ACC -- WBB WEEK OF 2/2/26 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ACC STANDINGS

2-9 ain't that fine for the Demon Deacons squad. 

With the majority of the ACC WBB schools having 11 games under their belt... we are almost 2/3rds of the way through the conference schedule   Let's take a look today at the league standings. 

Louisville (11-0, 21-3) and Duke (11-0, 16-6) are atop the pack. These two will match up tomorrow in the KFC YUM! Center and it should be a good one to watch  .Louisville is on a 14 game win streak and Duke is on a 13 game win streak. Jeff Walz wants you in the seats and would like a full bottom bowl. It's an ESPN broadcast and tips at 7 p.m.

Next in the standings are Virginia Tech, Syracuse and NC State at 8-3.  The Hokies are on a seven game win streak and Megan Duffy is proving to be just as good a head coach as Kenny Brooks ever was at Va Tech. The Notre Dame grad was a thorn in the Cards side when she was a player and Carys Baker leads VT in scoring. 

After that, UNC is at 7-3 and Virginia and Clemson are at 7-4. They're technically still alive for the conference title but at astronomical odds. 

Notre Dame is having an off season and is 6-5 in conference and 14-8 overall.. Georgia Tech is 5-6 and the West coast contingent of Stanford and California are at 4-6. Stanford is 15-8 overall and will probably make the NCAA Tournament if they don't fall completely apart in their final seven conference games and the ACC Tournament. 

The Seminoles of FSU are having a disastrously bad season at 2-8 and 7-15. Just behind them is Wake Forest at 2-9. SMU and Pitt stand at 1-9 and Boston College is in the basement at 0-11 and 4-20. Joanna Bernabee-McNamee is too good of a coach to be that bad this season but they've lost 16 games in a row  

We'll preview the Louisville vs Duke game for you tomorrow. 

paulie

FH Announces International Signing -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Adds to Netherlands Connection

There were brief signs of spring yesterday when we finally reached above-freezing temperatures yesterday, and softball is right around the corner, but let's return to fall sports for just a moment. Louisville field hockey announced a major signing to the fall 2026 class yesterday, as they'll add Bibi van der Lande to the roster. Van der Lande is a defender from the Netherlands, continuing the pipeline that head coach Justine Sowry has established between the land of tulips and the River City. 

Bibi van der Lande is not to be confused with Bibi van der Velden. Though it's pretty clearly different, a name similar to that of a Dutch jewelry designer made finding information on the field hockey player a bit more difficult. Nevertheless, it won't be the fashion icon stepping onto the turf at Trager this fall. The defender that will join the Cards has played for MOP (Mixed-Oranje-Pauw) for her entire career. As a member of the development team, van der Lande participates at the third-highest level of senior field hockey in the Netherlands. Last season, she was frequently asked to substitute for the second team as well. 

According to her recruiting profile, van der Lande has a calm presence in the middle of the defense and is adept at short and long passes to set up the attack from the back line. Like many top defenders, van der Lande has spent time playing at the forward positions as well, giving her knowledge of how the attack is formed. This is beneficial as both a defender and the beginning of the offense. She is noted as having strong communication skills that help set up her teammates for success. While van der Lande will be replacing one Dutch defender in Tatum Kroon (who graduated), she'll be able to transition her communication skills into the college game with the help of two more defenders from the Netherlands. Returning in 2026 are senior Annabel Sep and sophomore Trijntje Herfkens. 

There's still quite a while to go before the fall seasons start, but van der Lande will be a welcome addition to the program when she joins in the summer. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB 1-0 in February -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good Morning readers, 

Hope everyone is staying warm out there, because the snow is going nowhere anytime soon.  

WBB vs Cal


Louisville 71- California 59

The red hot Louisville Cardinals are heading back to the Ville still undefeated in the ACC and a prime time matchup with the Duke Blue Devils looms later in the week.  Louisville WBB is 21-3 on the year and looking like one of the top 10 teams in the country.  

Lets see how the match with the Cal Golden Bears unfolded.


