Tennis Opens with Wins; Swimming in Kentucky -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Tennis Sweeps Double Header

Louisville women's tennis opened their season hot as they have over the past few years. The issue for the Cards has typically come in conference play, but each season brings renewed optimism that the team can finally break through the ceiling. The 2013-14 season was the last time that Louisville failed to win at least the first two matches of their season. In all but one of those years, Louisville won at least four matches to open the year. Ironically, 13-14 is also the last season Louisville finished with a winning record in a full season (the Cards were 8-6 when the remainder of the 2020 season was canceled due to Covid). 

If that 2013-14 season stands out to you in time for any reason, it's because that was the last season before Louisville joined the ACC. The Cards, despite having some extremely talented players, have not been able to keep up with ACC competition across all of the available matches in a competition. Though the final scores don't stand out as world beating, Louisville continued their trend when they beat NIU and Bellarmine in their season-opening double header yesterday. Louisville took two of the three doubles matches against NIU to carry a 1-0 lead into singles play. After straight set victories for Andrea DiPalma and Jamilah Snells gave Louisville a 3-0 lead, NIU won a three-setter in the five slot. Transfer Maria Campos, who played with DiPalma to win the decisive third doubles match, won a comeback of her own to give Louisville the insurmountable 4-1 lead and the match victory. NIU won the other two singles positions to give the final 4-3 score. 

The second match against Bellarmine saw Louisville's doubles pairings all reverse their fortunes, with Bellarmine taking the doubles point 2-1. The Cards were undeterred, though, as they promptly won four singles matches in straight sets to end the meet. After being the first two to finish against NIU, Andrea DiPalma and Jamilah Snells were the two Louisville players to not finish their matches against Bellarmine. Louisville won with a final score of 4-1, with DiPalma leading 1-0 (4-4 in the second) and Snells trailing 0-1 (5-5 in the second). 

The Cards will have the week off before hosting another double header next Saturday. They'll bring perennial opponent Ball State and local foe EKU in at noon and 5PM respectively. The Cards have nine non-conference matches before they host Clemson on February 24th to open ACC play. 

Louisville Swim and Dive at UK

The Cards and Cats are already underway in the Battle of the Bluegrass (Bluewater?). The platform diving portion of this weekend's meet took place yesterday at 4PM. As the split days are considered one big event, results for the day are not available, but the remainder of the meet is scheduled to begin at 1PM in Lexington. The Cards are ranked 7th and 17th in the country, the women's team being the higher of the two. Kentucky is ranked 20th and unranked, with the teams in the same order. Louisville has had particular success in the relays, with the Cards having four relay teams ranked in the top 7. Two are ranked 4th. Gabi Albiero (familiar name of course) is ranked in the top 13 in three events while Christina Regenauer holds two top-13 positions. Liberty Williams, Louisville's distance swimmer to look out for, is ranked in the top 25 in three events.

The Cats have not had a meet in a month, with their last event coming on December 19th. Back before Christmas, the Kentucky women's team defeated Georgia in a head-to-head for the first time in program history. If you're looking to watch some top talent hit the pool, head over to the Lancaster Aquatic Center when the doors open around 11:30. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

As always (except for the times we don't do it), join us today for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. After almost a month away, I'm back in the chair to rejoin the show this week. The rest of the crew will be on board as well and we'll talk all of the happenings of the week in UofL Women's Athletics. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB escapes BC with 73-65 victory -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL


Good morning readers

(We threw Daryl out of media row but she landed in fine company!)

Happy weekend to you. It was UofL staff and faculty appreciation night at the game but if there were any festivities, I missed them. I got a couple friends to come out to the game so I was all over the place Thursday evening. But it was a good time and the Cards got the victory so it was a good night overall. Coach Walz might've considered it less than great but his team walked away with the victory, that's a good night to say the least.

I also wanted to give a special shout out to a fellow staff member on Staff Appreciation night, my friend Karen! Karen is a huge UofL fan and works on campus and helps a lot of staff and students access their accounts and navigate systems throughout the university. Karen regularly attends UofL athletic events with her Cardinal entourage. The staff were gifted with awesome computer mouse pads that look like Denny Crum court! 



WBB

The Cards welcomed Boston College to the Yum! Center for a mid-week bout where the Cards were given all they could handle by the Eagles but managed to eek out a 73-65 win. Per usual, Hailey Van Lith led all scorers with 24 points on 7-17 shooting at 8-10 at the free throw line. The next best scorer of the night was Chrislyn Carr with 18 points on 6-12 shooting, 4-6 from beyond three. Louisville moves to 15-6 on the year, 6-2 in the ACC.

