Cards vs Oranges - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 Basketball Up North

(Q's last appearance against the Cards ) 

Picasso had a blue period, apparently the Cards have an orange period.  The Cards' orange period consists of games back to back to back against Miami (orange and green), Clemson (orange and purple) and Syracuse (orange and white).  It also will be the second UofL athletics event against Syracuse in as many days.  We'll pass on discussing yesterday's competition, however.

Today wraps up the Cardinals Women's Basketball's orange period in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.  A fun fact, the Carrier Dome, despite having been named for Carrier, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning manufacturer, has not had air conditioning in the facility at all until 2020.  Some areas had air conditioning installed that year, and a renovation this year is planned to add air conditioning to the whole facility.  Of course, in upstate New York, the need for air conditioning is limited, but I'm sure it will be a welcome addition to the facility.

(How many Otto the Orange sightings will we get today?) 

Syracuse is currently sub-.500 overall, and only 2-8 in conference.  A little bit of unusual scheduling for The Orange, with a couple of early conference games in the season.  They started off conference play on November 14th against Notre Dame, and then played Clemson on December 11th.

Syracuse does have one signature win on their record, a 97-91 victory over then 18/20 Ohio State.  Other ranked competition has been South Florida, who won 77-53, and the in-conference teams that are ranked, including the Cards in the previous meeting, of course.  All were losses, as you might suspect.

The Orange are led by Acting Head Coach Vonn Read taking over after last season's post-season allegations of inappropriate behavior by Quentin Hillsman, and the subsequent mass exodus of players.

(Vonn Read, like Jeff Walz, has four letters in
his first name and last name. They are the only
ACC WBB coaches with this distinction.)  

Read has settled into a main rotation of about six players having played in all or nearly all of the team's games this season.  Only one other player has played in more than half of the team's games, with other four playing in 10 or less games.  In the previous matchup at the Yum!, Read only put six Orange on the floor.

The Carr sisters, Christianna and Chrislyn, were the pair that did the biggest damage to the Cards last outing, scoring 19 and 17; though Teisha Hyman, the overall highest scorer on the team, wasn't far behind, with 16 of her own.  Otherwise, the stat sheet from that game is mostly unremarkable.  The biggest eye-grabbing number is the 66.67% shooting from three-ball range in the 3rd quarter. for SU.

Christianna Carr against Cards

The Carrs, along with Najé Murray, are the biggest 3-pt threats on the team, though Hyman will hoist a few as well.

Looking to the right side of the stat sheet, Syracuse wins the turnovers and steals columns vs their opponents.  Of course, all stat sheet data has to be taken with a grain of salt. (In the stat sheet, Syracuse outscores their opponents and yet they're 9-11 overall).

UofL needs to have a solid defensive game, prevent the Carr sisters from having big games like they did the first time around, hold Hyman to a reasonable total, and we should see another victory over another school of orange.

TV coverage is again on Bally Sports South, so again I hope the four people that will be able to watch this live enjoy it.  I plan on catching the radio call with Nick Curran and AJ, and then probably go back and watch the replay through ESPN's site.  The TV coverage does make this a slightly earlier start that normal, with the tip at noon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(Paulie crashes a photo of our former "mayor for life" 
Jerry Abramson and his lovely bride Madeline.}

The latest edition of the CCRHP is available on Youtube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr0tjH7pLXA

Four of us joined in the virtual studio, with Case still working on office renovations, Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself made the call.  Lot's of talk of basketball as is typical this time of year.  With three games to recap, we moved through them fairly quickly, but a good discussion, as always.

JMcA

Imani Lester -- Full Fall Capacity -- Quentin Hillsman -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 As we've seen in the summer months so far, some days are "no news" days and others end up being bulging at the seams with stories and things to write about. We had three pretty big stories "break" yesterday in the world of women's athletics, so... we'll catch you up on those in today's CARDINAL COUPLE. 

IMANI LESTER

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad landed a pretty big (literally and figuratively)  commitment yesterday morning when 6'3" Imani Lester said on Twitter that she was going to attend Louisville and be a part of the 2022 incoming class. .  

The 6'3" senior-to-be from Charlotte, NC is ranked as one of top prospects in the class and attend North Raleigh Christian Academy. She also plays "club" ball for the Carolina Flames. She was highly sought after by over a dozen schools, including ACC members UNC, Duke, Clemson, FSU, NC State and Wake Forest -- plus other major powers UConn, Mississippi St., Florida and East Carolina. 

She visited the Louisville campus last week and it sounds like she liked what she saw. Her announcement makes her the third student-athlete to verbal to the Cards for 2022, along with Alexia Mobley and Nyla Harris.

 

Imani plays primarily post but has played guard as well in her high school career, joining the varsity at North Raleigh in the seventh grade. 

