Lady Cards travel to Xavier to face #5 Muskies

TUESDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards meet the monster Muskies

-Youman picks up another award

-Men's basketball romps Chattanooga

Asia Taylor, pictured right, and her front line teammates for the

University of Louisville women's basketball team will have their work

cut out for them tonight in the Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH. when

they face the #5 Xavier Musketeers at 7 p.m.

XAVIER (2-0) features the all-world front line duo of 6'6" bangers Ta'Shia Phillips and Amber Harris. The pair are averaging 18.5 ppg. each this season and part of four Muskies in double figures. Guard Speical Jennings also returns from the 2008-09 team that lost to Louisville 66-55 in the last meeting...a game where Candyce Bingham went off for 23 points and 10 boards in the road win for Louisville. Angel McCoughtry added 16 points and 11 boards.

The Cards are 6-2 lifetime against Xavier. In the 2008 meeting, head coach Jeff Walz told the team that someone else besides Atlantic 10 Conference 1st teamer Phillips would have to beat Louisville, if the Cards were going to lose. Louisville did an effective job with employing a double team on Phillips...holding her to five points in the Xavier loss.

For Louisville (3-1) to pull the upset this year in the Queen City, the Cards will have to do an effective job on Phillips again this year and also deal with Harris in the paint. Between Keisha Hines, Asia Taylor, Antonita Slaughter and Sherrone Vails...the Cards have shown improved ability to go to the boards but they will need their finest effort of the season to combat the towers that Xavier has at the ready.

The Cards have been effective in the fast break, transition game and if they can get this aspect of their offense in gear tonight, it will benefit greatly if Louisville is to win. If Xavier packs back in a zone, outside shooting specialists Becky Burke, Tia Gibbs, Antonita Slaughter, Shoni Schimmel and LaToya Johnson will need to be on the mark.

This is the first of three road games for Louisville and not too bad a trip for the zealous Cardinal fan. Cintas Center is a little over two hours from Louisville and the Muskie fans are pretty enthusiastic about their team, so any "Red" in the seats would be a boost to Walz's crew.

No TV for this one, but the broadcast can be heard on WKRD 790 AM/101.7 FM and at http://www.uoflsports.com/ . Jim Kelch and Paul Sanderford handle the call.

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Field Hockey's Nicole Youman has added another honor to her career here at UofL by being named to the NFHCA All-American second team. Youman was the 2010 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. The Black Mountain, Australia native was a four year All-BIG EAST selection during her playing days for Pam Bustin and shares the school record for most goals in a game with five against Central Michigan.

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Nice performance last night by Pitino's Cards in the 106-65 romp over Chattanooga. The more WE see sophomore Steven Van Treese play...the more we are impressed about how much better he has gotten this season. Louisville has demonstrated a powerful and deep front line this year with VanTreese, Rakeem Buckles, Terrence Jennings, George Goode and Gorgui Dieng. Depth during the brutal BIG EAST schedule that awaits the Cards is essential and it looks like the Cards have five guys who are pretty much interchangeable and still effective.