The first half was a scrappy one as both squads struggled to score from beyond 3 point range, making 1 each. UofL went 1-7 when Cal went 1-9. Cal also had 3 turnovers in the last 6 min of the first quarter where Cards went on a 6-0 run to finally establish a lead. Mackenly Randolph hit a 3 and lead the scoring with 5 points in the quarter. As a team the Cards had 4 assists on 7 made buckets.

It took a while for the Cardinals to warm up only as they managed to score only 1 point, no FG within the first 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter. Reyna Scott gets her first bucket to put the Cards up 20-15. Cal went on a run over 20-19 with about 5 min. till half. Personal foul called on Cal and media timeout allows the Cards to regroup. After 3:30 minutes scoreless Imari Berry made a bucket . It was 24-21 before the Cards go into the half with only a 28-24 lead.

Jayda Curry and Kianna Smith in the house to cheer on the Cards
Photo: UofL WBB Facebook

Cal opened the second half with a bucket to make it a 2 point game but Laura Zeigler proved her time spent in the weight room paid off and put a strong one up and in.  Cal responded with a 3 pointer


E and Taj both tried to respond with threes of their own but after an offensive rebound and a chance, both bounce on the rim and out of bounds.   Cal took a 34-32 lead on a 3 pointer with 7 min left in the 3Q.   After that, E and Taj got another shot at back to back threes and sank both.   Then a layup from Istanbulluoglu put the Cards up 10 for their biggest lead of the game at that point and it was the turning point of the game with 3 min left in the third quarter.


An 8-0 run by Cards over 2 min. ending with Laura hitting the 3 pointer with 6:30 left made it 60-46 and the Cardinals never took their foot of the gas petal.  


FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 11-16 at the free throw line which is only good for 68.8% and not letter earning by Card Couple's standards.  There was an opportunity where Taj Roberts got to shoot 2 on a flagrant foul called on Cal and went 1-2 at the line and UofL also threw it out of bounds on the '2 shots and the ball' opportunity as a result.  Gotta clean up those silly mistakes.  No letter

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals as a team outrebounded the Bears but the leading rebounder wore a California uniform.  Elif was the leading rebounder in a UofL uniform with 7 boards.  I'd like to see Laura pull down a couple more. lower case r    

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- UofL had their backs against the wall in the first half and were held to just 28 points.  After shooting just 32% in the first half the Cards doubled it up to an impressive 64% shooting percentage from the field in the second half.  Roberts scored 15 of her 21 in the 2nd half.  Capital E

DEFENSE -- The Cards let Cal shoot 56% from the field in the second half  but their struggles from 3 point range throughout the game is what let Louisville pull away.  Capital D


FINAL FRED TALLY:   _-r-E-D

As Always, 

Go Cards

~Daryl

"Perfect Cards" go Bear Hunting in Berkeley -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PUT 10-0 ACC MARK ON THE LINE SUNDAY

The Louisville women's basketball squad has enjoyed life in the ACC so far this season. In 10 games, the Cards are a perfect 10-0. Clemson, UNC, SMU, Virginia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Notre Dame, Boston College, NC State and Stanford have all fallen by the wayside in their games against the Louisville squad. 

Up next, the final game in the UofL west coast swing when the Cards travel to Berkeley and face California in Haas Arena. My sister-in-law, her husband and their daughter live in Berkeley and the last time Sonya and I went to visit them there, we spent a day on the campus, just checking things out. It was a summer trip, so we didn't get to see any teams in action. 

Charmin Smith. Cal WBB head coach.  Wonder if she uses Charmin?...

                                                        OK, bad joke...sorry

 
This California squad is 13-9 on the season and 4-5 in the ACC. Their last conference win came against Notre Dame in the Haas Arena and the Golden Bears were led by Lulu Twidale (19 points), Gisela Maul (16 points) and Samika Walker (12 points). Samika's father will be familiar to UofL MBB fans...Samaki Walker spent two years playing for Denny Crum at UofL in the early nineties before deciding to go pro and joined the LA Lakers. Walker was with six teams in his 10 yr NBA career. 

The Cards are getting national recognition for being a well-balanced squad with multiple leading scorers per game this season. Against Stanford, it was Laura Ziegler leading the way with 22 points...one of four Cards in double figures. This one will be on the CW Network. In Louisville, on Spectrum it is channel 7, WBKI if you have regular TV. (does anyone anymore?)