End of 1Q 20-9 Cards

FG %
8-14 57.1% Cards
4-12 33.3% BC
Reb. 9-7 Cards
3-pt %
2-3 66.7% Cards
1-3 33.3% BC

Morgan Jones with the tip off for UofL but she wasn't able to secure the ball.. I believe both players whiffed it and the ball bounced around midcourt before fumbling out of bounds. It was an early glimpse as to how the quarter would go for both teams as the two squads combined for 17 turnovers in the quarter, 8 were steals by the Cards. But the Cards started the game with a 4-0 lead before allowing BC to go on a 5-0 run. There were a couple steals and a three attempt rolled in and out for Carr. Jones lands her second basket to make it 11-7 with 4:24 left in the first quarter. Mykasa Robinson, Josie Williams and Nyla Harris made their first appearance at the first media timeout. Harris provided a burst of energy that is so much fun to watch. She comes in and gets the steal but then she travels at the other end and exits a couple minutes later. We love this freshman!

End of 2Q 22-12 BC

FG %
3-10 30% Cards
9-16 56.3% BC
Reb. 9-5 BC
3-pt %
2-4 50% Cards
4-6 66.7% BC

The second quarter started like the first, with a BC turnover and CC hitting the shot and the Cards extending out to as many as a 13 point lead, BC pushed back with an eleven point run of their own and then a questionable offensive foul was called on Carr. The Cards would go on a more than 6:30 minute field goal drought. Kasa made her two free throw attempts in that period. UofL managed to secure the lead back on a three from Carr and two made free throws from HVL.

HALF 32-31 

End of 3Q 18-17 Cards

FG %
6-13 46.2% Cards
6-13 46.2% BC
Reb. 8-7 BC
3-pt %
1-3 33.3% Cards
0-4 0% BC

HVL mishandled it to begin the second half but the UofL bigs took some control, Liz Dixon and Olivia Cochran scored the next six points. With 3:45 to go, Olivia and Andrea Daley bodied up the other and both received fouls. The result was a technical on Louisville and two intentional fouls on Boston College. HVL makes the two FTs for the technical on BC to make it 46-38 with 3:38 left in third quarter. The Cards push the lead to 8 points with 2:15 to go in the quarter when Norika Konno dished it to Liz Dixon in the paint for the layup but the Eagles would not be intimidated and BC closed the quarter on an 8-2 run.

End of 4Q

FG %
7-11 63.6% Cards
6-14 42.9% BC
Reb. 8-5 Cards
3-pt %
1-2 50% Cards
3-7 42.9% BC

Just like that, BC tied it up early at 50 all with 9 min to go in the game and then again at 55 with 6:42 left and had the lead one last time at 57-55 with 5:20 to play. HVL got the final lead for the Cards with 5 min. left in the game 59-57 when she drove to the bucket and scored. The Cards and primarily Mykasa Robinson took control of the game from that point on, getting the steal and dishing it out to CC at the other end for a 3 to put the Cards up 62-56 with 4:20 left in the game. The 7,600 in attendance roared. Kasa dished it to Nyla underneath for 64-57 lead. The Eagles landed another three pointer with about 3:30 min to go but the Cards had enough with the mind games and the two teams battled the next 3 minutes at the free throw line before the BC defenders backed off and let UofL dribble it out to victory.

CARDS WIN 73-65 !

UP NEXT

Louisville vs NC State

Sunday 1 p.m.

KFC Yum! Center

FRED REPORT

(Cards finished strong to avoid a nightmare on Main Street)

FREE THROWS -- Louisville spent quite some time at the charity stripe against BC. They went 19-25 with HVL making 8 of her 10 attempts and Kasa made 6 of 8. In contrast, the Eagles produced but barely got the opportunity going 7-8 on the evening. I want to see this number at a consistent 80% because that's what is going to be needed to win games in the post season. 76% will get a Capital F.


REBOUNDING -- It was an even battle on the board last night both squads pulling down a total of 29 in the game. The leading rebounder on the night was BCs Dontavia Waggoner with 9. Olivia lead the Cards with 7. lower case r


EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards showed the most amount of confidence in the last 5 minutes of the game. They were able to convert 17 assists on 24 made buckets and committed 14 of their 21 turnovers in the first half. lower case e

DEFENSE -- UofL had 15 steals against BC, Carr leading with 4. As a team, UofL had 28 point off of 23 BC turnovers. BC had 20 points off of the Cards' TOs. BC dominated the second quarter 22-12 and 45.5% from the field and 40% from beyond three which made it interesting for the final half. lower case d


FINAL FRED TALLY: F-r-e-d

(No, you turn right on 3rd, get on River Road and it leads you to I-64)

Sunday... NC State comes to town. You don't want to miss this one ! 

