louisville found the bats again in the bottom of the fifth...after walks to Hensley and Becker, singles from Jordan and Sims resulted in two runs scored to give the Cards a 11-9 lead. Becker took to the circle in the sixth and shut down NC State the rest of the way...UofL added an insurance run in the sixth when Melton got her fourth hit of the game, stole second to keep her perfect streak of 11 stolen bases alive and scored on a Hensley single. 

The Cards have won nine in a row now and face the Wolfpack today at noon to complete the series. 

__________________________________________________

LACROSSE FACES VA. TECH TODAY

The 10-1 Louisville Lacrosse squad, ranked #6 nationally, returns to ACC play today when they face Va.Tech for a 1 p.m. start in the LLS. The Cards are 2-1 in ACC play and have won their last three contests...all out of conference.

The Hokies come to town with a 5-7 record and 0-2 in ACC play. They are currently on a five-game losing streak. 

Hannah Koloski registered five goals in Louisville's last outing...a 11-7 triumph at Cincinnati. Cortnee Daley leads Louisville in scoring with 31 net-finders, Koloski is next with 30 and Kaylin Morissette has connected 26 times. 

Both Softball and Lacrosse have Easter Egg hunts planned for pre-game festivities...so pack up the kiddies and attend one of these two events on the Belknap Campus today. 

__________________________________________________


A WILD FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE NCAA...

March Madness lived up to its billing last night with four upsets in Sweet Sixteen play.

In Lexington, it was bye-bye Kitties...who suffered a 85-72 shellacking by #7 seed Washington. Rupp Arena might well be vacant Sunday...Stanford took out #1 seed Notre Dame in the second game 90-84.

Things were just as crazy in Sioux Falls last night. #4 seed Syracuse sent #1 seed South Carolina home with an exciting 80-72 win.

Say it with me:   Q !!!!!

The Tennessee Vols, another #7 seed, dispatched of #3 Ohio State 78-62 in the other Sioux Falls surprise. 

How's your bracket picks look now? 

Four more games tonight to get us to an Elite Eight. UConn and Mississippi State do battle in Bridgeport for the right to face the winner of the Texas v. UCLA contest. Down in Dallas, Doug Bruno will try to keep the DePaul magic conjecturing and the upset train rolling when his #6 seed Blue Demons tangle with #2 seed Oregon State. 

Will we see another night of surprises? Come March, you just never know...

_________________________________________________


NO RADIO FOR YOU

The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR takes a week off today...being pre-empted by the Crescent Hill Easter Parade on Frankfort Avenue live broadcast on WCHQ 100.9 and streaming live on the internet at crescenthillradio.com

It's a fun event, Tara Bassett will be the gal-on-the-street providing commentary and descriptions. Give it a listen.

We've debated dressing Worldwide up as Ralphie in the  Christmas Story with the pink bunny outfit and shoes...but we're pretty sure he'd decline the assignment. Paulie's idea to dress as a chocolate bar and carry a sign reading "Eat Me" was disallowed by parade officials. Emphatically.

We'll see you next week on the radio.

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball ends season with 73-72 loss to DePaul -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FALL SHORT AGAINST BLUE DEMONS

It's always hard to write about the last game of the year...unless it is about a championship. The Louisville women's basketball team isn't anywhere near ready to be considered for that description but could be the hard-luck title contenders of the year with a heart-breaking, frustrating loss to DePaul Sunday afternoon. 

Louisville gets a layup with a degree difficulty factor of 10+ from Briahanna Jackson with 15 seconds left in the game to tie it at 72-72. After a DePaul time out, Jackson is called for a foul trying to intercept the in-bounds pass. Both players were in pursuit. There probably was argument for either a no-all or whistle on DePaul's Jessica January. The Cards get the whistle. I went back and looked at this decision quite a few times. I still disagree with the foul call on Jackson.

Fast forward 13 seconds. The Cards are working toward getting the game winning basket on what would be their final possession.
Myisha Hines-Allen is maneuvering through a group of DePaul players in the lane but never gets the shot up. Bodies crashing, arms flailing...the call goes against Hines-Allen for a charge. After looking at more than several replays of that sequence, I'm still not convinced she did. 