This one airs at 11 a.m. (California time) and 2 p.m in the Ville. 

paulie

 

Swim and Dive Look to Bounce Back Against UC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Fell to Indiana on Thursday   

We haven't talked much about Louisville swim and dive this year, but the Cards are putting up a great season so far. Louisville's women's team is ranked sixth, though they may drop slightly after a loss on Thursday at Indiana. The Hoosiers are ranked ninth, and the Cards hung tight, so it may not be a big fall if there is one at all. Louisville will look to get back to winning ways against Cincinnati today in the Ralph Wright Natatorium. 

Despite falling on Thursday, Louisville lost by just 23 points (161-138). Louisville had three individual wins by Anastasia Gorbenko, who has been a freshman revelation for the Cards. Gorbenko was a steal of a recruit for Arthur Albiero, as she is a member of the Israeli National Team. As a member of that team, Gorbenko has won eight European and World Championships, competed in two Olympic finals, and netted 14 national swim records. On Thursday, Gorbenko won three individual events (100 breast, 200 breast, and 400 IM) and helped win the 200 medley relay. Gorbenko's 2:06.75 in the 200 breast set a school record. 

Joining Gorbenko on the podium for the medley relay were Julie Mishler, Ella Welch, and Julia Dennis. Louisville also picked up wins in the 50 free, where Julia Dennis set an IU pool record of 21.46, and the 1000 free, where Leticia Fassina Romao was first and Tilda Hall was second. In the 100 breast, the Cards swept the podium, with Anna Inagaki taking second and Kim Herkle finishing third. The Cards also swept the podium in the 200 breast, with Herkle and Inagaki swapping positions behind Gorbenko Louisville's Daria Golovaty won the 500 free, and Louisville finished with seven other total podium placements.

On the platforms, Audree Brazeau-Howes led the way for Louisville at both the 1M and 3M heights. Brazeau-Howes finished third in the 3M dive. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case 

Cards bounce the Cardinal 84-66 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

We returned to campus on Thursday and it was actually pretty nice out.  The snow is blinding but the contrast of the red Cardinal birds on the backdrop of the blanket of snow is aesthetically pleasing. 

While we're dodging piles of snow in Louisville the WBB squad went to the west coast for some sunshine.  

WBB

Louisville 84  Stanford 66

The Cards were back in action on the hardwood and continue to bring the heat.  

Laura Ziegler had a career high day for the Cardinals with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Mackenly Randolph swished 3 threes in the first quarter finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.  Randolph had made 8-24 threes before this night.  She had 13 of her total points in the first half.   Ziegler started the match 0-5 and finished 9-11.  

With Louisville up 31-17, a 9-0 run by the Cards forced Stanford to call the timeout with 7:52 until halftime.   Then UofL went scoreless for 2:30 with a wild sequence of events before Imari Berry got her first bucket with less than 5:30 till the halftime break. 

UofL went into the break with a 48-30 lead over Stanford.  The Stanford Cardinal had 14 TO in first the half.

And that was pretty much how the cookie crumbled the rest of the way in Palo Alto.  

With about 3:30 to go Berry went down after a making a deflection leading to another Cardinals steal. It looked like a tweak of the leg or ankle of some sort that sent her to the sidelines.  We will get the info from the program on that.  

It was a wild last minute and half of play with the bench on the floor.   Did somebody order some turnovers?? The Cards had 6 in that time frame so that stat is a little misleading although Reagan Bender had 3 to herself.    The Cards scored just 4 points in the final 2 minutes while Stanford scored 11. 

UP NEXT

Louisville vs California

Sunday 2/1/26

2p.m. The CW

Louisville and Duke are still the lone undefeated teams in the ACC with the NC State  2 games back.  Duke demolished Miami Thursday night but they did lose the third quarter 27-16.



FRED REPORT

Fred Mertz (William Frawley) is today's Fred. Remember I Love Lucy and My Three Sons?  

