Lady Cards Basketbrawl

(Sometimes, you just feel like screaming)


The title above isn't a typo. In case you haven't heard, the Lady Cards were involved in an old fashioned, punch throwing out of control melee about an hour before the game Saturday with the Georgetown Hoyas. Below is an account of what happened as seen by one of the Cardinal people at the game We're keeping the identity anoynomous because of fears of what might happen to after the coach imposed a "gag rule" on the subject. I will protect this person's identity and confidences.

"The team just (runnin) a lap around the court like (alway) do when come out to warm up. One of them [Georgetown players]sticks out a foot and trips someone behind me. I heard (som) shouting and stuff and then over in the corner of the arena Keisha is (gettin) busy with one of them. Then. like everybody is over there and people is (steppin) in and I was there if I was needed to throw a few but it was over pretty fast. Then Coach and her (Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy) talked for a long time and we were back in the locker room and Coach he had some stuff to say about it all. Stuff I won't repeat cause it was just for us to hear and think about. It was definite crazy time (tho). They should be glad Tise didnt get ahold of (sumbody). LOL"

Mayhem before athletic events. Something you might expect out of rowdy, rival soccer teams and fans or two bitter college football rivals, but...for God's sakes, not in women's basketball. The ridiculous has met the sublime.

Doesn't matter who started it. Doesn't matter why it happened. It shouldn't have. The coaches will review the tape of it. A ESPN film crew caught the incident. They were showing nano clips of it on SportsCenter and highlight blubs during the UConn v. Notre Dame game. It did not look pretty. Suspensions might and should come from the member institutions and then passed on to the NCAA to see if they agree with them.

There's no crying in baseball, there's no need for fighting in women's basketball. Hockey, yes..it's expected, the fans love it and the players practice it. But, it is ridiculous in a game where positioning and point guards are the expected norm, not punches and pushing.

Oh, the game...

The Cards lost 60-56 in a pretty ugly exhibition of college basketball. 30 turnovers for UofL. The referees with whistles working in hyperdrive...three Cardinal's fouling out. Louisville starting the game like a parody of some of the mid majors they beat up on earlier this year. Shades of UT and UK all over again. Down by twelve with 10:00 to go and then finding some heart and drive and cutting the lead back to 5. Going in with a chance at halftime. Then coming out in the second half and doing the same old weary blunders. Louisville down by sixteen in the second half with 13:24 to go and rumbling, stumbling back to take a 1 point lead on a Keisha Hines layup with less than 3 minutes to go. 53-52 Cards. Then producing a series of self imposed miscues, turnovers and missed shots to allow Georgetown to go on a game ending 8-3 run to clinch the win.

You want statistics? Look them up on line or in the paper. I refuse to print anymore of them here because they're pretty ugly.

This Cardinal team will be a trial by fire bunch the rest of the year. The losses at point guard are on the checklist of every Big East opponent the Lady Cards will face the rest of the year. A very upset and angry Notre Dame team will prowl into Freedom Hall Tuesday night still steamed about their thumping by the UConn Huskies and they'll be looking for some Mel Gibson type payback. A brawling, surly Syrucuse will do the same Saturday...having just lost to former Big East doormat South Florida. The Syracuse crew has some priors with the Cards. Quentin Hillsman, the Orange head coach, created his own theatrics in Freedom Hall two years ago and the two teams aren't exactly going to have a sleepover with cookies and punch after the game.

Maybe some of the Cardinal game promotions should be things like Triage Night. Bring a Band-Aid for a Friend. Knock the Lights out Night. Bash a Buddy and Punch a Pal promotions. How did it all get so out of control?

One thing is for certain. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz will need to get this under control. I have no doubts that he will, if he hasn't already as I write this morning. From the brief snippets I saw, looks like three Lady Cards could be subject to sanctions. Since it was more than 15 minutes before game time, the referees had no official authority, no control or designed ability to stop the madness. Like it would have mattered. They would have just blown their whistles and pointed at people. Maybe huddled at half court and asked each other if anyone actually saw what happened. They let them play in the nationally televised UConn vs, Notre Dame game last night. That tape should be shown to every official scheduled to do a Big East game the remainder of the year as an example of the right way to call a college basketball game. I understand that the crew in D.C. yesterday had to be worried that the pre-game activities might spill over into the actual game, so they called it tight. But, that was way too tight. Uncomfortable, spandex cutting off circulation tight.

Great. Three possible suspensions or sanctions on a 10 player roster. Might be time for Sonja to get out the old Reeboks and elbow pads. I had a passable inside game when I played high school hoops and my field hocker career taught me a thing or two about positioning, fighting and high sticking. I'm thinking I might have a sememster of elgibility left. Of course, I jest here. I probably wouldn't last thru 10 minutes of the Jeff Walz practices I've seen, much less a game.

The rest of the season should prove to be very interesting for these basketball Cards. Put on the head gear and let's get ready to rumble!

Written by Sonja 1/17/10