(GAME PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON) 


As always
Go Cards!


~Daryl

Cards Return Home to Host Boston College -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Return Home to Host Boston College

The KFC Yum! Center will turn its lights on for the second straight night as Louisville women's basketball resumes play with a Thursday night game against Boston College. Jeff Walz's squad hopes to have a better result than that of Louisville men's basketball last night.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. with the game being aired on ACCNX. Jess Laemmle and Jeff Greer have the call for the video stream while Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton will continue their spot on 93.9 FM.

Fresh off a road win at Florida State, the Cards enter the game with a 14-6 record and their 5-2 conference mark puts them near the top of the ACC.

Boston College is 13-7 on the year with a 3-4 ACC record. Most recently, they lost to Virginia and Syracuse last week. However, they did pull off upset victories over Florida State and NC State prior to that.

The Eagles are averaging 69.1 points per game while limiting opponents to 64.2 points per game. They're shooting .415 from the field, but have struggled behind the arc, shooting just .267 in that category. Free throw shooting has been another point of struggle this season for Boston College, where they have shot just .665.

With no Taylor Soule or Camryn Swartz this year, this Boston College team has had to redefine themselves. For the most part, seven players have shared a majority of the playing time with three others stepping in to cover for a few minutes here and there. Six of them are averaging scoring in double figures.

Dontavia Waggoner has been the leading BC scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game. Her 7.7 rebounds per game is also a team-high. Jojo Lacey has also been one of the leaders in scoring with 11.2 points per game. Taina Mair has impressed Eagles' fans in her rookie campaign by averaging 7.0 assists per game.

Joanna Bernabei McNamee has done a remarkable job in rebuilding a team, basically from scratch, that lost so many student-athletes through the portal and graduation. 

Louisville owns the all-time series 12-1. Last season, the Cards held on to win 63-53 and earned Jeff Walz his 400th career win 

WALZ WEDNESDAY PRESSER

WALZ PRE BC PRESSER 1/18/23

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

DUKE still atop a tight ACC WBB league standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Blue Devils one game up on Notre Dame, 1-1/2 game up on three others.

Duke used a convincing, 18-point win over Georgia Tech on Sunday to keep their lead in the ACC WBB regular season conference race. Two Blue Devils names we've heard all season long -- Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun -- led them to their 16th season and sixth conference win. 

In Duke's six wins, five have come against teams in the lower half of the conference (Virginia, NC ST, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest) and a win over tied for third place Louisville. They face North Carolina (another team in the lower half of the conference) tomorrow at Chapel Hill and then Syracuse (13-5, 4-3) comes to town Sunday. One could see Duke going to 8-0 by Monday morning. 

A game back of Kara Lawson's over-achieving Blue Devils is Notre Dame.at 5-1 in the ACC. It seems like there has been a Mabrey in South Bend since the start of the century, and their only loss as been to  (surprise...UNC) in conference play. Westbeld, Citron ang Miles are names who have been around South Bend seemingly forever and they also went out and got 6'4" Lauren Ebo in the portal last year. Niele Ivey hasn't pulled off the theatrics (or successes) that former coach Muffet McGraw did, but she has the talent on campus to do it.

The conference logjam (so far) in the upper part of the bracket occurs with three teams at 5-2. Louisville, FSU and Miami are those three ,and the Cards are probably regretting that two-point loss to Virginia Tech two games back....before beating FSU.  Miami entertained Wake Forest Sunday and had no trouble keeping the Demon Deacons with just two conference wins. FSU lost to Boston College the week before and then beat NC State. How many saw that happening? 

Virginia Tech and Syracuse are at 4-3 and North Carolina checks in at 3-3. These three are capable of beating anyone in the conference at any time, and also capable of losing shockers (VT to Clemson). And...that is the upper half of the conference.

The teams with work to do...(the lower half of the conference squads) contain a few surprises and a few expected in those ranks.. Another conference tie-up occurs at 3-4 with Virginia, NCST, Boston College and Clemson occupying that record. Seeing NCST there is a shocker, but a pleasant surprise is seeing Clemson (a perpetual cellar-dweller) there.

Wake Forest is at 2-6, with a win over the two teams with zero conference wins...Pittsburgh (0-6) and Georgia Tech (0-7). Seeing Georgia Tech winless is surprising. 