" I thank my family and friends for their love and support in my journey. I thank all the coaches who recruited me and I truly appreciate the time and interest you invested in me over the past four years. I thank all the coaches I've gotten the chance to play for and Thank You for helping me grow into the person I am today, and your continuous support along the way. With that being said, I have committed to continue my athletic and academic career at the University of Louisville. L's Up Baby !" 

Her Dad and Coach, Avie Lester, played for Jim Valvano at N.C. State from 1986-89. 

Welcome to the Ville, Imani, from all off us at CARDINAL COUPLE.!!  

C'MON EVERYBODY !! 

The University of Louisville announced yesterday that all fall sports would be open for 100% capacity. 

Here's Vince Tyra's thoughts on the news: 

"It'll be incredible to see our teams competing in front of live, full, loud home crowds here in The Ville". 

And, we can't argue that.  This also includes WBB and Volleyball, who kind of border on the Fall/Winter/Spring season, but it's an announcement that will not only be great for the fans but for the players as well. Many student-athletes came to Louisville to experience the large, supportive, enthused crowds that Cardinal Athletic events draw. 

I've missed the roar and atmosphere of a packed KFC YUM! Center as well, so I'm excited as well. 

The announcement comes after California announced yesterday that they are re-instating the mask mandate for indoor events for everyone -- regardless of vaccine status -- because of the Delta variant of COVID. 

Let's hope that the move to fully re-open is still with us as we roll into fall athletics. It'll be good to see crowds again at Louisville Women's Soccer and Field Hockey events -- and these are both FREE events (no tickets needed) for Cardinal Fans. Hopefully, that'll continue (for attendance capacities) when athletics move indoors. I'm pretty sure this town would go ballistic if WBB and Volleyball ever became "free". 

"Q"...WHAT DID YOU DO ? 

We also got the news yesterday that Syracuse head women's basketball coach Quentin Hillsman has been accused of bullying and inappropriate behavior by former members of the team. This maybe helps explain why 11 student-athletes transfer from the 2020--21 squad and he has had 20 transfers over the last three years. 

"Q" told the media back in April that "We're fine" when he was asked about the high number of  student-athletes leaving.. 

No, "Q"...you are not fine. 

Quentin Hillsman's erratic and often inappropriate behavior -- which allegedly includes verbal abuse, bullying and unwanted touching and kissing has been mentioned in conversations with nine former players and almost 20 other sources. 

Telling players in the locker room that you "don't give a f&%$" about them -- and with-holding water after strenuous practices isn't exactly the way to win hearts and minds or bolster confidence and trust. 

Players have also mentioned that they experienced thoughts of self-harm or suicide while playing for Hillsman and several have gone for therapy due to their experience in the program. Some players indicate that they tried to alert the school and the Athletic Director several times about the problems Hillsman was causing but they were constantly ignored. 

This is saddening, infuriating and unacceptable -- if the allegations are true,

Syracuse has hired an outside firm to investigate the numerous claims .

"Based on the nature of these allegations, Syracuse University is engaging an outside firm to conduct an independent review and will take appropriate action based on its outcome." said Sarah Scalese, the University's senior associate vice president for communications. "While no formal complaints have been madde to date from member of the women's basketball program, we take these allegations very seriously. We ask any individuals who have knowledge of or have experienced this kind of conduct to come forward."  

Yes...we've had fun talking about "Q" crazy sideline antics, snappy dressing and his resemblance to CeeLo Green over the years here at CARDINAL COUPLE. This is an entirely new side of Hillsman that we never saw, did not know about and -- quite frankly -- is disgusting and tawdry side of the man and raises our indignation level . 

There will, no doubt, be much more to come in this saga of alleged abuse. I hope we have the stomach for it. Right now, it sounds like "the Q" is in need of some pretty significant psychological/psychiatric assistance and counseling and needs to be removed from his duties if the findings coincide with the allegations.  I hope he gets the help he appears to need, if these things are verified and true. 

This is a whole different side of the coach I've had some good conversations with over the years, and it saddens and disturbs me.  We wondered if we'd ever get the "real" story on why so many were leaving Syracuse WBB. Now, it looks like we may have it, but, it isn't something I want.  

paulie

#1 Louisville WBB crush the Orange 67-54 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

13-0, 6-0, #1

Is Beth indicating "They went that-a-way?" 

Well Cardnation, your #1 Cards WBB are officially NCAA tournament eligible and remain unbeaten on the season moving to 13-0, 6-0 in the ACC.  The Cards capped off a great night of womens' hoops when the #23 Syracuse came to town Thursday night, adding another tally to the win column with a 67-54 win over the Orange. 