Two 50/50 calls at the end of a game that was full of questionable whistles go against Louisville. 

And that ends your season.

A special thanks to my crack team of bodyguards that kept
me safe from harm during the season. 

Credit DePaul for shutting down Hines-Allen in the final twenty minutes. Credit the Cards for finally picking up the defense in the last quarter and erasing a nine-point Blue Demon lead. Briahanna Jackson and Asia Durr deserve credit for leading that ill-fated last quarter charge. Credit DePaul's Jessica January for slicing, dicing and cutting through the Cards porous defense like a Veg-o-Matic and putting up 25 points, grabbing eight defensive rebounds and hitting one of two free throws for the win.

Credit Doug Bruno for employing an offense that is extremely difficult to guard and getting his squad settled down and focused after falling behind 7-0 in the first two minutes. Credit Jeff Walz for finding a way to get the Cards to having a chance to win it at the end. Give extra credit to the 7515 that showed up today and the fans that supported the Louisville and DePaul teams throughout the season. 

But give no credit to the officials who called this one today. It was a pitiful, sub-par job of refereeing. How a crew this bad can be selected for a game of this importance is baffling. 

The Cards need to give this loss a long, hard and critical review and consideration. It can hopefully serve as a motivation to become better in the areas that led to today's loss. I would expect the opportunity to grow for the future out of defeat scenario would be a good strategy and main job focus over the next six months. 

Each of us have our own ideas on where the Louisville women's basketball team needs to improve. The opinions that really count the most, though, are the coaches and the players who will do the work to enact them. 

This one is going to take a while for me to get over. 

And it should for the women that will make up next year's team, too...

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- The road to Indy gets steeper today....SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS VS. DEPAUL IN NCAA WBB ROUND II

In a second round contest that will match two teams who showed no difficulties in putting up points on Friday...defense may be the biggest key to victory today in the KFC YUM! CENTER. Louisville will face the DePaul Blue Demons at 2:30 in NCAA Tournament Second Round action for the chance to go to the Dallas Regional for Saturday, March 26th action. 

The Cards will need to figure out a way to stop the potent attack of Megan Podkowa, Jacqui Grant, Chanise Jenkins, Jessica January, Brooke Schulte, Ashton Millender and Mart'e Grays. Six of the seven scored in double figures against James Madison Friday and shot a sizzling 53.6% while defeating the Dukes by 30. Jenkins leads the Bue Demons n scoring with 14.7 a game and is one of three DePaul players who have over 100 assists on the season

DePaul passes the ball very well and creates wide open or easy looks with a very skilled and operative half court game. They also had 40 points in the paint against JMU and were 11 for 21 from three point range. 

Louisville will need to keep Myisha Hines-Allen on her hot streak...the ACC Player of the Year and Wade Watch candidate poured in 25 points in just 23 minutes against Central Arkansas Friday...Louisville dominated inside with a 50-18 scoring advantage and shot 54.8% against the Sugar Bears. 

Jeff Walz stressed it and Doug Bruno backed it up in their post game remarks. Defense will be the deciding factor today and, additionally, Louisville will need to overcome the slow start that they had against ACU...where they trailed after the first quarter and needed a 19-2 run to end the half to gain dominance. 

This looks like another of the classic Walz v. Bruno matchups that were exciting chess matches back in the days of the Big East. The Cards and Blue Demons last tangled back on Feb. 17th., 2013 in the KFC YUM! when the Cards helped Paulie celebrate birthday week with a 81-55 win. 

I don't think we'll see anything nearly that lop-sided today. DePaul got under-ranked in the selection process...a team I figured would get a #4 seed and certainly no worse than a #5...and they played well enough Friday to be worthy of such a seeding. Yet, here they are in Louisville...a hot #6 seed who stands in the Cards' way of going to face the winner of the St. Bonaventure vs Oregon State game today in Corvallis, OR. 

We'll be back later today with the recap. We urge you to try and get to the YUM! If not, ESPN 2 will have the feed. 

__________________________________________________

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Our rebroadcast from the Saturday Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is now available at the Crescent Hill Radio website.