The conference has it's share of surprises ahead, be assured of that. I'm seeing Miami stay close, with the dynamic Cavinder twins and Destiny Harden. NCST won't stay down forever and Virginia Tech could start playing up to their talent level with Kitley, Soule, Amoore, King and Owusu. 

Louisville, too, is a squad that hasn't hit top gear yet, either and they could end up being very scary with Van Lith, Carr, Jones, Cochran and Dixon. We're looking forward to covering the Cards journey and the rest of the season. 

Boston College comes to call Thursday. Jared will get you ready for that one in the Thursday column. 

paulie  

Van Lith Named ACC Player of the Week -- ACC Standings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Van Lith Named ACC Player of the Week

Following strong showings in road games against Virginia Tech and Florida State, Hailey Van Lith was named ACC Player of the Week. In the two games, she averaged 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 4.0 steals. HVL also had a highlight reel shot at Florida State with just under a minute remaining in regulation to help secure the win.

The junior guard is averaging a team-high 20.8 points per game this season, which ranks second in the ACC. She is currently shooting .440 from the field and is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game. HVL is also shooting a team best .903 from the free throw line.

Van Lith is the second Cardinal to earn ACC POTW honors this season. CC Carr received the recognition back on December 27 after a 21-pount, 17-rebound performance against DePaul.

Louisville returns home to the KFC Yum! Center for two straight games. The Cards host Boston College on Thursday and NC State on Sunday.

ACC Standings

We've talked about this quite a few times this season, but the ACC seems to be wide open this year with anyone being able to win or lose on any given night.

This past weekend didn't shake up the standings too much with the biggest impacts coming with Louisville defeating Florida State and North Carolina defeating NC State.

#16 Duke sits atop the conference alone at 6-0 in conference play. #7 Notre Dame is second in the ACC with a 5-1 mark, with their only loss coming to North Carolina. Louisville, Florida State, and Miami are tied for third at 5-2 in conference play. The Cards fell to Virginia Tech and Duke. The Seminoles lost to Louisville and Boston College. The Hurricanes suffered losses to Florida State and Notre Dame. 

Virginia Tech and Syracuse are each 4-3 in the ACC, tying them for sixth currently. # 22 North Carolina is eighth at 3-3. Virginia, #11 NC State, Boston College, and Clemson each have a 3-4 conference mark. Wake Forest is 2-6. Pitt and Georgia Tech round out the bottom at 0-6 and 0-7, respectively.

There's still plenty of conference play left with teams having 11-12 games remaining so more shakeups in the standings are bound to happen. Let's hope to see the Cards continue to climb the ACC standings.

Paulie and I will be in attendance for both upcoming home games with Daryl and Sonya each planning to make an appearance.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Strong Fourth Quarter leads Cards past FSU 82-75 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

MORGAN JONES PUTS 25 ON FORMER TEAM IN UofL WIN

(Hailey Van Lith fan in Tallahassee)

It's said you can never really go home again, but, Morgan Jones looked to be in her element against FSU...making nine of her ten shots from the floor seven of he eight free throws and grabbing 1o rebounds. The former FSU star just needed a welcome mat, batch of chocolate chip cookies and friendly puppy to greet her at the visitors locker room door in the on-campus Donald L. Tucker Center. 

Oh, and just who was Donald L. Tucker? Why, he was the leader of the Florida House of Representatives from 1974-78 and a special ambassador to  The Dominican Republic for the U.S.  So, if this guy can get a facility named after home, what can we do for our beloved ex "mayor-for-life" Jerry Abramson?

For 3/4th of this contest Sunday afternoon in the Donald L. Tucker Center, the scenario seemed to be the the story of "close, but not close enough". The Cards WBB squad would make runs at the FSU lead, even grab it away a couple of times, but...from the early beginnings of the contest to the end of the third quarter...the story was the same. FSU had scored more overall points,

20-14 Noles after the first 10 minutes, in a quarter that was slow in developing. Almost 2-1.2 minutes passed before either team scored, and Louisville trailed 20-14 despite shooting 40%. The encouragement of seeing Liz Dixon and Hailey Van Lith off to good starts was maybe overshadowed by five Cardinals turnovers.

Louisville would draw even closer, at the start of the next 10 minutes, knocking the lead down to three a couple of times and leading by one at 25-24 after a couple of Jones buckets, but FSU went on a half-ending 9-4 run to secure a 33-29 halftime lead.

If the FSU pep band had broken into Little Richard's "You Keep a Knocking But You Can't Come In".( Little Richard song link) one couldn't have blamed them...

