CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Lady Cards advance to Sweet Sixteen


Louisville advances to the Spokane Regional 3rd round action with a late, come from behind win over #2 seed Xavier Tuesday night at the Cintas Center. Shoni Schimmel throws in 33 points as the Cards go ballistic in the final 1:40 of the game, taking the lead on a Shoni Schimmel 3 and pulling away from the Musketeers.

Louisville used a 20-1 run in the last 5:16 of the contest....going from a 70-64 deficit into a 84-71 lead with 21 seconds. Louisville placed five players in double figures.
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Things weren't so easy for Louisville to start in this one. After taking an early 8-6 lead after a Schimmel three with 17:35 to go...the Cards found themselves in a battle with jumpers, the three point shooting and inside game of the Musketeers. The Cards managed to hold on to the lead until an Amber Harris tip in at 10:44 put Xavier up 24-23. The Musketeers would build that lead to six when Ta'Shia Phillips hit a layup to make it 32-26 with 7:00 left in the first half. Louisville trailed 39-32 with 2:58 remaining in the first half and went into the locker room down 40-37 after Tia Gibbs hit a jumper at the buzzer.
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Louisville went 15-28 in the first twenty minutes but could not stop a torrid Xavier 15-31 shooting effort. The teams combined for 12 first half threes.
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The second half saw Louisville draw within one or two several times early and finally caught the Musketeers at 56-56 on a Monique Reid layup with 12:09 left. Then, Xavier threw a big scare into the Cards with two straight threes and a 62-56 lead with 11:28 left. They would keep Louisville a bay with the efforts of Phillips and Harris and led 70-64 with 5:16 remaining.

That's when Schimmel and her teammates went to work. Schimmel's three with 5:00 left and a free throw at 3:07 cut the Musketeer lead to 70-68. Schimmel then tied it at 70 with a jumper and 2:22 left. A Schimmel three made it 73-70 at the 1:50 mark. Louisville would go on to score twelve of the final seventeen points of the game from there on out...all from the free throw stripe.
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Louisville gets Gonzaga next...in Spokane on Saturday, March 26th. The two have never met in women's college basketball.
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In the end, the poise and top notch marksmanship from the stripe spelled the difference for the Cards. Oh, and a talented freshman from Portland, OR. named Schimmel. Call her "Judge Schimmel"...because her court awareness is second to none. Judge Schimmel rules the court.
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9 comments:

  1. Do you know where to pick up any tournament gear? Only seen a bracket tshirt for the lady Cards.

    Thanks

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  2. Haven't seen any yet...but we imagine that the Cardinal Gift Shops on campus and places like J.D. Becker will be rolling it out beginning tomorrow.

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  3. Cardinal Couple: Any idea how to get tickets for the game on Saturday?

    But for the fact that Gonzaga is playing, the arena in Spokane would be a home game for Louisville, as Shoni would pack the house.

    The build-up for this game in the Pacific Northwest is going to have the intensity of the men's final four.

    -PDX Phil

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  4. BTW, I don't think that the nickname "The Judge" is going to catch on. Just because of the pronunciation of her name, Show-nee has had nicknames involving the words "Show" or "Showtime" for years.

    --PDX Phil

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  5. Oh, well.Just the thoughts of a fatigued but happy Paul mind. The "big guy" has been living on the road a lot lately. Showtime, Show, Judge. Whatever. Let's hope she just keeps answering.

    Tickets. A tough one. UofL will have a few available and watch Ticketmaster for when they go on sale. Other than that, it may be one of those deals where you "show" up in Spokane and try to hustle a few at a price. I'll keep ears and eyes open and post any info that UofL releases.

    -Sonja

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  6. Natives from all over the NorthWest will be there, ppl from Shoni's home Umatilla Reservation will be there to support Shoni, I will be there! I know family from the Yakama Rez, Colville Rez, Lapwai Rez will represent! Many Nations will be there! CAN'T WAIT!----Sincerely, Umatilla23 PS: Its ironic Ive used this handle since 1994

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  7. Hope that tickets can be found for all the Rez attendees. Shoni is very excited to be playing so close to home

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  8. Sonja/Paul...Alot of ppl from here will be there in Red. Awesome year for basketball for us Umatilla's, our rez High School Nixyaawii of 7 years existance won 1st State Championship,2 players are Shoni's AAU American Horse Teammates Makayla and Jessie, http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/03/21933/ And now Shoni and Cardz in Sweet 16! I'm pumped!

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  9. Thanks for all the comments and e-mails from Umatilla and so many other rez readers!

    We're glad that Shoni's friends, family and members of the tribes are headed to Spokane! And congratulations to the Golden Eagles! Paul's brother Jim teaches science on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, AZ. at Ganado High School. A lot of interest in Shoni and the Cards there also.

    Send the girls back to us with two wins so we can go watch them play in Indianapolis in the Final Four!

    -Sonja

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