Lady Cards romp IPFW 100-79

TUESDAY @ Cardinal Couple:

-LADY CARDS WITH 21 POINT ROAD WIN.

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-Hammond debuts tonight.

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-David Watson weighs in..

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Shoni Schimmel, pictured here with UofL women's basketball assistant S.I.D. Kinberli Pemberton, had three from the three point arc in the second half in the win.

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If we told you that Shoni Schimmel and Monique Reid combined for 2 points in the first half of action tonight, you'd probably think the Cards were in a dogfight or fouls were a deciding factor in the contest early on.

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Far from it.

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Louisville scored the first 16 points of the game and never looked back in the 21 point win tonight in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jeff Walz shuffled the starting lineup in the Monday night contest...starting Shoni Schimmel, Becky Burke, Tia Gibbs, Sherrone Vails and Keisha Hines. The results worked well early, IPFW missed nine of their first ten shots and Louisville got three Becky Burke first half three pointers to roll to a 42-25 halftime advantage. Burke led all scorers with 13 first half points and the Cards out rebounded IPFW 24-10 in the first half.

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Sherrone Vails responded with 10 first half points and seven Cardinals scored. Louisville had a 37-15 lead with 4:13 to go in the first half after two Burke free throws.

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The Cards broke out to a 9-2 run to begin the second half and led 51-27 before IPFW responded with a 9-0 run to cut the Cardinal margin to 51-36. The Mastadons would get no closer the rest of the way. Reid and Schimmel responded with 13 second half points each and Louisville led 72-47 after a Vails putback halfway through the final half.

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A bizarre incident with 1:30 to go resulted in the ejection of a IPFW pep band member when Asia Taylor was at the line shooting free throws. We received an unconfirmed report that questionable language was used by a member of the band...but could not confirm that. Maybe the referee doesn't like 'Louie, Louie.'

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Louiville shot 67.8% for the game and this is the first time that Louisville has scored 100+ points twice in one season. Six Cardinals reached double figures, led by Sherrone Vails 22 points. Schimmel finished with 15, Reid 13, Burke 13, Gibbs 12 and Hines 10. Twelve Cards played, 10 scored....Shelby Harper and Rachel Story failing to get on the board.

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Louisville scored 60 points in the paint and the Mastadons had no answer for Vails, Hines or Taylor underneath. Louisville sank seven threes in the contest.

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- LaToya Johnson did not make the trip to IPFW because of illness.

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-The highly heralded Louisville freshmen contributed 47 of the Cardinal points tonight.

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-Jim Kelch handled the radio call by himself tonight and did a good job keeping up with the action. I did switch over and listen to the IPFW radio broadcast for brief periods and was impressed with their play-by-play announcer Mike Maahs. He calls more of a play by play description of the action and doesn't dwell on game trends or observations. No offense to beloved Jim Kelch, but Maahs gives you a great idea of ball movement and guarding matchups during each possession.

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-The teams combined for 112 second half points, compared to just 67 in the first twenty minutes.

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-Louisville had 23 assists and only 15 turnovers Monday night...both areas Walz was complimentary of in post game comments.

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-Walz also commented on the lack of Reid playing time in the first half...mentioning that he was dissatisfied with her hustle and hinted that playing time in future games would depend on how hard she decides she wants to work when on the court. Reid played but two minutes in the first half and was pulled from the game when she "jogged" back down court after a play. Reid did receive a hard elbow to the jaw late in the contest from an IPFW player and was escorted to the locker room.

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Louisville (4-3) returns home to face Mississippi Valley State Thursday at 7 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center and Kentucky visits on Sunday.

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2011 Louisville women's basketball signee Sara Hammond plays the first game of her senior year at Rockcastle County Tuesday evening when her team travels to take on Wayne County.

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Hammond, considered to be one of the front runners for Kentucky Miss Basketball, leads a Rockcastle County team that has been picked to finish atop their district and region this year.

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Good luck, Sara! Score often, stay healthy and go to the boards....

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CARDINAL COUPLE special correspondent David Watson offers his two cents on last night's game:

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Listen to your coach. It may be the four most important words of advice that any athlete can follow. I listened to the UofL Women's basketball game Monday night on the radio and also to Coach Walz's post game comments. It seems there is a bit of miscommunication between Monique Reid and Walz. There shouldn't be.

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Listen to your coach. Coaches spend a lot of time trying to prepare a team to perform their best when game time rolls around. Jeff Walz wants his Lady Cards to hustle. It's good advice. According to Walz, Reid (who did not start) did not hustle sufficiently during her brief first half appearance in last night's game and found herself back on the bench after two brief minutes of action. She admitted her mistake to Walz at halftime, had no plausible reason for the lack of hustle but did perform better in the second half.

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I go back to a similar performance by me many years ago. My high school basketball team was involved in a blowout one night against a team that didn't have much talent. After scoring a basket, I "showboated" back down the court, let the guy I was defending sprint by me and he scored an uncontested layup. I was promptly pulled from the game. My coach glared at me, as I sat down, and told me that unless I gave it 100% when I was on the court, I would not see the court. I learned from the episode.

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Listen to your coach, Monique. You are fortunate enough to be a scholarship player for a team that plays in the best conference in women's basketball, draws great crowds to each home game and realize this:

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Thousands of girls would give anything to be in your place.

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You are an excellent basketball player. Just think how much better you would be if you gave 100% all the time. It doesn't matter if you are up by 20 or down by 30, give it your all. If your coach wants you to hustle, listen to your coach. Hustle.

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I still think back to that wintry night when I goofed off and got sat down. It never happened again. I had nowhere near the popularity, fan admiration or skills that you have. I did learn from my error in ways and you can, too. The glory days soon fade and you'll be like me someday. You'll recall those fortunate times with a bit of whimsy and longing.

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Listen to your coach. Be a leader by example.

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(Well stated, David. WE will offer an observation here that Cardinal fans will see a hustling Monique Reid Thursday night against Mississippi Valley State...or not see much of her at all. WE hope for observation #1 to come to fruition)