Here a direct link. LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20160319


It was a fast and fun show where we discussed hoops, softball, swimming, lacrosse and a French chicken. We also had great soundbytes from Mariya Moore, Jeff Walz, Myisha Hines-Allen, Sam Purcell, Howie Lindsey, Asia Durr, Dakota Weatherford, Paige Sherrard and Cardinal fans. 

It might be the best broadcast in the history of the world! OK...maybe it's not that good but give a listen and you'll see why 4 out of 5 people with headsets would probably listen to The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on WCHQ 100.9 FM than opera.  

_________________________________________________


PICK 'EM UPDATE

We have 32 games played and no one is undefeated. The Deb Factor leads the way with a 29-3 record (Seton Hall, Georgia and Miami didn't come through for her) and she is closely followed by Vivian and The Real Joe Hill at 28-4. We also have one contestant at 27-7 and four at 26-6. 

32 down, 31 to go. 38 contestants and 36 of them liked Miami...(me, too)...who was the major upset loss along with Florida in first round action. St. Bonnie advancing out of the #10 seed also stumped more than half of you. Just in case you are interested...Coin Flip is 18-14 and is tied for last with Arthur....who saw great things ahead for the Florida Gators. 

Good luck today!  


paulie
xxxxx 
  

Monday Cardinal Couple: Game Reports -- WBB strong second half downs DePaul....

.
MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


********GAME REPORTS*******

-Smith's 21 leads Louisville WBB in 81-55 win.

-Softball shuts out Stony Brook in final day at Jacksonville

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad broke open a close game at halftime by starting the second half on a 10-3 run in the first three minutes and cruised to a 26-point crushing of DePaul Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 10,906 fans.

Sara Hammond had 13 of her 17 points in the final 20 minutes and Bria Smith went 13-15 from the free throw line as Louisville improves to 21-5 and 9-3 in the BIG EAST.

Louisville got off to a hot start and led 10-2 after the first six minutes of the game. The Cards had pushed the advantage to 19-7 with 9:44 remaining on a Monique Reid free throw...Reid making her appearance to the court at the 10:30 mark to a roaring approval from the crowd. Smith had ten of Louisville's first 19 points and was making free-throws, to the delight of her coach and the crowd.

Louisville took their biggest first half lead at 23-9 after two more Smith free throws with 7:36 on the clock. DePaul, though, wasn't throwing in the towel and responded with a seven-minute 14-4 run that pulled them within four at 27-23 after two Megan Podkowa free throws. The Cards got a layup from Hammond with two seconds left in the half to take a 29-23 lead to the locker room.

Ref Al Titus always likes making cameos in my pics...

Smith had 14 points, six rebounds and was 8-9 from the charity stripe in her best twenty minutes of the season. Sherrone Vails was a perfect 3-3 from the field for six points and Hammond had four points and six rebounds in 12 minutes. Nita Slaughter and Shoni Schimmel contributed two each and Mo made a free throw. All but Shelby Harper played. The Cards were 0-9 from three-point range, shot 31.3% in the first half but had held DePaul to 6-32 shooting (18.8%) and was 1-14 from beyond the arc.

Walz called a specific play to get Shoni untracked at the start of the second half and she responded with a three only 13 seconds into the final stanza. The Cards pushed the nine-point lead to 46-31 after a Reid layup at the 15:45 mark...and the rout was on.

A Hammond layup made it 57-38 with 9:45 to go. Hammond canned a jumper to stretch the Louisville lead to 68-42 with 6:11 on the scoreboard and the Cards led by 30 after a Vails layup with 2:43 showing to push the score to 77-47. Vails and Cortnee Walton added layups the rest of the way and the Cards won going away 81-55.

Smith's 21 led all scorers. Hammond finished with 17 and 13 boards for a double-double. Vails also reached double digits in scoring with ten points. It was good to see Mo back in action...finishing with eight points. She left the game at the 12:37 mark after hitting a layup and noticeably limping...but she was fine, according to Coach Walz in the post-game presser. Slaughter added nine points, Shoni eight and Walton four. Harper and Jude had two each. Megan Deines played six minutes but did not score.

Louisville finished 29-67 (43.3%) but was 1-17 from trifecta-land. They out-rebounded the Blue Demons 50-45 and won the points-in-the-paint battle convincingly 50-10. They forced 13 DePaul turnovers and had seven steals.

