Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Cards find Houston no problem 81-62

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Shoni's 2000th career point highlight of 82-63 win

(Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com)

In what has become a predictable trend, the University of Louisville basketball team struggled with the opponent early in Wednesday night's game, made a late first half run to create some distance and embellished upon that with a run in the second half before allowing the opponent to cut into the lead over the final four minutes.

Houston tonight...but it could have been Temple, SMU, Memphis or several others in the AAC. Houston had a problem tonight and it came in the version of Sara, Shoni and "E". ...in addition to their own cold shooting.

Shoni Schimmel scored the 2000th point of her illustrious career with 18:11 remaining in the second half.

The affable and engaging Howie Lindsey

I set the "over/under" at 18 minutes on when she would reach the total...I took the "under" and LSR/CSR's Howie Lindsey picked the "over" and won the bet. I'm shaving my beard off on St. Patrick's Day. If I had won, Howie was going to challenge Emmonnie Henderson to a 100 yd. dash...

Louisville did lead early...a Sara layup had the Cards up 7-3 with three minutes gone. It stretched out to 13-3 after Sara hit a "plus one" at the 14:33 mark. Houston wasn't going to surrender without a battle, though and used a 12-4 run to make it 17-15 halfway through the half.

The Coogs were still in hot pursuit and had a chance to tie it at 21-21 but Yasmeen Thompson clanged both free throw attempts with 8:05 on the clock. Louisville took off from there...outscoring UH 17-8 the rest of the half. Nita Slaughter contributed five of the points and two Sara jumpers had Louisville leading 38-27 after twenty minutes.

Sara led the Cards with 12 first half points and Shoni added 10. The Cards were a perfect 5-5 from the line and were winning the second chance stat 12-1. Despite 39% shooting and patches of tough to watch three-point shooting (3-13), the Cards looked in control.

And, control was the mission statement of the second half. Louisville steadily added to the lead...a Sara layup gave the Cards a 47-31 advantage four minutes into action. The lead stayed around that mark until UofL pieced together a 11-0 run over a two-minute stretch.

With the score 65-50...beginning at the 6:38 mark on a "E" free throw... an A-Tayy free throw with 4:18 to go made it 76-50 UofL. It was the Cards largest lead of the night. Houston did manage to outscore Louisville 12-5 the rest of the way...Walz using a myriad of combinations on the court...including four minutes for Starr Breedlove.

Sara led Louisville with 17 points, Shoni ended up with 15 and Emmonnie completed the double-figure Cards with 12.

A workable win for Louisville (26-2, 14-1) against the cellar dweller of the conference. This one never in any danger...Shoni the only Card with more than 30 minutes. Walz used every combination available except me in the paint, Worldwide firing threes and Jenny at point.

Houston got a large performance from 6'1" soph. forward Marche' Amerson who led all scorers with 23 points. The Coogs fall to 5-21 and 1-14 in the AAC.

Shoni admitted that she wasn't for sure how many points she needed to reach 2K last night and gave credit to her teammates over the past four years who helped her achieve the goal. Perhaps the most touching post-game comment came from Sara...who said that someday when she becomes a mom and grandmom, she'll be able to tell her kids and their kids that she played with Shoni Schimmel.

Coach Walz's post game comments were mostly directed to her achievement...but declined on ranking her a position in the top five or ten players that he has ever coached....stating that he doesn't rank players in categories like that.

Walz did mention that the team had a lot to work on and he was concerned that they seemed to be making a lot of the same mistakes. Mistakes he and the coaches have worked to correct. He related that he told them they were running out days and games to get better and left it up to them to decide if they were going to come together and achieve what last year's squad achieved.

Coach also commented that a performance like last night's would translate into a loss against Rugters.

That is who is on tap next. The Scarlet Knights come to town Sunday for a pivotal game in determining the AAC standings. Rutgers is on a five game win streak and will be looking for some revenge when they enter the YUM.

Let's hope it's not on the menu...

paulie
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Cougars on tap at YUM

With the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament looming in a little more than a month away, seeding for that tournament is all the talk of message boards and basketball fans alike. 

Before we get too carried away, there are still some very important conference games remaining to be played.   One such game tips off on Wednesday, February  19 at 7:00 p.m. at the  KFC Yum Center.   The Cardinals will be hosting the Cougars of Houston for the final time in the regular season of the American Athletic Conference. 