After a slow start for the senior Dana Evans, she finished with 21 points on 9-20 shooting.  Hailey Van Lith had 18 points, shooting better than 50% from 3 to lead Louisville to victory.  

CARDS VS CUSE RECAP

Olivia Cochran got the offense going for Louisville, scoring the first 4 points from the field. The Orange didn't score their first points until the 6:45 mark.  They were able to take their first lead 6-4 with 5:43 left on the clock in the quarter.  UofL went on a 10-0 run after that to regain the 14-6 lead.  HVL and Olivia combined for 12 of the Cards 14 points to start the match.  The Cuse then went on a run for themselves and were able to tie it up 14 all.. All of Syracuse's 14 points were in the paint. 

End of 1Q    Cards lead 17-14
        FG %
        7-16 43.8% Cards
        7-21 33.3% Cuse 
        Reb.  11-11
        3-pt %
        3-8    38% Cards
        0-5    0% Cuse 

With the second quarter underway, the Cuse regained the lead 18-17 at the 7:35 mark.  The first 22 of Syracuse's points were in the paint.  The Orange were able to do a good job of containing Dana offensively to start this game.  She was 0-6 with 3 minutes left in the half. 

The Cards were 1-9 as a team in the first 6 minutes of the second quarter.  Once Dana was able to find the bottom of the net with 3 minutes left in the half, UofL was able to regain the lead off a 3 pointer by Elizabeth Balogun.  Syracuse responded with their first 3-pointer in the game and then HVL landed her third three of the game to make it 27-26.

Both squads managed 15 points in the second quarter. 24 of Syracuse's 29 first half points were in the paint.  Dana had 7 points 4 rebounds 4 assists at the break.  Only three free throws were attempt in the first half and they were by Syracuse. 

End of 2Q  Cards lead 32-29
        FG %
        10-17 59% Cards
        6-13 46% Cuse 
        Reb. 9-8 Cards  
        3-pt %
        4-7 57% Cards
        1-4 25% Cuse

Our ol' buddy "Q" - Quentin Hillsman dressed casual
  chic and briefly foregoing the "mask up" mandate

Both squads came out firing in the second half... the Cards going 5-6 to start and the visitors going 4-4 on their first attempts. Dana matched her first half scoring with seven more to give her 14 points on 6-16 shooting from the field, 2-7 from 3-point land.  The Cards forced six Syracuse turnovers in the 3Q, managing only two of their own in the third quarter after having six in the first half.  

End of 3Q  Cards lead 52-44
        FG %
        7-13 53.8% Cards
        6-10 60% Cuse 
        Reb. 8-6 Cuse  
        3-pt %
        3-6 50% Cards
        1-3 33.3% Cuse

Let's just call it "the Hailey Hop" 

HVL tried to land another 3-pointer at the 3Q buzzer with the feed from Evans, but that connection would have to wait for the final quarter to get underway.  HVL landed her fifth three of the game to open the fourth quarter, assist from Dana. With 5:00 left in the game HVL hit her sixth three to make it 62-50 Cards.  She finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds on the evening, capping it off with an ESPN interview from commentators Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli. 

End of 4Q  Cards WIN 67-54 
        FG %
        6-12 50% Cards
        4-15 26.7% Cuse 
        Reb. 9-8 Cards  
        3-pt %
        3-5 60% Cards
        0-2 0% Cuse

FINAL 67-54 

FRED REPORT 

I think Freddy Mercury would have agreed...
"We are the champions, my friends."

F- Free Throws - They really let both squads play last night.  Neither team ever in foul trouble, a combined 15 FT attempts between both (Cards 3-4, Cuse only making 6-11).  Kianna Smith made both of her attempts at the line, Olivia going 1-2.  Can't hate on a 3-4 night from the stripe, the Cards were efficient when they got there but it's also hard to reward when the numbers don't stack the stat sheet.  I give it a CAPITAL F...it's 75% and our standard is 70%, no matter how many are attempted. 

R- Rebounds Total on the night... 35-35 for both teams.  Which is actually pretty great considering Syracuse's size.  I thought the Cards started off with great rebounding effort especially at the offensive end and giving themselves second chances.  Mykasa Robinson took advantage of her second start in a row to show off her game management skills with two grabs in a row to start the game. HVL lead the team and finished with eight boards.  The Cards held their own on the glass to match a very good team.  CAPITAL R 

 
E- Effort/Efficiency  - Besides the HVL highlight reel, what I took away from this game the most was the 6'3" Cochran vs. 6'7" Cardoso matchup. Coach Walz said they really practiced that fade away jumper this week because of the size matchup and being able to score underneath.   Olivia displayed excellent shot selection going 5-7 for 11 points from the field in 25 minutes while Cardoso was 6-13 for 13 points in 33 minutes on the floor.  Both bigs are freshman, I have a feeling this will be a matchup to look forward to for years to come.  CAPITAL E