(You could even take the song "Along Came Jones" and match it up with this game). LINK to "ALONG CAME JONES" SONG

So, at the half, the score stood at 33.29 and the usual suspects were showing up, with Jones, on the scoresheet -- with Van Lith at six points and some quality minutes from Norika Konno. Van Lith had an unaccustomed-to six turnovers, though, and UofL had only two points off turnovers to trail 33-29. Latson was 1-8 from the floor. 

FSU won the third quarter 24-22 and, although the Cards were keeping league-leading scorer Ta'Niya Latson relatively quiet for the game (seven points),  Sara Bedeji was another of the several, talented FSU scorers and she had picked up the pace for Brooke Wyckoff's Garnet and Gold. FSU had a 57-51 lead with ten minutes to go and you had to wonder if the Cards had one last charge in them. 

And...as it turned out...they most certainly did. 

In the end, it was the Olivia Cochran and Van Lith duo who exploded for the Cards and salted this one away. Louisville started the quarter on a 11-4 run and they grabbed the lead on a Van Lith jumper with seven minutes to go. The Cards were ahead  62-61 and never relinquished the lead again.  Cochran's 10 point fourth quarter gave the Noles another inside scorer to  worry about and Louisville led 68-63 with 4:42 to go and 79-75 with 27 seconds to play. The Noles never gave up, but it was their turn to hear Louisville perform "Keep a Knocking" to describe the gme flow.. 

The Cards put a 82-75 win on the board and, besides Jones' 25 points...Van Lith had 20, Cochran had 13 and Carr had 11. With the win, the Cards go to 14-6 and 5-2 in the ACC...FSU goes to 16-4 and 5-2.

And, the shot of the day...maybe of the year came from HVL, as the Cards were protecting a 77-75 lead late. Watch the link and marvel:  LINK

THE FRED REPORT

(Cards danced away at the very end like Fred Astaire ending a movie) 

FREE THROWS --  14 for 19 is 73% and that's enough to earn the Cards a Capital "F" Walz probably would have rather had FSU's 18 for 20...but after 21 attempts for the teams in the third quarter, they only tried nine in the fourth quarter. Nice consistency, ref crew.

REBOUNDS -- Louisville dominated here 42-28 and Jones had 10, Cochran and Van Lith eight. A capital "R" works here...

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- 18 turnovers is too many, but 54% SHOOTING is very nice. 19 assists on 32 made baskets isn't too bad either. The 31 fourth-quarter points was two more than the Cards had in the entire first half, and despite claims by some that too much attention is paid to scoring, I'm pretty sure you still need to have at least one more point than an opponent to win. I'll offer a small case "e" for that revved up fourth quarter effort. 

DEFENSE --  Louisville held the league's leading scorer (Latson) to just 11 points and the Cards had six blocks and six steals. 37.9% shooting and just 75 points out of the league's highest scoring team is a nice stat, too. And, in the end, the Cards held FSU to just four points in a crucial four-minute part of the final quarter, and that ultimately led to victory. Capital "D"

FINAL FRED REPORT:  F-R-e-D

THEY SAID IT:   

Jeff Walz post game

FSU Post Game

The Cards return home for two next week.  Thursday (Boston College) and Sunday (NC State) games. The fun continues, make sure you're a past of it.  

paulie

 

Basketball Gameday vs FSU - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 Gameday vs FSU

It's a 1pm start for the Cards today.  Hitting the road again after a brief visit home, the Cards hope to get back into the win column vs Florida State today in Tallahassee.

In the weird dichotomy between ACC conference success and non-conference success, FSU sits in second place in the conference which you would think would put them somewhere in the middle of the national rankings, right?  No, they're down in "Receiving Votes".

FSU's schedule does reflect some of that craziness as well.  Their non-conference schedule was relatively straightforward.  They beat Florida, which is fairly expected.  They lost to a UConn team that on the verge of not having enough active players to field a team, but even that shorthanded, UConn is no team to ignore.  When you get in conference though is when it starts getting really weird.  Wins over UNC and NC State, but an overtime loss to Boston College?  The ACC is just weird this year.

Louisville will need the defense to step up today.  FSU averages 87.5 points per game.  Louisville has only scored more than that twice this season, to Longwood and SIUE, when the Cards topped 100.  We'll also need to watch out for play in the paint as Makayla Timpson has a whopping 42 blocked shots in the season so far.  For comparison, the leading shot blocker for Louisville is Morgan Jones, with 18.

Ta'Niya Latson is the major scoring threat for the Seminoles.  While she's not the most prolific from range, she shoots plenty from beyond the arc, and with a 38% success rate.  She's hits 50% of the shots she takes from the field, and you can't really stop her by fouling her, with an almost 86% free throw percentage.