Houston is anchoring last place in The American and is 5-20 overall, and 1-13 in conference play.  The lone win in conference match ups comes against Cincinnati.    The Cardinals pummeled the Cougars in Houston with a 93-52 win in mid January.   That being said, you can never overlook an opponent.  Upsets happen and if Houston is looking for a hook to hang their hat on, it would be an upset win over the #3 team in the country.  While that scenario is unlikely, you play the games for a reason. 

That being said, the Cardinals will need to be focused and take care of business on the hardwood Wednesday night.   In their last meeting the Cougars had 3 players scoring in double digits.  Center Yasmeen Thompson, guard Demetria Foreman and forward Marche Amerson all notched 10 points against the Cardinals.   Te’onna Campbell leads the Cougars in scoring averaging 9.7 ppg, though the Cards held her to 6 points on the day.  Look for Yasmeen Thompson to be crashing the boards for the Cougars, averaging 8.1 per game. 

On paper this looks to be another blow out of our one-year conference mate.  In these types of games you could expect the team be focused on certain areas of the game that needs shoring up.   What excactly the mad scientist will have his team focusing on is any fans best guess.  As a regular sideline observer, I would expect to see several things as a point of focus:

-rebounding and battling on the boards

-limiting and controlling turnovers

-free throw shooting

-defense, defense, defense

We will be there to cover the game and will report back on Thursday. 

In the meantime, the Cardinals need to remain focused as the season winds down.  Wednesday’s game is one of 3 remaining home games in the regular season, and a lone road game remaining at Cincinnati.   While our specific seeding in the tournament at this point primarily depends upon what other teams do, taking care of our own business is paramount.   It begins Wednesday night.  #unfinishedbusiness

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Looks like our very own Worldwide Jeff McAdams missed out on a paycheck.  In yesterdays edition of the Cardinal Couple he speculated on weekly honors for Lacrosse. 

As speculated, senior Nikki Boltja was named Big East Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week.   With a combined 8 goals in the first two games of the season, 5 of which came against #6 Duke in the opening game of the season.  She followed up on that with a hat-trick at home, facing Detroit.  Congratulations Nikki! 

Sophomore Kaylin Morissette was named to the 5-member honor roll scoring a career best 6 goals against Detroit at home.  Congratulations Kaylin!

It’s a strong start for these young ladies and bodes well for a successful season for our lacrosse team.  

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The AAC Conference swimming tournament gets underway today in the Ralph Wright. It's a "pay-for" event and ticket information is:

All-session tickets can be purchased up until the start of competition on Feb. 19.Prices are as follows:All-session adult: $33.00All-session 18 and under, college student, and senior citizen: $18.00Swimming preliminaries will be held each day in the morning beginning at 10 am. Finals will start in the evenings at 6 pm. Diving preliminaries are at noon every day, with finals combined with swimming in the evening sessions.For ticket information click here: Tickets or call the University of Louisville ticket office at 502-852-5151.Swimming preliminaries will be held each day in the morning beginning at 10 am. Finals will start in the evenings at 6 pm. Diving preliminaries are at noon every day, with finals combined with swimming in the evening sessions.There are a limited number of single session tickets available and will be sold at the Natatorium beginning at one hour before the sessions begin.Ticket prices are as follows: Finals Sessions: $8.00 Adults $4.00 Students/Seniors 65 & older/18 & youngerPrelim Sessions: $5.00 Adults $ 3.00 Students/Seniors 65 & older/18 & younger

jennyobryan
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Cardinal Couple Tuesday

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Basketball Ranking Record

With a new AP media poll posted Monday afternoon, Jeff Walz's squad has achieved a new UofL record.

Because the AP media poll doesn't do a round after the end of the NCAA tournament like the USA Today Coach's Poll does, this represents the highest that the UofL women have ever been ranked in the AP.

Louisville advanced thanks to Duke's upset loss to then 17th ranked UNC.  Still ahead of UofL is, of course, UConn in the #1 spot, and Notre Dame in 2nd.  Duke drops to the 7th spot, with South Carolina and Stanford rounding out the top five.

Weekly Honors

Morissette adept at finding the back of the net

I generally like to keep tabs on the weekly honors in various sports, but not a lot to report this week.

