CARDS down CATS 78-52

LADY CARDS "flawless" in win over Cats.

With a capacity crowd of 22,152 on hand, the University of Louisville women's
basketball team jumped out to an early 17-4 lead in the first eight minutes of
the Sunday afternoon contest in the KFC YUM Center and never looked back in the 26 point win over Kentucky.

Shoni Schimmel and Becky Burke drained six three pointers each in the beating of the Wildcats and Sherrone Vails narrowly missed a double/double with 10 points and nine boards in the win. Louisville held UK to 28.2% shooting while shooting 49.1% against the Cats and took UK's heralded three point shooters to a combined 3-18 from trifecta land and the Cards led at the half 43-24. (Photo by UofL Card Game's Charlie Springer, and a beaut at that!)

Quite a bit to like in the taming of the Cats this afternoon:

-Schimmel finished with a game high 26 points on 9-16 shooting and was 6-9 from three point range. She also led the Cards with 6 assists in 35 minutes of playing time. Forget the eight turnovers (part of Louisville's 21)...Schimmel schooled the Wildcats back court and her three straight three pointers that boosted the Louisville lead from 5-4 to 14-4 in the span of one minute early in the first half had Cardinal fans in a frenzy.

-Becky Burke definitely likes the sight lines in the KFC YUM. All 12 of Burke's shots this afternoon were from beyond the arc and she also went 3-4 from the free throw line for 21 points. Burke's second consecutive three with 6:07 remaining in the game put the Cards up 68-48 and got Louisville fans roaring from the rafters.

-Credit again to Shelby Harper for an off the bench first half spark. Harper is adept at getting the Cards into the breakneck, fast paced transition game and this afternoon she skimmed over the hardwood creating and driving. A couple of bone shattering collisions with UK's Victoria Dunlap and designated UK thug Brittany Henderson failed to deter the blonde Harper's resolve and she bested UK A'dia Mathies off the dribble when she was on the court.

-Sheronne Vails and Keisha Hines took the fight to UK's Victoria Dunlap as best as anyone can...and combined for 16 points and 17 rebounds. Dunlap was unworldly in defeat, though...with 17 points, 23 rebounds and 5 steals. If there is a better forward in the SEC, you'll have to prove it to me. Dunlap dominates, seems to be around every loose ball or missed shot and her strength and quickness is unmatched. A late injury had her leg wrapped in ice during the post game press conference and she's scheduled for an MRI Monday. We hope she's OK...she is an ultimate warrior and fierce competitor.

-No Asia Taylor this afternoon for the Cards. When asked about the sophomore's absence, Walz would not go into detail, just saying that she had some things to work out and he had told her that she wouldn't be needed for the Kentucky game. According to Cardinal Sports Reports' Howie Lindsey...Taylor watched the game from the stands, sitting near CSR's head honcho Jack Coffee.

-Monique Reid came off the bench, as Walz stated she would, and gave the Cards 10 points and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. Mo knocked out 6-8 free the free throw line and penetrated the paints against the Cats as well as any Cardinal all afternoon. Looks like the hustle level is there...Coach Walz.

-We'd be remiss if we didn't offer "Happy Birthday" wishes to Jeff Walz's wife Kim. We'll be polite and not mention her age. Nice birthday gift, Coach.

This was a win that Louisville earned with hustle, drive, determination and following the game plan. They felt that Dunlap would get her usual big performance...but by taking Mathies, Snowden and Conwright out of the picture...the Cards were able to win. The three combined for 10 for 34 shooting and just three hits from long range.

FROM THE POST GAME:

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UK's head coach Matthew Mitchell's opening remarks to the media:

"A disappointing day, obviously. Our style of play is based on hustle and tenacity and really working hard and we picked a bad day not to play hard defensively.... I just thought that UofL looked much more motivated than we did. We'll take responsibility for that and see what we can figure out. An absolutely terrible...tough day for us...and UofL had a lot to do with that. "

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On Victoria Dunlap's injury late in the game:

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"She's being checked out right now. She walked off under her own power...it could be a hyperextension. She said she didn't hear anything pop. Obviously it would be a terrible blow for us if she were lose anytime for us."

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On Shoni Schimmel's performance:

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"What a great day she had and she took advantage of when we made mistakes. Not just open threes...but some when we were trying to claw back and we had someone on her."

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On today's crowd.

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"I thought it was fantastic. What a great job people did turning out today. An exciting atmosphere for UofL...it wasn't that great for us.

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On it "just being another game for UK":

"No. I don't think so. This is a very important game to me. This is not a game we took lightly. The coaches put their heart and soul into the game. The players know. We have a lot of veteran players that performed well in the series last year, so we absolutely did not disrespect UofL.

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CARDINAL PLAYERS BECKY BURKE, SHONI SCHIMMEL, SHERRONE VAILS and SHELBY HARPER:

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Burke on how this feels compared to last year:

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"It feels really good to get a win against a quality team. A win against a top ten team is great and a win against a rival is really great, too. We don't talk about last year (laughter).

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Schimmel on her and Burke's three point success:

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"Before the game, we talked about having a shootout. We tied. She did shoot more than me, though. We both did well."

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Schimmel on her three early three pointers:

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"It felt great, just going out there and starting that way. It kinds got things rolling and everyone else got rolling."

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Harper on whether she thought she'd see as much playing time as she did today:

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"No. I didn't really expect it. I'm always ready, though, when he wants to put me in there. Just try to come in, bring the team some energy and getting up and down the floor and focused on what we need to do."

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Vails on her minutes tonight:

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"It was a physical game and I knew that my two post partners were in foul trouble so I just had to be tough for the team."

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JEFF WALZ:

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"To get 19 assists on 27 made baskets shows that you are really playing team basketball.'

(On being surprised on Schimmel's shot selection)

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"No, I recruited the kid. It's what she does. I mean..some of the behind the back stuff and that...she's learning when and where and how to do it but that's what her game is. That's the flair she brings to the game. I'd have a hard time believing that any first time fans that there were there today weren't impressed with her game. If they weren't impressed, they need to try bowling or something."