FSU is coming into this game with a big win over 11th ranked NC State on Thursday.  Compared to the heartbreaker loss against VT for the Cards, the vibe check probably edges towards UofL.  But then, this is, of course, on FSU's home floor, so let's call those factors a wash.

1pm, on RSN, which will typically be Bally Sports for the live video on this one.  For the rest of us, we've got the ever reliable Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton on 93.9FM locally.

Track and Field

Case covered the first day of the Cardinal Classic event in Track and Field in his Saturday column.  A couple of other notable results from yesterday's events.

Freshman Alba Cuns Iglesias won the triple jump, going a length of 12.59m.   Also, Soledad Jean finished in second in the high jump clearing 1.78m. 

(PHOTOS TODAY CAME PARTIALLY FROM THE VAST COLLECTION OF JARED ANDERSON SHOTS OF THE CARDS AND NOLES OVER THESE YEARS)

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(The old days, when we were in a basement on a hill)

A basketball focused show, which of course makes sense for this time of year, for the CCRHP yesterday.  Plenty of discussion of the win over Pitt, and the close loss to Virginia Tech.  Daryl, Jared, and Paulie all gave some great insights, and I was on the call as well.

As always, you can catch it at any of your favorite podcast directories, including our publishing point at anchor.fm:

https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Its-the-Basketball-Time-of-Year-e1tfvpp

-- JMcA

Cards Open Cardinal Classic with Wins -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville has Strong Day 1 at Cardinal Classic

After a fairly good start at the Commonwealth College Opener last month, Louisville looked to carry those good vibes into their "home" facility at the Norton Sports and Learning Complex. The Cards brought in Texas, Miami (FL), Cincinnati, Bellarmine, and Xavier for the weekend. Texas is a strong opponent, as they are the reigning indoor track and field champions and runners up in men's and women's, respectively. 

Photo by Taris Smith, UofL

Day one was impressive for the Louisville women, as they picked up three event wins. Those wins were headlined by a Synclair Savage victory in the long jump in which she set the new school record of 6.44m (21' 1-1/2"). That beats the previous record of 6.27m (20' 7") set by Alexis Gibbons in 2018. Interestingly, Texas's Ackelia Smith did not participate in the event. Smith, a freshman, landed 15th on the all-time NCAA record list with a 6.73m (22' 1") jump in December.

The second big event for Louisville was none other than the pole vault. You may remember that the Cards had a pretty good performer in that category. While Gabriela Leon has moved on from UofL, the team competed as if she was right there with them. Louisville swept the top four places in the event, with Aliyah Welter winning her second pole vault event in as many tries this indoor season. She was followed by Lily Fleetwood and Carly Pujol putting up personal bests to get on the podium and Auriane Viola just beind. While there were only 10 participants in the pole vault, Louisville held five of the top six spots. Only one jumper from Texas joined the fray, while both of Miami's jumpers faulted. 

The last event win of the day went to Zoe Yeast. She and Tiana Bazie, who finished fifth, threw personal bests, while Katherine Coffey split them for third in the weight throw. The weight throw is another event in which Louisville has had major success, so seeing a number of performers on the results list is encouraging for the year ahead. 

The event does not appear to be scored on the team level, but every event counts when working to make qualifications for later inclusion in tournaments. The teams will return to action today at 10AM. Admission is free, while parking is $5. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After a last minute change in plans, I'll be out again this week, but the show must go on. The rest of the crew will be in the house to discuss the week that was. They'll cover the women's basketball win over Pitt, the loss to VT, and take a look at the bounceback opportunity in Tallahassee. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB falls to #13 VaTech 81-79 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Here we are again y'all! Another weekend ahead and very much needed.  

I appreciate you checking back in with us at Cardinal Couple to catch up on the Cards and enjoy reading your thoughts in the comment section as well.  

Students are back on campus at UofL for the first week of classes and the WBB Cards are knee deep into the conference schedule and on the road this weekend.  
 

WBB

photo: gocards.com

Louisville fell Thursday night against #13 Virginia Tech 81-79.   The Cards had a chance to tie it or take the lead in the final 30 seconds but weren't able to convert.  It was a night where the Louisville bigs were not able to remain on the floor.   Olivia Cochran was on the floor for 10 minutes, Liz Dixon had the most opportunity with 24 minutes and only 4 points to show for it and Josie Williams with 12 strong minutes up against reigning ACC POY Elizabeth Kitley.  All three Cardinals finished with 4 fouls.  