Shoni Schimmel made the honor roll for the AAC weekly honors in women's basketball.

No honors for Softball from The American, but that's probably understandable given the tough weekend that Softball had at the Jacksonville Softball Tournament.

No weekly honors have been announced for Lacrosse, yet.  The last release on the Big East's site for women's Lacrosse is from the 11th, so perhaps we'll hear something today?  If I were a betting man, I would probably put some money on Kay Morissette on the strength of scoring six...is that called a double hat trick?...against Detroit.  Also with hat tricks, you might look for Nikki Boltja and Cortnee Daley to make an appearance in the honor roll.

Soccer Spring Schedule Posted

You'll only have three more chances to catch Women's Soccer in action at Cardinal Park.  Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes announced the spring schedule for the Kickin' Cards and it features three games at home in Cardinal Park before they take to the new soccer stadium in the fall.

Before they start the farewell tour, though they make a stop in Illinois for a 7v7 indoor tournament on March 1st.

March 22nd starts the home games with Middle Tennessee State making the visit.  Ohio State visits the next weekend on the 29th followed by Tennessee the next weekend, April 5th.  All of the home games are at 1pm.


Cardinal women's golf fifth


The Louisville women's golf team stands in fifth place after two rounds in the Central Division Invitational on Monday at the Cypress Links Course at Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

The Cardinals shot a 290 in the first round and followed it up with a 289 in the second round for a score of 579. Central Florida leads the tournament with a score of 261. Vanderbilt is second with a score of 563 and host Michigan State is third with a score of 566.

Sophomore Laura Restrepo leads the Cardinals with a score of 137. Restrepo is currently in third place after shooting a 67 in the first round and a 70 in the second round. UCF's Fanny Cnops leads the tournament with a score of 134. Vanderbilt's Simin Feng is second with a score of 136.Juniors Emily Haas and Katie Petrino are currently tied for 24th with a score of 146. Haas shot a 75 in the first round and a 71 in the second round. Petrino shot a 73 in the first round and a 73 in the second round.Freshman Louise Oxner is tied at 43rd after two rounds. Oxner shot a 75 in the first round and a 75 in the second round for a score of 150. Senior Tara Lyons is tied at 55th with a score of 152. Lyons shot a 76 in the first and the second rounds.

Freshman Emily Kurey competed as an individual. Kurey is tied at 55th with a score of 152. Kurey shot a 77 in the first round and a 75 in the second round.Louisville will wrap up play on Tuesday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.


COLE A CARD


The flashy, high scoring point-guard out of Richmond, Va. has committed to pursue her college basketball career at Louisville.

Taja Cole

As good as they come, according to G.A.M.E. Sports Group:

Number 7 point guard, number 17 overall player in the class of 2015. Smooth lefty that can handle the rock and finish with both hands. Explosive first step and terrific change of pace. Elevates well and knocks down the mid-range pull-up with consistency. Lives in the paint where she can finish or create for others. Terrific basketball I.Q. which she uses to anticipate and disrupt other guards on the defensive end. Continues to develop her long range jump shot which should make her one of if not the top point guard in her class.

She's also got a flair for style...given the pic here

A member of the Boo Williams Summer League team, Cole visited U of L recently and gave the Cardinals the good news on Monday. "When we visited she said she just felt like it was home," Cole's mother, Star Wills, said. "She was comfortable with the coaches and with all of the players. She felt at home".

"She also liked the style of play on TV and then when we watched it in person, she felt like it was the perfect fit. But what really made it seem right was when we met with the academic advisors. She has her own clothing line, so she wants to something entrepreneurial and sports administration and it was just right."

The 5-foot-8 Cole averages 19.2 points a game and was also looking at Florida, Texas, West Virginia and dozens of other schools. Wills said her daughter started her own clothing line about three years ago and it's called Team Cole."She started it out on social media and it just took off," she said. "She created her own logo, creates all of her own stuff. She created the design and is growing the brand."

Douglasville, Ga., Douglas County High '15 wing Maya Benham committed to Walz last summer.