D- Defense -  What was a high scoring Orange offense coming into the night, fizzled into the mighty Ohio River last night.  UofL held Q's bunch to 54 points on the night (39% shooting from the field, 2-13 from 3-point range).  The score was back and forth with 6 lead changes in the first half but the Cards had the lead for more than 30 minutes of this game, a 15 point lead at the most.  UofL forced 13 turnovers, scoring 13 off of those opportunities, which ended up being the difference in the game.  I give this effort another CAPITAL D 

Final FRED Report - F-R-E-D 

I gotta think Haley was thinking about her buddy Kobe Bryant this week as she's helped lead the program to a historic first time #1 ranking this year... It was this time last year that Kobe and his daughter GiGi were visiting Haley in Washington to show support.  He also made a shout-out to UofL WBB saying he couldn't wait to watch her play the following season.  I have a feeling he would've been here to show his support for the women's game for a #1 Cards vs #23 Cuse matchup at Yum! if he were still here today.  Its still a really tough subject for me to this day... 

I thought it was awesome seeing Kobe in a 'Win For Ware' shirt in 2013... Never in my life thought i would see him throw L's Up!  My heart nearly exploded when I first saw this post on Instagram last year. So thank you for this, HVL. 

MSOC News

We don't regularly cover UofL men's sports here but, of note:

Congratulations to the two Cardinal student-athletes who heard their names called in the MLS Super Draft on Thursday afternoon.   Senior midfielders, Elijah Amo and Lamine Conte were both selected in the second round to Real Salt Lake and NY Redbulls respectively.   The pair are the 24th & 25th Cardinals to be selected in the SuperDraft.  Amo would be joining former Cards Andrew Brody and Tate Schmitt at the Real Salt Lake and Conte would join Cherif Dieye in NY should they sign with the teams.  The Cards were 1-6-1 in the fall.  

Some personal news to share.. Earlier this week I got asked back to my first sport related job since the March shut down.  I very much look forward to returning to button pushing in the sport related realm.  Fingers crossed as we look forward to spring sports!! (I'm pretty sure they haven't installed a red "Diet Coke" button in my absence...)  

We will be back on the airwaves tomorrow morning to talk about the games as well as the other miscellaneous topics on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST, I am sure of it.  Cards WBB are on the road for the first time in a couple weeks at Wake Forest (7-5, 4-4 ACC) on Sunday 2PM.

Dana and Kianna doing the "Hailey Hop" 
with HVL

(ANOTHER EXCELLENT ROUND OF PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON TODAY !!) 

Go Cards! 
-Daryl

Cards Host Syracuse -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville Welcomes Syracuse for Top 25 Match-Up

In their first game as the #1 team in the country, Louisville women's basketball will welcome #23 Syracuse to the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards will face their second ranked opponent of the season.

UofL is 12-0 on the year and needs just one more game to meet the 13-game minimum to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They boast a 5-0 conference record, putting them in a tie for first with #2 NC State.

Syracuse comes into the game fresh off a Tuesday victory over North Carolina, the same team that took down the Orange quite soundly back in December. They hold a 4-1 conference record that also saw wins against Boston College and Miami twice. Having four cancelled games already, Syracuse has only played eight games this season.

The post has been a strength of Syracuse this year, dominating in the paint. Eight players on the roster stand at six feet or taller. They average 7.13 blocks per game, giving them a heavy edge over the rest of the conference. Quentin Hillsman's team has had a promising defense on the year, allowing 33.5% from the field and 26% from three. Offensively, they sit just behind UofL and NC State, averaging 78.6 points per game.

Freshman Kamilla Cardoso has averaged almost a double-double on the year with 14.9 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. They have two other players with high rebounding marks. Emily Engstler averages 10.2 rebounds per game and Dana Stroutmane averages 7.8 rebounds per game.

Louisville will have their hands full with Cuse. If it comes down to rebounding and second chance points things can quickly get ugly for the Cards. It does appear this could be a shootout with both teams pushing toward the 80-and-90-point marks.

The Cards hold a 13-7 advantage all-time against Syracuse. Since joining the ACC, Louisville has won seven of the nine meetings. One of those two losses came last season in a stretch where Louisville fell to the USA Women's National Team, Florida State, and Syracuse all in a row. The Cards later avenged their loss by taking down the Orange in the ACC Tournament.

ESPN2 has picked this game up, probably why we see a 9:00 p.m., tip-off. It's rumored Deb Antonelli and Beth Mowins will have the call on the four-letter network. Interestingly, Mowins is a Syracuse grad, so I'm sure there will be no bias there, right? Most games have lasted a little under two hours this year so it'll be nearly 11:00 when we hear the final buzzer sound. You can also catch this on 790-AM Cards Radio WKRD-AM called by Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson. Another good game, Tennessee vs. UConn WBB tips at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. 

With Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, and Florida State holding the top four spots in the ACC, there were two big games planned for tonight. Sadly, NC State vs Florida State has been postponed so all eyes will be on the Cards and Orange.

The "Q" show rolls into town tonight and it should be a classic. He always puts on a show and we suspect he'll be working the sidelines like a carnival barker on a Saturday night at the county fair.  

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Down Orange -- Spring Sports Weekend -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville WBB squuezes Orange

It took all of four and a half minutes for Louisville to take a double-digit lead en route to a victory over Syracuse, 76-51.

In fact, Asia Durr was the early "go to" for Louisville, scoring the Cards first ten points on the visitors from Syracuse 

Louisville attempted and made more three-pointers than an Orange team that's high in the NCAA on three-point attempts.  The Cards shot 10-27 for 37.0%, easily beating out Syracuse's 6-24 for 25%.

Asia Durr lead all scorers with 15 points, scoring 12 of those in a big first quarter.  She went cold for much of the rest of the game but had help from her teammates.

Kylee Shook posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and played a key factor in winning the rebounding battle, 46-38.  After a rough patch early in the season with rebounding Louisville has put the pieces together since mid-January.

An interesting game in several ways. Louisville scored less points in each of the four quarters, starting with 30 in the first, 21 in the second, 19 in the third and...finally...just six in the final fourth quarter.

Syracuse mimicked them in that aspect, with 17, 13, 12 and nine in the breakdown of the forty minutes of action. The Cards did acheive a 30-point lead halfway through the fourth, but Walz gave Robins, Duvall, Robinson, Laemmle and Shook extensive fourth quarter minutes.

Dana Evans reached the double-digit scoring column with 12 points.  Four Cardinals tallied either eight or nine points each.  

Syracuse had difficulty scoring.  Tiana Mangakahia went 1-11, Gabrielle Cooper 1-8, and Emily Engstler 1-7.  Overall, the Orange shot 20-62 from the field.

Turnovers and what was done wuth them was a huge factor in the outcome of this Thursday night test. he Cards forced the Orange into 17 miscues. UofL scored 25 points off these turnovers.

Syracuse got Louisville to make 12 turnovers. The 'Cuse' , though, could only produce three points off the turnovers.

For a team that gets almost 50% of their shots from three point land, Quentin Hillsman's squad didn't fare very well in that aspect of the game. They took 24 threes but only converted on six of them (25%).

Coach Q or Cee Lo Green?

Besides a sloppy fourth quarter that the Orange won 9-6 Louisville dominated the other three quarters.  Jeff Walz referenced a saying that Sam Purcell says during practice when he said that his team took a "smoke break" for a few minutes during the final period.  Instead of bailing them out with a timeout he forced them to play out and figure things out, which they did.

A loud and appreciate crowd of 8521 showed up on a rainy Thursday night in the downtown arena to watch the Cards control the action early and maintain the edge for their 22nd win of the year.

                                                              Jeff Walz Postgame

                                                     Asia Durr and Kylee Shook

Paulie also caught post-game audio from Coach "Q", but the coach did not send out any of his players to discuss the contest. You can hear the audio for that and see his post-game radio interview at the links below.  The website Nunes Magician does a very good job following Syracuse WBB, they provided a excellent post-game recap and the second video

LINK:  COACH Q POSTGAME 2/7/19 AFTER LOSS TO LOUISVILLE

LINK: "Q" POST-GAME RADIO AFTER LOSS TO LOUISVILLE



F-R-E-D Report

Free Throws: Louisville shot 12-15 (80%) from the line in a game where few shooting fouls were called.  Syracuse went 5-8 from the line.  The solid shooting is an easy capital "F".

Rebounds: Another rebounding battle won for the Cards.  Louisville won in offensive rebounds 18-15 and defensive rebounds 28-23.  Shook led the way with 11 while Sam Fuehring had seven, Evans contributed six, and Arica Carter added five.  Syracuse's highest rebounder finished with six.  The Orange managed just 10 second chance points off their offensive rebounds.  UofL's offensive rebounds led to 14 points.  Capital "R".

Efficiency/Effort: 27-66 for 40.9% is great and the high three-point shooting showed that the shots were dropping for most of the Cards.  There were 22 assists on 27 made shots, double Syracuse's assists mark.  The Cards also turned the ball over just 12 times against a team that forces nearly 20 per game.  Louisville capitalized on the Syracuse turnovers, scoring 25 points off turnovers.  That's a good mark that earns a capital "E".