Hailey Van Lith lead all scorers with 29 points going 10-26 from the field with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  22 of her 29 were in the second half. 

For the Hokies,  Taylor Soule fouled out with about 3 minutes left in the game finishing with 24 points while Kitley scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.   

 

End of 1Q    20-14 VT

FG %
7-13 53.8 %  Cards
9-17 52.9%   VT
Reb.   8-7  VT
3-pt %
0-3 0%        Cards
1-6 16.7%   VT

Some technical difficulties (ACCNX crap) kept me from getting eyes on the game until the second quarter but with the Cards up 14-12, the Hokies went on a 8-0 run to close out the first quarter and establish a 20-14 lead over UofL.  Kitley went 5-5 to jump start her scoring on the night.   UofL committed 6 of their 15 turnovers in the first quarter.  Cochran went 2-2 for only 4 points on the evening while also picking up two fouls in 7 minutes on the floor. 

End of 2Q    18-16 Cards 

FG %
7-14 50% Cards
7-16  43.8%
Reb.  9-7 Cards
3-pt %
2-5 40% Cards
1-4 25%  VT

The Hokies turned the ball over when Mykasa Robinson stole it and drove it in for the layup.   She finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in all 10 minutes of the quarter.  VaTech would gain as many as 7 points better than UofL at 23-16.  This was about when I was able to tune in.   Josie Williams had a confident couple of minutes when she attempted a 3 pointer and missed but was able to connect on the second chance attempt when Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound after the miss.  She hit another one when Kitley turned it over to make it 23-20 VT.  The Cards hit their first 3 with about 4 minutes left in the half, courtesy of HVL to make it 25-28 VT before the Hokies went on a run to make it a 7 point lead for VT again.  And here is when i noticed the calls were not going the Cards way this evening.  Morgan Jones got called for a charge when there is absolutely no way Georgia Amoore was planted to cleanly defend.  Alas, the home team gets the call and goes to the other end and nails the jumper to make it 36-30. 

HALF 36-32 

End of 3Q   26-21 Cards

FG %
10-15 66.7% Cards
7-15 46.7%  VT
Reb.  9-5 VT
3-pt %
2-3 66.7% Cards
1-6 16.7%

The Cards owned the third quarter and showed some early signs that they could do what they did to Pitt and come back in this thing.  HVL came out of the half to break the shooting slump - scoring quickly.   Mykasa also found a quick bucket to make it 36-38 and the two took some control.  VT walked to turn it over and HVL scored to tie it 38 all.  Carr's first bucket came in the final min. of 3Q to make it 58-54 Cards with less than a minute to go.  Traylor responded with a 3 of her own.. 58-57.  Traylor had 17 points on 6-9 with 3 threes, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. 

End of 4Q   24-21 VT

FG %
7-19 36.8%  Cards
7-12 58.3%  VT
Reb.  10 all 
3-pt %
1-2 50%  Cards
3-4 75%  VT

A couple of free throws by HVL put the Cards up 60-57 but VaTech's Kayana Traylor tied it up at 60 with a three before HVL took it in for the drive and one, making it 63-60 with 7:30 left in the game.  I can appreciate the high-ponytail Mykasa.  Robinson had been somewhat struggling to get her shots to fall in recent games...she was 3-4 from the floor with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.    The two squads battled in the final quarter.  Soule picked up her 5th foul with 3 minutes left to send Jones to the line.  Jones finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.  The final 3 minutes lasted about 10 as the two teams used every opportunity to gain the advantage.  Kasa stepped in front for the steal but couldn't keep it in bounds and Traylor nailed a 3 pointer to cut the lead and make it 75-74 Cards.  In the Cards next offensive possession, Jones drove to the hoop and got fouled but missed both free throws.  VT went the other way with it and Amoore nailed the 3 in Robinson's face for the 77-75 lead and 1:48 to go.   Amoore finished with 13 points and 8 assists.  Again, Kasa comes up with the defensive stop with a huge block underneath but the Cards cannot convert on offense when Chrislyn Carr missed her attempt with 70 seconds left.  Carr had a quiet nights finishing with 6 points, 1 rebound and an assist.   As a team, VT finished the game making 4 of their 5 attempts while the Cards missed their final 5.  

Cards fall 81-79 to Virginia Tech

UP NEXT

Louisville @ Florida State

Sunday 1 P.M.

FRED REPORT

(How many fouls did Kitley get? One. In 39 minutes. Are you kidding me? Who refereed? Stevie Wonder? Or did she rediscover the Romulan cloaking device?) 