(Portions of the Cole story were previously reported at UofL Card Game and Cardinal Authority.)

jeffmcadams
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Monday CARDINAL COUPLE -- Hoops, Lacrosse take wins on Sunday

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Career high for Henderson key in WBB 82-66 win

- Lacrosse shows mercy on Detroit Mercy 18-1

- Softball gets slammed by Irish 11-4

Louisville's WBB head coach Jeff Walz will take Sunday's win in Memphis. He's pleased over 'E' getting a career high 19 points in the 16 point win. Happy about the 14-2 start to begin the second half that pushed the Cards from a 41-30 halftime lead to a 53-32 advantage four minutes into the final period.

But there is room for improvement.

"In the second half, we get a stop and we go down and score. That's what we have to do, but we need to become more consistent."

Pleased as he was with Henderson's best game as a Card, Walz also indicated there was still more work to do in the post:

"Offensively, she (Henderson) is talented...but she got to be able to learn to do more than just shoot. And, you can't turn it over five times."

The trio of "E", A-Tayy and the Hammer had 12 of the Cards 20 turnovers...a number too high for Walz who added:

"They don't touch the ball enough to turn it over that much."

Henderson was joined in double figures by Shoni (18 pts.) and Taylor (13 points).

Memphis made a point of bottling up Shoni early in the game...still mindful of her nine three-pointers against them the last time the teams played. They also got strong play in the paint from Pa'Sonna Hope (18 points). The guard combo of Ariel Hearn and Mooriah Rowser added 35 points for the Tigers (11-15, 4-10)...who drew a season high of 2585 for the game. A strong contingent of Louisville fans and native Americans were present to cheer on the Cards and the Schimmel sisters 


The game also featured the first season appearance of Starr Breedlove...who has been out the entire season with concussion-related symptoms. The sophomore guard saw three minutes, hit a couple of free throws, dished an assist and committed a couple of fouls in end-of-the-game play.

The Cards shot 54.2% for the game and went 8-18 from the distance. The 32 made goals were set up by 21 assists.

Sara Hammond played just nine minutes...plagued by foul trouble and watched Henderson's assimilation of the post. Bria Smith did return to action after sitting the last two contests....scoring five points and grabbing three boards.

Louisville returns to the KFC YUM! Center for a Wednesday, 7 p.m. tilt with cellar dweller Houston.

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Louisville Lacrosse got a career-high six goals from Kaylin Morissette and rolled out to a 12-1 first half advantage in downing University of Detroit 18-1 Sunday afternoon before an appreciative, if bit chilly, crowd at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium.

The Cards netted five goals in the first five minutes of action, evoking my remark to CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jeff McAdams that we were on a goal-per-minute production and the final score could turn out 60-0.

The Cards were a bit more lenient on the offensive attack the rest of the way, working on positioning, passing and stifling defense...holding the Titans to just two shots per half while amassing a total of 42 shots on the harried UD goalie.

Nikki Boltja and Cortnee Daley scored three goals each for the Cards...eight Cardinals scored in the rout.

Coach Young was pleased with the effort:

"We got better today than we did in the game against Duke and I was proud of the transition game and the way we played. The offense was more controlled and we made some huge adjustments. It's just awesome when you can get that many attackers involved in the game and to put the ball in the back of the net."  

The LAX crew hits the road next...making a Virginia tour with a Friday game against Old Dominion and Sunday against William & Mary.

I had a nice post-game chat with the Detroit Lacrosse SID who filled me in on the history of the name Detroit Mercy. Seems the University of Detroit and a small women's college named Mercy merged 25 years ago to create Detroit Mercy.

He indicated that most people just referred to them as Detroit. The Titans play in the American Sun conference and will have eight teams on board for conference play in 2015. Dick Vitale is probably the most famous figure associated with the school...he was a head coach of the basketball team there before terrorizing the airwaves.

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Louisville softball ended a dismal stay (except for the weather) in Jacksonville...losing to Notre Dame 11-4 Sunday morning.

The Irish pounded Louisville and Rachel LeCoq for seven first inning runs and the game was pretty much over from then on. The Cards did spark a little flame with three runs in the bottom of the second...but drop to 4-5 on the season after going 1-3 in Jacksonville.

Louisville returns home for the Cardinal Classic (Feb 21-23) at Ulmer Stadium with NKU, EKU, IUPUI and Central Michigan visiting.

paulie
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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Hoops, Lacrosse and Softball today

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- WBB heads to Memphis

- Lacrosse opens home schedule against Detroit

- Softball drops two...finishes today against Irish

The #3 University of Louisville women's basketball team makes a final trip to Elvisland to take on the Memphis Tigers today at 3:30 p.m. It's a ESPNU game and can be heard on Cards Radio as well.