DePaul was led by freshman guard Chanise Jenkins' 16 and Megan Podkowa, another freshman added 14. Senior standout Katherine Harry had eight points, all in the first half and 13 boards. Doug Bruno was without the services of leading scorer Anna Martin (knee).

WHAT WE LIKED

1) Free throws! Cards were 22-28 for 78.6%. Bria's 13-15 was impressive (we like this Bria Smith). Only Reid had less than stellar line appearance with 3-5.

2) Points in the paint. 50-10. We thought it was a mis-print at first...but the Cards were getting Smith and Hammond plenty of great looks inside and Mo was connecting, also, before she left.

3) Assists to turnovers. The Cards dished out 18 assists (Shoni seven) and made only 9 turnovers. Coach Walz is happy when the assists out-number the turnovers. We like Coach Walz happy...

4) Doug Bruno. Despite losing by 26, Coach came to the post game presser and gave excellent answers to numerous questions for over 17 minutes.

(Cliff notes here....He misses Anna Martin daily and isn't sure when she'll be back. It's day-to-day with the knee. He thinks Bria Smith and Mo are great, he's thankful to have been a part of the BIG EAST for eight years and trusts in the university leaders and administration to chart a successful course for DePaul Athletics in the future. He loves the YUM! Center. He thinks the BIG EAST is the best conference in women's basketball and he wondered if anyone saw THE WHO Saturday Night in the KFC YUM! Center.)

Great guy, that Doug is...funny at times but also very passionate about his team, his profession and women's basketball. One of the good guys in WBB.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVING

1) Threes. Shoni was 1-7. Four other players combined for 0-10. Neither team was impressive from deep...DePaul was 4-29. It wasn't all attributable to defense, either. Maybe THE WHO'S appearance in the YUM! Saturday night messed up the atmosphere or air patterns in the arena...

2) Second chance points. Louisville lost this category 16 to 11. Louisville could use a Katherine Harry inside. The Cards do go up strong with follow-up shots, but they aren't very accurate most of the time. Trailing DePaul guards were getting easy put-backs.

3) First-half lag. Louisville led by 14 in the first half with 7:36 to go. They were lucky to lead by six at the half. Not a factor in the whole scheme of things today...Louisville won big...but something to work on.

SUMMATION


The Cards took care of business at home and in a large way. A big difference from this one and the six-point loss in Chi-Town in January. Getting Mo back seemed to boost the crowd and the team's spirit. Seeing Bria have a big game against a quality opponent is refreshing.

I was surprised they handled DePaul the way they did in the second half. Bruno misses the fire in Anna Martin immensely. As a fan mentioned to me before the game...it's good to see ten players out there again for UofL. Especially Mo. She's been through it lately and she was back to having a good time today.

Cards hosts USF Wednesday night. 7 p.m tip.

Coach Walz post-game comments below. You can find Bria Smith, Sara Hammond and Doug Bruno's abbreviated post-game remarks at courier-journal.com 


POST GAME WALZ



<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


The University of Louisville softball team shut out Stony Brook 5-0 to improve to 8-2 Sunday in the Jacksonville University Softball Tournament. A big day for senior Jordy Trimble, going 2 for 3 with three runs. Rachel LeCoq drew the starting assignment and picks up her second shutout of the season.

The Cards plated their first run in the second inning when Trimble, who attended Louisville Manual High School, got to first safely on a Stony Brook error and scored when Hannah Kiyohara (Sonja's favorite player) singled her home.

Louisville tacked on two runs in the fourth. Trimble and Kayla Soles started the inning with singles and Kiyohara drew a base on balls to load the bags with Cardinals. A walk to Jennifer Esteban plated Trimble and, with two outs, Kiyohara scored on a Stony Brook wild pitch.

UofL made it 5-0 in the fifth...Trimble smashing a double to left-center and Soles delivering her first home run of the season. Soles had a big game as well for Sandy Pearsall...2 for 3 with RBI's and a run scored.

Le Coq allowed only five SeaWolf hits and did not walk anyone.

The Cards return home and face Kent State at 2:30 p.m. Friday.



-Paulie

--