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 9-12 at the line (75%).  Ziegler was perfect 2-2 on a career night. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals barely outrebounded Stanford 38-34 even though UofL used 4 more players.   They have got to dominate this category to win the big games.   lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- UofL lead the entire way in this one and made it clear they're not looking ahead or taking any ACC opponent lightly.  The Cards poured it on Stanford and it was never really close.   CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- The Cards executed a swarming defense on Stanford that allowed them to pick up no momentum at any point of the game.  UofL forced 22 turnovers and got 26 points off of them.  That was the difference maker.  CAPTIAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-r-E-D

As Always,

Go Cards

~Daryl 

CARDS WBB TRAVELS TO STANFORD -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS PLAY STANFORD FIRST IN A TWO GAME WEST COAST SWING

Let's take a positive look about the joy and excitement of Louisville WBB headed to California for their next two games. First off, there isn't a foot of snow to have to trudge through and deal with when they arrive on the Stanford campus . A forecast of 64 today at Stanford, which is about 35 miles south of San Francisco. Second, two of the Cards starters are from 'the Golden State' in Mackenly Randolph (Los Angeles) and Tajianna Roberts (San Diego). 

I doubt Taj or Mac ever heard it, but the Grateful Dead had a pretty cool song about California on their Terrapin Station album (1977) called Estimated Prophet. The late Bob Weir had the vocal and you can hear it HERE.

As far as the Stanford squad goes, they come into the fray 15-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. It's a 8 p.m. EST game and you can catch it on ESPN. The network is rolling out their "A" team in Beth Mowins and Deb Antonelli for this one...and it'll take place in the legendary Maples Pavilion. 

Kate Paye is the head coach of Stanford. She played there and was also an assistant for Tara VanDerveer. She took over in April of 2024.  

Lara Somfai the 6'7" Cardinal center

Stanford has one up on the Cards in that they have won a National Championship (in 2021). This year, they are a lot like the Cards in the aspect of having multiple scoring threats, They have five scorers that average nine points a game or better. Nunu Agara leads the Cardinal with 14.5 a game. Following her, you've got Chloe Clardy at 11.1, Lara Somfai 10.6 a night, Courtney Ogden 10.5 and Hailee Smith 9.0 

Here's an interesting tidbit....Nunu committed to Stanford because of the palm trees. Out of Minnesota, she says they are her favorite tree. I guess Kate Paye is happy she didn't visit Miami or FAU first. 

Losses have come against FGCU, Tennessee, Duke, Syracuse, California and NC State. 

The Cards lead the overall series 2-1 , with Louisville winning the last meeting, in Louisville last year 74-65. 

Finally, let's look at the nickname. They are called the Cardinal. They were the Indians until 1972. The nickname allegedly refers to the school color of Cardinal red, and not the bird or a religious figure.  They also go by the Trees. The tree was introduced as a joke by the Stanford marching band at a football game, but it caught on with the fans and the student body has a contest each year to re-design the tree. Thank goodness that has never happened with out Cardinal Bird. Novice announcers eventually refer to the Stanford squad as the Cardinals...but i doubt Deb and Beth make that mistake. 

Yes, it's one of those Atlantic coast school on the Pacific coast.  

It should be a fun one and Daryl will have the recap in the Friday Cardinal Couple. 

Hmmmm, I wonder if we should change our name to "Cardinals Couple?" 

paulie

Nine down and Nine To Go for WBB -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS AND DUKE ATOP THE ACC WBB RANKINGS. 

We are halfway through the ACC WBB conference slate now and...even though the city of Louisville is in a polar deep freeze currently, the women's basketball team is "en fuego". 

At 9-0 in conference and 19-3 overall, the Cards and Duke are the only two teams at 9-0 and the much awaited matchup between these two will be on Feb 5th in the KFC YUM CENTER. The Thursday night matchup will be shown on ESPN. 

The Cards are ranked #7 in the nation and Duke checks in at #20. Duke has struggled out of conference, with losses to West Virginia, South Florida, South Carolina, UCLA, LSU and Baylor....for a 5-6 record out of the ACC, Five of the schools they lost to, however, are in the top 25. 

Retired head coach "Katie the Lady" Meier of Miami

Duke has won 11 in a row, though, under Kara Lawson ...but faces a potentially tough outing in their next game, when the face Miami on Thursday in Miami. Head coach Tricia Cullop, formerly out of Toledo, is in her second year at "The U" . Former head coach Katie Meier is now a "special advisor and ambassador" for Miami athletics in Coral Gables and "Katie the Lady" was always a tough out for Walz and company when the two matched up....hanging losses on the Cards in 2022 and 2019.  