Defense: Yes, the Orange broke the 50-point mark, but just barely.  They were limited to nine points in the fourth quarter where the Cardinal bench played half of the period.  The Cards had six blocks, half of them coming from Shook.  They recorded seven steals with Evans contributing four.  The Orange were held to a three-point shooting mark well below their season average and only one player broke the double-digit mark.  Limiting a Syracuse team that averages 77 points per game to just 51 (-26) is a big WOW! and deserves a capital "D".

This Louisville team has been finding their rhythm lately and my sometimes-generous reports help give them another perfect score,

F-R-E-D.

Louisville improves to 22-1 on the year with a 9-1 in the ACC.  #25 Miami upset #4 Notre Dame 72-65 and #24 Florida State upset #9 NC State 75-70 to give both losers two losses in the conference.

 Louisville takes sole possession of first place in the conference and control their own destiny.  Walz made a point to note that there is still a lot of basketball left to be played and a lot can happen, but at least now the Cards control their own destiny.

As we mentioned yesterday, upsets can and did happen.

The challenging nature of ACC WBB Who knows what the top of the conference will look like when the 15 teams gather in Greensboro early next month? One thing is for sure, there's a new sheriff in town, the sheriff that returns after leading the conference last year, and six more gunfighters in the mean streets of the ACC who will be gunning for the sheriff before they gather for the comprehensive shoot out in Greensboro.  Draw, partner!  .

Here are some additional
photos from Jared Anderson.

Jared moves around a lot during contest trying to provide you, the reader, some great and different angles of Cardinal WBB home contests.

One thing we've learned here at the "Couple"...always be on
your guard. You never know when he might capture you with his camera.

Check out his website for more of his work

https://www.jdaphotos.com/

Caption This: 

Coach Walz (left) has hands extended, has left the "wee" chair and reacting to court action.

What do you think he's saying or reacting to?  

Feel free to list your interpretation below in the comments section. We've had some fun with this over the season and it's amazing how people can look at a photo and come up with so many different captions for one.

Spring Sports Opening Weekend

Softball and lacrosse both open their seasons on the road today.

Scott Teeter's sticks will face Northwestern tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST, under the lights in Evanston, Illinois.

Holly Aprile will have her UofL debut at 4:00 p.m., against Idaho State before turning around to face tournament-host Cal State Fullerton at 8:30.  These games are EST, so will be substantially earlier out west.


Sing It Loudly and Proudly

On a completely separate note away from sports, Seth Spalding and I made a visit to the Hyatt Regency Hotel around the corner.  Currently, the Hyatt is host to the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) Conference All-State Choir.  The two bands and the orchestra stay at the Galt House.

Per tradition, the choir will gather on the many floors of the hotel and sing the Star-Spangled Banner at 11:00 p.m.  Videos of the performances over the years have gained national attention that has caused the lobby to fill up for the event.

Check out the video here:


(TODAY'S FINE PHOTOGRAPHY AND AUDIO/VIDEO FROM JARED ANDERSON, EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED).

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville women's basketball faces the Orange tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#14 SYRACUSE COMES TO TOWN AT 17-4

Jeff Walz has talked about the tough stretch to start February throughout the season. The Cards, over a two week period, started with Clemson, bring in Syracuse, go to Virginia Tech and host Miami in the stretch. With Clemson dispatched on Saturday, Louisville turns to the next test...a Thursday night visit from Quentin Hillsman's Syracuse Orange WBB squad. 

Syracuse is a squad that takes nearly half their field goal attempts from beyond the three-point arc (625 out of 1405). They make 32% of those threes (200 out of those 625). When they're not bombing away from the deep, they employ a full-court press on defense, hoping to get a turnover/transition game started. SU will drop back into a 2-3 zone if they don't create the turnover. Syracuse forces a lot of turnovers...416 total for almost 20 a game. 

So, how does #2 UofL counteract this type of defensive pressure? Coach Walz didn't reveal a lot about that aspect of Syracuse's game, except to stress his players and staff had studied the scouting report and that Louisville would have to rebound and score. The Cards haven't faced a defense quite like this so far. How they handle the press will be a key aspect of this game and how they perform against the zone...can they have the success they've had from three-point range continue? 

The Syracuse losses have come at Oregon (73-75), at Minnesota (81-83 in overtime), at Georgia Tech (55-65) and hosting Miami (71-84). They haven't faced Notre Dame and NC State yet or Florida State. Key wins are Texas A&M, Clemson and North Carolina. 

Who has been getting it done for "Q"'s squad? Tiana Mangakahia leads the Orange in scoring with 15.9 points a night. She also leads them in assists with 8.1 per contest. The 5'6" junior guard from Australia was selected for the preseason All-ACC squad and hasn't disappointed. 

Containing her is a huge "must" for the Cards tonight.

