WEDNESDAY Edition CARDINAL COUPLE:
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HUSTLING HOYAS HAMMER HAPLESS CARDS IN SECOND HALF.
.-Georgetown breaks UofL 10 game home win streak (easily).
(Photo by Charlie Springer, UofL Card Game)
It was the tale of two halves Tuesday night in the KFC YUM Center...Louisville doing all the right things and holding Georgetown to 23.3% shooting in building a 30-19 halftime lead. Then, the wheels fell off the bus for the Lady Cards...watching Georgetown outscore them 57-22 in the final twenty minutes en route to a 24 point drubbing of the Cards in front of 10011 fans.
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To say Louisville played badly in the second stanza would be a vast understatement. Yet, they had a 35-21 lead 30 seconds into the final half after a Becky Burke 3 ball before things went south. Georgetown erupted on a 24-2 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes...seventeen of those from standout Hoya guard Sugar Rodgers and led 45-37 before Monique Reid managed a basket and free throw to cut the Hoya lead to five. Louisville would manage to close within five points a couple of minutes later after a Shoni Schimmel three...but Georgetown went on a 26-7 run over the final nine minutes to seal the deal against Jeff Walz's players..
What caused the collapse? Give the Hoyas credit for a suffocating press after made baskets that forced the Cards into 17 second half turnovers and frequent hurried and off balanced shots. This may be the most talented trio of guards the Cards will face all season and after a poor first half of shooting...the Hoyas came out and torched the nets for 67.7% in the second half. They also went 8-13 from trifecta land in the final twenty...Rodgers and Monica McNutt drilling four each. Louisville seemed bewildered and confused against the Hoyas full court pressure and could not get into any sort of rhythm or offensive fluidity in the second stanza...going 7-23 (30.4%) 
from the floor after a 12-23 (52.2%) first twenty minutes.
from the floor after a 12-23 (52.2%) first twenty minutes. The Cards did have three players reach double figures...Monique Reid finishing with 12, Schimmel adding 11 and Tia Gibbs scoring ten. The Cards bench came up short again, though Tuesday night...getting only two points each from Asia Taylor and Sherrone Vails. Rodgers and McNutt led the way for Georgetown...with 26 and 16 points respectively.
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The Hoyas could probably have played a groundhog (pictured right) off the bench and still won by at least a dozen....
Such a dramatic drop off in intensity and productivity from one half to another has to be a concern to Walz...as the team now faces a trip to Villanova on Sunday. The Cards (14-9, 5-4)haven't been exactly a powerhouse on the road this year and even though the Wildcats share the basement of the BIG EAST with Seton Hall...one has to hope Louisville isn't headed for a spin similar to last year....where the Cards dropped seven of their nine final regular season games.
The Cards will have a week between the the Villanova and West Virginia games and we remain hopeful that Walz will get things worked out and keep the Cards competitive the remainder of the year..
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A loss tonight that some expected could happen...Georgetown (18-5, 6-3) is playing outstanding basketball right now ...but the way the Cards lost was not expected or foreseeable. A 35 point turnaround in one half may just be the Lady Cards biggest folding act in school history.
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Another near incident in tonight's game...Tia Gibbs and Monica McNutt in each other's face after a McNutt steal from Gibbs halfway thru the second half...followed by a Reid foul on McNutt and a jersey grabbing by Gibbs. Fortunately, Louisville players pulled Gibbs away and nothing further developed. Good thing...the muscular Gibbs would have killed her. WE'RE beginning to believe these two teams aren't too fond of each other....
The Cards were outrebounded 36-26 by the Hoyas and Georgetown scored 34 points off turnovers...compared to Louisville's 16. Points in the paints went Georgetown's way 30-22. Georgetown went 11-13 from the charity stripe and Louisville finished 7-10. No one fouled out of the game...Asia Taylor collected four in 14 minutes of action. Schimmel's 10 turnovers led both teams and Georgetown had 16 steals...compared to Louisville's eight.
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Sometimes, you just throw in a clunker. Maybe that's the best way to describe the effort Tuesday night...HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY, readers...let's hope the furry critter doesn't see his shadow today.
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(Additional notes)
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-Shelby Harper did not partrcipate because of a sprained ankle. Louisville could field a pretty decent team with the girls not playing last night...Harper, Burton and Johnson at guards...Dyer and Robertson-Warren in the paint. Polly Harrington did not make the floor either...coaches decision.
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-Jeff Walz did not appear at the post game press conference, sending assistant coach Michelle Clark-Heard instead. No players appeared either. Coach Clark-Heard informed the media that Walz was still meeting with the players in the locker room.
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-Clark-Heard commented that Louisville may have been caught off guard by Georgetown's athleticism...especially in the second half. Even with a 11 point halftime lead, Louisville's coaches stressed to the players that the Hoyas weren't going to concede the contest. Man...they sure didn't, either.
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-Georgetown's 57 second half points were most scored against the Cards in a half since DePaul put up 63 against the Cards back in 2001.
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-Louisville's 30 turnovers were the highest amount for the Cards this season. Louisville had 33 turnovers against Georgetown last year.
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-Keisha Hines passed Jazz Covington on the career games played list last night. The senior has participated in 126 games...second all-time for Louisville. Angel McCoughtry played in 139 games for Louisville. The Cards would have to make it to the NCAA Championship Final game for Hines to catch McCoughtry.
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-Shoni Schimmel has made 65 of her 3-point attempts this season, putting her tied for seventh for the single season 3-point field goals made. Sara Nord holds the record...sinking 98 back in the 2003-04 season.
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-Jim Kelch and Paul Sanderford did the radio broadcast last night on WKRD CARDS RADIO...the first time the two have worked together since the Pittsburgh game on January 9th.
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-Schimmel had scored in double figures in 19 straight games this season.
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CARDINAL COUPLE'S Paul Sykes made his debut on Knight Rider Radio Network last night...spending the final fifteen minutes of the 7-10 p.m. broadcast recapping the game with host Shannon Ruffra. The internet station runs the sports show every Tuesday night. You can hear the broadcast from last night, taped in it's entirety over at http://www.cardinaldominance.net/
Look out, Bob Costas...
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That was rough to sit thru tonight. Looked like the girls gave up. Let's hope for better Sunday.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who didn't see the game, I appreciate the "calling it like is" analysis. I know this is a site for Cards fans, and that's great, but keeping it real is what makes the serious articles worth reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks, PDX Phil
Thanks, Phil. We try to see the game 'through the fan's eyes' and sometimes fans get a little disillusioned and perplexed by their team's play. That was the case Tuesday night. We watched in disbelief and frustration as the Hoyas made play after play against a Louisville team that appeared to have thrown in the towel and given up for most of the second half.
ReplyDeletePaul and Sonja,
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to do an article on the embarrasment last because, first of all, I wasn't at the game and second of all, I'm still in shock.
What did Louisville do...magically transport back into last season? Check that. A Cardinal squad with way less talent, numbers and on the road last year played about the same Georgetown games closer. A lot closer.
If I was Walz, I'd lock the team locker room up, make the team dress in the hallway for practices, games and run them until someone quit.
Totally and completely embarrasing. And Rutgers beat Georgetown? In the words of Desi Arnez:
"You got some explaining to do...Hefe!"
-David Watson