The Tigers are 11-14 and 4-9 in the AAC. Louisville handled the UofM 88-61 when the teams met in the KFC YUM! Center back on Jan 26th. In the all-time series, Memphis leads 23-22.

For Louisville, a road test in one of those tiny high-school type gyms in front of maybe 200-300 people. Needing to keep pace and stay one game behind Connecticut in the conference race, Louisville needs to play better than they have in the past two outings...falling at Storrs 81-64 to the Huskies and struggling before beating Temple 60-50 Weds. night in the downtown arena.

The Tigers got romped by the Cincinnati Bearcats last time out 65-49 in UC's Fifth-Third Arena. Ariel Hearn led the way for UofM with 18 points and Pa'Sonna Hope grabbed 11 boards.

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Louisville Lacrosse opens the home portion of the 2014 season by entertaining Detroit today at 1 p.m. at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. The Cards are coming off a 14-11 loss to Duke last Sunday and Detroit visited Ohio State...falling 18-3.

Louisville was led by Nikki Boltja's five goals in the loss. Faye Brust added three.

The Cards easily handled the Titans last season...winning 18-3 in the Motor City. Nine different Cardinals scored in that one and today's game should give Coach Young a good chance to test the reserves again.

It's free admission for all home games and there will be calender key chain giveaways...plus a "special gift" for the first 100 that arrive.

We'll see ya out there!

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Softball dropped both games in the Jacksonville Tournament yesterday...falling to Notre Dame 6-3 and North Carolina 4-2.

Not exactly the way to strike fear into the hearts of your future conference opponents.

Despite three home runs (two from Taner Fowler) the Cards could keep the Irish off the base paths and watched a 3-1 lead disappear for good in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Louisville did mount a late rally in the seventh and loaded the bases...but like several other times so far this year...no runs crossed the plate.

In the second game, against the Tar Heels, neither team seemed to want this one early...the contest went four innings without a score. Kayla Soles took matters into her own hands and blasted a two-run shot over the fence to give Louisville the lead in the fifth inning

The Cards would not score again and UNC tied it in the top of the sixth with a two-run blast and put it away in the seventh with a hit-by-pitch and two bunt singles to load the bags. Fortunately, Louisville held them to just two runs...but the Cards could not catch them in their final at-bat.

Louisville faces Notre Dame this morning at 9:30 a.m. and heads home to prepare for their Ulmer Stadium opener Feb. 21st. against NKU and EKU in the Cardinal Classic.

paulie
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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Cards two-hit JU to start tournament

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Jones continues hot streak as Louisville wins 5-0

- Paulie makes a campus visit

- Radio today

- Shoni interview 




If the University of Louisville softball team has been watching the women's basketball team as of late, they did a good impression of the hoopster Cards slow starts. Jacksonville and Louisville went through four innings of scoreless softball Friday afternoon before Louisville broke through for two runs in the fifth inning en route to a 5-0 whitewash of the Dolphins.

Seniors 'Carl' Connell and Rachel LeCoq combined for a two-hit shutout and junior Kelsi Jones went 2 for 3 in Louisville's fourth win of the season.

Jones got the Cards started in the top of the fifth with a single up the middle and reached home later in the inning when Brittany Duncan also singled. Morgan Meyer took to the basepaths for Duncan and also reached home on a Katie Keller single.

Le Coq pitched her way out of a bases-loaded dilemma in the bottom of the sixth...it took that long for Jacksonville to get their first hit of the game...to keep the Dolphins scoreless.

Louisville added three more runs in the top of the seventh. Jones walked, Whitney Arion got her first hit of the season...a bunt single and once again...Duncan drove Jones home with a hit. Maggie Ruckenbrod sent both Arion and Duncan to the plate with a booming double. 5-0. Cards win, Cards win !!!

Louisville takes on Notre Dame at 9:30 this morning. We may even have a final for you on this one if you listen to the radio show today. Unfortunately (for us) it's a studio broadcast and we are not on site to do live coverage of the Irish and Cards. Warm sounds good these days...