Guards Gabrielle Cooper and forward Miranda Drummond are also double digit scorers for Syracuse. Digna Strautmane had a five-game double digit scoring stretch in January and 6'4" center Amaya Finklea-Guity was named to the 2017-18 All ACC Freshman team. Off the bench, Q employs Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi on the front line and guards Kiara Lewis, Isis Young and Emily Engster. 

SU has a large contingent of international players on the roster. Of the 16 that dress for games, three are from France, one from the Czech Republic, one from Canada, one from Latvia and one from Australia. 

And, then, there is "Q". He came to Syracuse thirteen years ago, so his and Walz's head coaching career are pretty much congruent. Hillsman is widely known for his flashy, stylish game-day dressing displays, a manic, expressive and emotional coaching style and has been described as "the Temptations performing at a basketball game".

He's probably my favorite opposing coach to watch on the women's college basketball sidelines and, over the years, has performed impromptu interviews with the opponent's radio crew during the contest, come back enraged from the locker room after a game to belabor a point and passed out from exhaustion/excitement during a game. 

Another tough test in the ACC. A coach that comes in 280-140 lifetime in his career but just 5-8 against Walz. The Cards lead the overall series 10-6. A chance for the Cards to stay in bed with their fellow first place bunk-mates (NC State and Notre Dame) and a chance for Syracuse to knock off one of the front runners. Notre Dame goes to Miami tonight and NC State travels to Florida State, so we'll be keeping our eyes on those two key games. 

As for this game, it's on the ACCNE with Don, Sara and Cortnee (the cookie monster) on the sidelines. Radio with Nick and AJ on 790 WKRD AM Cards Radio. A 7 p.m. start that will be officiated by Karen Preato, Jennifer Rezac and Jules Gallien. 

You might remember Karen. She was the lone female on the crew that whistled 43 fouls (28 on Louisville) back on 1/10/19 in South Bend when the Cards fell to Notre Dame.

We'll recap the action here tomorrow. 


JEFF WALZ PRE-SYRACUSE PRESSER


Coach Walz met with the media yesterday for his weekly press conference. An entertaining and factual 20 minutes ensued, with Walz talking about Monopoly, Jr, Coach Q, the Play-4-Kay Free Throw Challenge and many other items. 

WE have it linked up for you below. You can actually hear the questions we were asking Walz since the old "pass a microphone to the question-asker" strategy was employed and it worked pretty well for the most part. 

It's worth a view. 

LINK:  WALZ PRE-SYRACUSE PRESS CONFERENCE

Have a terrific Thursday. The monsoon season continues outside here locally. We have the staff chimps here at Cardinal Couple following Case's blueprint and design for a Cardinal Couple Ark. So far, they've gone through a barrel of nails, 451 2X4's, 18 injuries and a vessel that looks like a combination of a tree-house, stack of pallets and Tom Hanks' raft from the movie "Cast Away". 

Hope springs eternal.

paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville women's basketball -- Cards squeeze Orange 84-77 MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR, HINES-ALLEN COMBINE FOR 46 VS SYRACUSE

You could call them the "road warriors". 

The University of Louisville women's basketball team has won 13 games in a row on the road. That ties the best road win streak in program history.

Yesterday, in their 84-77 win at Syracuse, two familiar faces were both "being Mel Gibson" at times... (referencing the 1981 cult classic movie Road Warriors)...driving the Cardinal Cannonball through the ginormous but nearly-empty Carrier Dome to a victory that took awhile to emerge. Durr with 27 and Hines-Allen adding 19 points and 11 rebounds in the squeezing of the Orange Sunday afternoon. 

The Road Warriors professional wrestling team comes to mind as well. Imagine, if you will, "Nite-nite and DOOO-BLAY" in the outfits pictured above...

Hiya ! Orange you glad to see me? 

If you like action-packed, non-stop frenetic paces -- the first quarter was right up your alley. Louisville and Quentin Hillsman's crew hit the accelerator early. Jasmine Jones had six of the Cards first twelve points but 'The Cuse" countered with 16 to take a four point lead halfway through the opening period. It would be Syracuse's largest lead of the affair, Louisville rallying back to get within two at 23-21 to end the first quarter.. 

Good teams go on runs and the Cards are no stranger to those. The pace slowed down considerably in the second period and Louisville edged ahead with 7-2 opening run to hold a 28-25 lead with 5:11 until halftime.

A significant part of the momentum came from Sydney Zambrotta. She nailed two threes and Walz's Warriors went into the halftime break holding a 40-35 edge over the home team. Zambrotta's eight points, playing in her home state, were her biggest scoring outpit since UT-Martin back in December. She was "dialed in" and a spark. Maybe she's "dome friendly"?

What would happen in the halftime "chats"? 

Louisville came out with a full tank of gas and sped to a 49-35 lead with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes. The AM show (Asia and Myisha) was on the air and the broadcast was coming in clear. The period ended up 26-16 in favor of the women in black jerseys and pink numbers (a nice look for the Cards, right?) and this one was pretty much over at 66-51 with ten minutes to go. 

The fourth quarter brought the 2575 in attendance a couple of thrills near the end of the game, when Syracuse flirted with cutting the Cards lead to single digits. They also saw a rare sighting of the elusive "Sam Fuehring three ball" ...where she looked at Walz, he nodded his approval to shoot and she drained it. Magical powers in that man...

The Orange did muster a 10-3 closing run to draw them within seven but the outcome was never in doubt and a disheveled Quentin Hillsman (coat long since gone, tie abandoned  and shirt-tail out) walked the sidelines one last time to congratulate Coach Walz on the win and Durr on reaching the 1500-point mark for her career.

Stylish yet tasteful? Or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz redux? 

He may have even asked Louisville coach Sam Purcell where he got the pink shoes adorning his feet, Sam's way of paying homage to Play 4 Kay Day. 

"What you gonna do in those shoes?" 

(Mandatory musical reference time...) 

From the Eagles. A Paulie post-game Internet exchange with Purcell confirmed that they are size 11's and available for parties, events and social occasions for a "yet undetermined fee". (He's got a wife and three kids...prices subject to market conditions and availability.) Sammy gonna get paid when he can. 



"THOSE SHOES" The Eagles

Cards win, Cards win! 24-1 and back to the 'Ville' for a Wednesday visit with Clemson and Mike the Tiger...who usually wears orange shoes but probably won't make the trip. 

LINK: 

Highlights (mostly Syracuse's) from yesterday 


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


JULIE GOES TO ROAM THE DOME

Columnist Julie Sullivan was one of the 2575 on hand for the pre-Super Bowl warm up and shares her thoughts in the report below: 

Having been to the Carrier Dome for both football and men's basketball, it was a different experience being there for the women's game. Attendance was listed at 2575 and that seemed accurate. Even though seating was very close to the court, the cavernous dome muffled and muted the crowd. It was a reminder of what a great facility The KFC YUM! Center is and the great crowds that show up there.

A furtive glance to see if Sam "Pink Shoes" Purcell
is within ear-shot. 

Coach Walz, always an ambassador for the sport, spent considerable time during his post-game presser praising the very young Syracuse team. He hoped Louisville wouldn't have to face them in Greensboro in the ACC Tournament. Walz offered high praise for point guard Tiana Mangakahia, saying as a fan of the game, he would show up just to watch her and expressed disbelief that more fans are not coming out to support a very talented group of young women. 

Tiana had 20 points against Louisville and added 10 assists. She also had 10 turnovers...which gave her a dubious "triple-double" for the event. She also could be a "body double" or stand-in for Cardinal great Becky Burke...the two bear a remarkable resemblance to each other, which makes one wonder what else Walz has been doing in his "mad scientist" laboratory besides concocting "win" potions and practicing facial expressions? 

"No, I did not lend Sam those shoes." Next question? 

I had a "Paulie-in-Bloomington" like adventure, playing seek-and-find with my press credentials. I was sent to three different places to obtain them before a wonderful gentleman in Access Control directed me to the proper place which turned out to be the first place I tried. They DID spell my name right. I never did find the media room nor the dining fare available. What the Dome staff lacked in knowledge they made up for in friendliness, something important to me.

Happy idiot syndrome? 

(Editor note: Based on the four places we saw Julie seated during the Internet feed...either she's refined her attention-getting protocol or arena security kept upgrading her.   -Paulie- ) 


FRED REPORT  

(It is my first attempt at doing the FRED REPORT. I wasn't even about to attempt a JULIE report. Here we go.)

(ol' "claw-hand" Freddy) 

FREE THROWS - Louisville went 10-15. That's 67% and by the 70% standard, no letter is awarded. 

REBOUNDING - The Cards win the battle of the boards 38-27. DOOO-BLAY huge on the glass as always and a great team effort with eight players grabbing at least one. Kudos to Arica Carter's five and Sam Fuehring's eight. The capital "R" is earned. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION - Louisville got out-played in the first quarter and let up a bit at the end of the game. Shooting 50% was good but UofL's numbers weren't spectacular on Second Chance points or points off turnovers. A lower case "e" is the decision here. 

DEFENSE - The Cards allowed 77 points, their most since Ohio State. No single-digit quarters. Two 20+ point-scorers for Syracuse. Yes, 'Cuse scores a lot but I withhold a letter. 

FRED TOTALS:  _-R-e-_ 


Julie Sullivan