Looking at Louisville, their west coach swing , coming up next, should prove to be an interesting test for these Cards. Thursday, January 29th has the Cards on the Stanford (4-4, 15-6)  campus and Feb 1st brings the Cards to Cal (3-5, 12-8) . I do applaud the scheduling that lets  Louisville get both West coast games in a row...but I still have to chuckle when I tell people that the Cards have two Atlantic Coast Conference games in California. 

Toby Fournier is the leading scorer of Kara Lawson's crew, at 17.7 points per game and she had a long laundry list of schools she consider back in 2024. She also grabs 7.7 rebounds a contest. The Toronto Canada native looked at South Carolina, UConn, Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan. And, she's just a sophomore...if you needed any other reasons to have a headache. Maybe one redeeming feature for an opponent is to foul her...she is 68 for 129 (53%) from the charity stripe. 

So, who are some of the more worrisome foes left in the Cards final nine conference games before the tournament? Duke, obviously...and Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame and Syracuse. 

Any ACC WBB game, though, can be a nightmare for a visiting team, especially on the road...because of the big home team fan support in the league. Maybe it's just best to follow the philosophy of UFC great Conor McGregor when he said

"Success isn't a result of arrogance, it's a result of belief." 

paulie

AVCA Announces First Serve Showcase -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Showcase Keeps Expanded Lineup in Year Three

The AVCA Showcase is a long-standing event, originally created in 1995. It saw multiple format variations, including a conference challenge, through the years before coming to an end in 2012. The event was reintroduced in 2024. That season, it was played at the Yum! Center, which was scheduled to host the 2024 NCAA Championship event. That appears to have been more of a coincidence than a new tradition. Last year, it was played in Lincoln, while the championship was hosted in Kansas City. This season, the AVCA First Serve Showcase will be in Milwaukee, and the NCAA Final Four will be in San Antonio. 

Louisville played in the event in 2024, and they will return in this season's iteration. This will be their first time playing in the 8-team version of the event. They'll be among five schools making their second appearance in an AVCA showcase, with Nebraska, the only team who could have made all three, being left out of the lineup. The Cards will also be one of the four teams tabbed to play two matches. 

2024 Cards after their AVCA FSSC win

Louisville is joined by the lineup of the 2025 Final Four (Texas A&M, UK, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin) and Arizona State, SMU, and Texas. All four teams that come from last year's final four are making their second AVCA First Serve Showcase appearance. The event will feature two matches on each day from Friday, August 21st to Sunday, August 23rd. Louisville will play on Friday and Saturday. 

The Cards will get a rematch against the defending national champion Aggies on Friday, following a match between Wisconsin and Kentucky. On Saturday, Louisville will get Wisconsin with both teams on short rest, and Texas and Arizona State will close out the evening. UK and TAMU draw the short straw in the event, as they'll each play fresh opponents on Sunday. UK and Pitt will play the afternoon match with TAMU facing SMU afterwards. 

Louisville will be looking to take down the team that knocked them out of the 2025 tournament in five sets when they face A&M. They can't be too mad, though, as the Aggies knocked everyone they faced out of the tournament on their way to a title. Louisville's last match against Wisconsin also came in the AVCA First Serve Showcase in 2024. The Cards upset Wisconsin 3-1 in a battle between teams then ranked sixth and third. 

We're still seven months (and an entire spring sports season) away from this event, but it will be here before we know it. If you're looking to make a trip to Wisconsin in late summer, you can look to snag tickets for the event on Ticketmaster starting at 10am central (11 eastern) on Friday, January 30th. We'll all be excited to root on the Cards whether in person or on the screen. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

UofL cancels classes Monday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

The snowstorm that forced the Cards to alter the basketball schedules this weekend has now forced UofL to cancel classes for the next couple days.    UofL women's athletics are on a break anyways as they head out west for a couple matches with the California schools.   

Try and find some peace these next few days, Cards fans.   Its a cold world out there.    

Photos from UofL official flickr 

As Always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl