FIELD HOCKEY HIRES JUSTINE SOWRY

.

Pam Bustin leaves UofL for Duke, Cards hire UMass's Justine Sowry.

.

Preview of Lady Cards first opponent in the Duel in the Desert: Marist

.

WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE. TGIF!

.

Don't mind telling you that this one caught us a bit by surprise here at CARDINAL COUPLE. After thirteen years as the head coach of the UofL women's field hockey team, Pam Bustin has accepted the head coaching job at Duke University.

.

Bustin, pictured right, will be replaced by UMass's Justine Sowry, pictured left. Sowry was the head coach at UMass for four years and went 58-31 there. Her teams won three A-10 titles and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. She began her coaching career at the University of Louisville as Bustin's assistant from 1998-2002. The Australia native earned her bachelor's degree in Physical Education and mathematics from the University of South Australia in 1991.

.

Other coaching stops were as a USA High Performance Coach with the U.S. Field Hockey Association from 2003-2007. She also spent a year at Stanford (2003) as an assistant.

.

Sowry takes over a Cardinal team that went 13-7 in 2010 but failed to make the NCAA tournament. She brings in assistants Kelly Dostal and Abbey Heard for her staff...both are former USA Field Hockey National team members.

.

Bustin actually accepted the Duke job on December 7th. She commented in an official press release:

.

" I am thrilled to become a Duke Blue devil. I look forward to leading the field hockey team to many successful seasons and am honored to join the Duke University Athletic family."

.

She replaces Beth Bozman, who stepped down on November 12th., 2010 after Duke's 8-11, 0-5 season in 2010. The Blue Devils missed the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2010. Duke plays in the powerful ACC conference, where Maryland and Virginia are two of the best teams year after year in women's college field hockey.

.

Best of luck, Pam in Dookie-land. Thanks for the years. We'll never forget the gracious interviews and quotes you gladly provided CARDINAL COUPLE since our inception and updates on UofL Field Hockey.

.

Coach Sowry... Welcome to Louisville and here's hoping you'll keep up the fine tradition and success that UofL Field hockey achieved under Coach Bustin and create some great new successes here at the 'Ville!

.

**********************************************************************************************

.

The University of Louisville womens basketball team has arrived safely in Las Vegas. We saw Jeff Walz on Facebook yesterday marvelling about the free wi-fi on the team's flight to Sin City and let's hope he didn't lose too much coin in the airport one arm bandits...

.

The Cardinals will face Marist University on Saturday in their first of three games in Vegas. Here's a look on how their season has gone so far:

.

Marist is 6-2 on the season, with key wins over BIG EAST member Villanova 71-60 in Philly and have also knocked off former Louisville foes Vermont and Hartford this season. Other wins were over Grambling State, Dartmouth and Boston University. Their losses have come at the hands of St. John (64-50 in Manhattan, Kansas) and SBU 45-40 at home.

.

Marist averages 65.5 points per game, allowing their opponents 52.5 a contest. They are 55-166 this year from three point game (21.2 threes a game) for 33%. They have a balanced scoring attack, with four players averaging 8.9 points per game or better. Players to watch:

.

-Correlle Yarde. A 5'8" guard averaging 10.4 points per game. the junior is a starter and also an outside threat for her team.

.

-Brandy Gang. The 6'2" junior forward is another starter and puts in 9.8 points per contest. Gang is also one of the leading rebounders for Marist. Another to watch from beyond the arc.

.

-Kate Oliver. This 6'4" sophomore forward is the tallest of the Marist players and tallies 9.8 an outing in a starting role. An aggressive rebounder on both ends of the court.

.

-Erica Allenspach. 5'8" senior starting guard with 8.8 points per game for Marist. Another player that will make you pay from outside.

.

Leanne Ockender. The 5'10' freshman comes off the bench for the Red Foxes and this guard is one to watch if open beyond the arc, too.

.

Marist is coached by Brian Giorgis, who is in his 9th season at Marist. Going into the season, Giorgis had a record of 194-62 at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school. Giorgis got his 200th. career win at Marist against Boston Univeresity.

.

The Red Foxes teams have made five straight NCAA Tournament apperances and six in the last seven years. Marist has won seven straight MAAC regular season titles and six out of the last seven MAAC Tournaments. They went 15-3 in the 2009-10 season in the MAAC, two games in front of Iona.

.

SONJA SEES IT:

.

So, it looks like the Cards run into yet another team with height, good guard play and three point ability. Given the scoring average for Marist, it looks like they like to 'take the air out of the ball' a bit as well. The Louisville (8-3) strategy for this season has been to go out and play their game...going for the fast break, transition scenario created by tough defense and guard awareness. The Cards probably won't top 100 point for the third time in this one but expect Schimmel and Burke to have good games against the smallish Red Fox guards. Marist's height in the paint may be some cause for concern, Louisville still isn't rebounding well enough to suit Coach Walz. An increased defensive performance from freshman Sherrone Vails would be just what the doctor ordered on Saturday and if the Cards can utilize their multiple presses to perfection with Vails on the front of the 1-2-2, they could reach another 30 turnovers created in this one. Getting Asia Taylor back on the team will help Louisville's rebounding numbers eventually...but one wonders just how much court time she'll see intially after the three game suspension.

.

Can't help but chuckle when I type Red Fox in this report. I'm reminded of the late, great comedian Redd Foxx and role as Fred G. Sanford on the hit television show SANFORD AND SON. I think that Paul's truck is the original from the show...no Volvo for us like UofL CARD GAME observer's son Steve is rolling around in. Make sure and go over and vote for Steve for BIG EAST FAN OF THE YEAR at Charlie's site...www.uoflcardgame.com. You can vote once a day. Steve's in the lead in the contest so far and we're hoping he'll let us ride in the car if he wins.

.

"Throw me the ball, LaMont! Get open Aunt Esther...no, Grady...roll off the pick! The "G" stands for GOAL! I'm coming to see ya, Elizabeth. It's the big one..."

.

Good luck to the Cards Saturday and let's hope 'luck' is a lady dressed in Cardinal colors...

.