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Speaking of radio "daze", I headed down to campus yesterday to get a little interview time in with Coach Walz and Coach Young. I should have known things were going amiss when I realized that I had left my main digital voice recording voice on the counter at home after arriving. I carry a backup, though...which had two dead batteries.

(Memo to me: ALWAYS carry backup batteries...)

Undaunted, I sought out the counsel of Kathy Tronzo, the affable sports information program assistant who sits in front of Kenny Klien's office.

She's also the keeper of batteries. I owed her a couple of AA from a previous "dead air" issue and had dropped them off earlier. This time, I needed AAA and she came through again. After a brief chat, I headed back to Walz's office. Director of operations Mary Beth Whittaker informed me he was in a meeting on the third floor. I was on the second floor. She told me I could wait in his office and I did just that.

On the way, I did see Jude Schimmel walking down the hallway. At a brisk pace...and a perfunctory 'hello' was about all I could get in.

I also stuck my head in Coach Karen's soccer office and we chatted amicably for several minutes. I should have turned my recorder on.


Coach's office has a playpen (for either Lola or Jude...I wasn't able to ask), some great pictures of his older children and trophies and such. He's got a cup full of coins on his desk that is overflowing and a coffee table with a lot of Max Lucado books on it. The chairs are quite comfortable (I tried both) and almost snuck over and sat in his...thinking it might be great fun if he came into his office, I was behind his desk and if I tersely told him...

"Got some bad news, Jeff...there's been a change. This is my program now. I hear UT might be looking at options..." 

I didn't use the chair, though. I waited. I thumbed through one of the books. I answered a text from a reader. I rearranged the order of my credit cards in my wallet. Recalled and pondered the rise and fall of the disco era. No Walz.

Finally, I had to beg leave to get to my interview with Coach Young. Ms. Whittaker was most apologetic and told me she had texted him twice that I was there. That was probably the noises I heard on his desk. She invited me to stop back by after my lacrosse interview. I nodded.

I ended up texting coach a couple of times to see if he had returned. No reply. I went to work after stuffing my face with pizza. It's a comfort food. I was inconsolable. Was Coach in imminent danger...lost in the maze of third floor hallways without a GPS or his cell phone? Did he sneak off into the night like Charlie Strong did when he left the university and, if so, why did he leave all that change on his desk?

I do hope Coach eventually got out of the third floor meeting and will be able to go to Memphis.  I guess I should have known something was up (although I never found out what was up) when I saw a couple of local TV sportscasters headed into the SAC. I suspect they ended up on the third floor also. Or in Lola/Jude's playpen. I didn't stick around.

Fortunately, Coach Young was in and we had a great six minute chat that I'll play on the radio show this morning. Coach Young is always a great interview. I still have it on my "to do" list to punch Adam Himmelsbach for body-slamming her in a yellow journalistic piece earlier this year in our "one great newspaper". Or birdcage liner. Yep, a real tough guy. Dissin' the lady.

I also thought about asking the questions I had prepared for Walz to Coach Young. Or her oldest daughter...who was also present. She's a bit big for a playpen. And it's across campus as well. Maybe Jude could babysit her....in case Coach Young ends up on the third floor.

Just another interesting Paulie experience on the campus of the university in the greatest college sports town in the world. It is good to get reinforcement from time to time to remind me just how insignificant this independent, non-profit website is in the entire scheme of things. And, rightfully so.

I get it. Priorities take place. A man is at the top of one of the most successful women's basketball programs in the college landscape. The fortunes of 15 young women and a career and a philosophy are daily tasks. We know quite well where we are in the pecking order.

Stuff happens.

I did get to see Jeremy Yates, though, and tease him about his gray sweater that the girls were dissing in the post-game Temple press conference. He didn't have it on.  I think he sold it to the Temple Owl mascot.

And...I'm looking into adding a third floor to our humble abode.  It seems to be the way to go these days.


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Radio today will feature hoops, softball, lacrosse and other sports talk and we'll play the Young interview. A quiz, Paulie's Picks and it is rumored Don Paulie may stop by. All that and a bag of chips from a basement on a hill. 11 a.m. Join us, won't you? Link below.

HEAR JEFF MCADAMS ON CRESCENT HILL RADIO !!


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Here's an interesting piece sent to me by reader Kenny S. that features Shoni and a guy in a suit. Enjoy!

http://mycn2.com/cn2-sports/talking-with-shoni-schimmel-about-basketball-and-life

paulie
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Friday Cardinal Couple --Altered schedule for Softball

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Changes in the Cards softball visit to Jacksonville

-  Tell your statistics to shut up: UofL softball stats  

-  Shoni picks up another honor


Louisville softball is making their way to Jacksonville, FL for the Jacksonville University Tournament. In case you haven't heard...the southeast got slammed by an ice and snow storm that has caused travel nightmares and mucho inclement weather.

Louisville was scheduled to face the Missouri Tigers to open up today. UM has backed out of the event because of the slip-sliding away conditions. (Jacksonville itself is fine...with weather in the mid-fifties and temperatures rising). Getting there is the issue facing Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina...other participants in the three-day event besides the Dolphins.

So, here's the update (as of 7 p.m. Thursday night)

Louisville will play their first game Friday at 4 p.m. against Jacksonville. The Cards take on Notre Dame at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and North Carolina at noon. UofL will play Notre Dame again Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Dogsleds and parkas optional.

It's a good early season test for Pearsall's pulverizers. The #23 Cards are seeing two future ACC opponents and Jacksonville is no slouch...going 3-2 in the FIU Tournament last weekend with a win over DePaul and two wins against Maryland.

The Dolphins have a force in pitcher Victoria Brown, who went 2-0 in Miami and belted three home runs. She had six RBI's and her ERA was 0.00 with ten strike outs in 14 innings.

The Cards are 2-0 lifetime against JU. They knocked the Dolphins out of the water last year in this tournament 9-0.


We'll do a preview of UNC and Notre Dame in Saturday's CC.

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Hard-hitting Katie Keller has been named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The senior second baseman has also been selected to the preseason All-AAC squad. So far this season, KK is batting .333 in five games...fourth best on the Cards squad.

Keller has six hits in 18 at bats...two of them doubles...and has scored four runs and driven in two. She's started all five games.

Newcomers are at the top of the UofL hitting stats. Missouri transfer Kelsi Jones is 7-16 (.438) with two home runs and has scored seven times. Freshman Jordan McNary follows at .400 and Valpo transfer Brittany Duncan gets show money at .364.

Hitting hasn't been much of a problem for UofL. Getting around the bases has...so far. Louisville is batting .252, which is about average...but has only managed to score 19 runs on 34 hits and 20 walks. That's still seven runs better than the opposition...but slightly less that four runs per game.

Three pitchers have thrown out of the circle so far. Caralisa Connell sports an impressive 0.93 ERA, Rachel LeCoq with a 2.84 earned run average and freshman Marissa Becker checking in with 3.15. The hurlers do have 35 strikeouts combined...Cardinal batters have walked back to the dugout on K's 21 times.

Good luck Cards in J'Ville and show the ACC what's on tap for them!

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Awards and noninations for Shoni Schimmel seem to be as commonplace as varieties of green beans in the canned goods aisle of the grocery store....but the Umatilla Thrilla has picked up another one. Here's the release on the latest:

Senior guard Shoni Schimmel was named one of the Top 30 midseason candidates for the Women's Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T. Schimmel joins four UConn players, giving the American Athletic Conference five players on the list. Schimmel was also named to the Wooden Midseason list in January.

The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is awarded annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year. The voting academy bases its criteria on player performance throughout the season. The Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors narrowed the 50 pre-season watch list down to a midseason team comprised of 30 candidates. From there, four finalists will be selected to the final ballot in March. The Naismith Award winner will be announced on April 7, 2014.

Schimmel was named to the preseason list after being a key player in the Cardinals' success last season. She was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Oklahoma City Regional. She also earned WBCA All-Region honors and first team All-BIG EAST honors.

This season Schimmel is leading the Cardinals in scoring with 17.7 points per game. She also leads the Cardinals in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 38.8 percent. She ranks fourth in the conference in scoring. She leads the conference and ranks second in the nation in three-point field goals made with 3.5 per game. She currently ranks second on Louisville's all-time scoring list with 1,971 points.

Needless to say, we approve of this message and have just one more request for #23...help get this group of Birds a National Championship trophy that Coach Walz can sit in his office next to his jar of Geno's spaghetti sauce.   

paulie
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