FREE THROWS --  Louisville went 12-16 at the free throw line good for 75%.  Van Lith and Morgan Jones were the only two who had an opportunity at the charity stripe.  HVL went 7-7 while Jones went 5-9.   Just because they didn't get there, doesn't mean they weren't fouled.  Capital F 

REBOUNDING --  The Cards were outrebounded 34-31 on the evening. Morgan Jones lead the charge for UofL with 9 with Robinson following closely with 8.   Olivia only had the opportunity to grab 1 in her 10 minutes on the evening.   Louisville had 10 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second chance points.  lower case r 

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  I struggle with this category the most because sometimes I choose to gauge it by numbers and other times the overall picture.  I want to go with the latter after this one because if you look at the stat sheet, it was very similar on both sides of the court.   I feel like HVL has to carry alot of the offensive weight on her shoulders.  I would've liked to see her distribute the ball more against VaTech.. she finished with only 3 assists on the evening while also turning it over 5 times.   She probably deserved a few more chances at the free throw line too that just weren't called.  She made 10 of the Cards' 31 buckets.  Capital E for effort

DEFENSE --  This game was such an even matchup on paper but it felt like 5 against 8.   The Cards shot 51% while the Hokies shot 50%.  Kitley and Soule both shot 64% and led their squad to victory over the Cards for the first time in 27 years.  lower case d

FINAL FRED TALLY:   F-r-E-d

 

P.S. It's Friday the 13th 

As always 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

 

WBB Faces Virginia Tech -- WSOC News -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Travels to Ranked Virginia Tech

Louisville women's basketball hits the road to face #13 Virginia Tech tonight at 7:00 p.m. The game is slated to be aired on ACCNX with Jason Patterson and Mack McCarthy on the call. You can also tune into 93.9 FM to hear Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton.

The Cards are fresh off wins against Georgia Tech (63-55) and Pitt (76-69) at home. The wins moved Louisville to 13-5 on the season and 4-1 in ACC play. 

After a hot 10-0 start to the season, Virginia Tech has dropped three of their last six games to get to 13-3. The Hokies post a 3-3 mark in ACC play with wins against Boston College, North Carolina, and Virginia. Their losses game against Notre Dame, Miami, and Clemson. Their non-conference schedule features wins against Power Five opponents Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Virginia Tech has been tough at home, going 8-1 at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies have averaged 2,608 per game at home, which is slightly under par for the average attendance per game in the ACC in recent years (2021-22- 2,973; 2020-21- 3,144; 2019-20- 2,885). Attendance numbers provided by the NCAA.

Kenny Brooks is having arguably his best season as the helm for Virginia Tech, where he is currently 137-72 all-time. The Hokies have never made it past the second round in the NCAA Tournament since he took over in 2016.

This year, VT has been outscoring opponents 74.9-55.4 on average. On the offensive end, they have shot extremely well at .433 from the field and .337 from three. They've averaged 15.8 assists per game.

Three-point defense has been strong for the Hokies, allowing opposing teams to shoot just .261 from downtown. They've also forced opponents into 16.1 turnovers per game. 

Elizabeth Kitley has been a workhorse for the Hokies this year. The 6-6 senior is a walking double-double, averaging 18.4 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 32 blocks. Five other Hokies average between 9.8-13.9 ppg, giving VT several scoring threats.

The free throw line has been a strong suit for Virginia Tech, as no player is shooting below .708 from the line. They've shot a collective .762 from the charity stripe this year.

A ranked road match-up will help show how far the Cards have come this season after a few speed bumps early in the year. A win would surely strengthen the case for Louisville to get back into the Top 25. A win would keep the Cards in the top three in the ACC while a loss could potentially drop them several spots.

Walz's Wednesday Presser

Coach Jeff Walz held a presser to discuss the upcoming VT game on Wednesday at The Planet Fitness Kueber Center media room

You can hear the presser at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrxoIyp_pNg

Women's Soccer News

The NWSL Draft is tonight at 6:00 p.m. Sadly, this is only being aired on Paramount+. Pretty sad when they can't get something better than that. We do wish Cardinal Great Maisie Whitsett the best of luck in hoping she hears her name called.

Sticking with women's soccer for a moment, Louisville women's soccer announced their spring schedule this week. The Cards will face Racing Louisville on Feb. 26 in what we believe will be at Lynn Family Stadium downtown. The release mentioned Racing Louisville's facilities downtown so it could be at their training facility as well. Louisville will also participate in the Spring Cup where they will face Bowling Green in Bowling Green, Ohio, host Michigan State, and then face a third team to be named later.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared