The regular season tips off!

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards WBB starts regular season vs Texas A&M

(Staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan previews the Louisville vs. Texas A&M game on Friday)

Basketball tips off the regular season on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at The KFC YUM Center against #12 ranked Texas A&M.   This opening night match is a strong matchup on opening night, is a Red Out, and is  hopefully a sold out affair!

Two years ago Texas A&M won the National Championship for the first time.  Nearly one year ago Louisville travelled to College Station, Texas and took a hard loss 76-58. 

A lot has happened in two years.  A&M has only 5 players on the roster from their championship team.  They also lost 5 seniors last year to graduation and return only two starters from the team that beat Louisville last season. 

Louisville limped in to College Station last year with a severe loss of personnel.  Tia Gibbs had already been injured, Mo Reid was sidelined with back and foot injuries and Shoni Schimmel was serving a suspension.  Instead of heading in to this game with an experienced team, three then freshman (B. Smith, S. Hammond and J. Schimmel) played 34, 14 and 31 minutes (respectively). 

Kelsey Bone (6-4 Center) led A&M with 9 boards and 15 points in last year's match up.  For Louisville, freshman Bria Smith led Louisville in points scored with 20 and tied Cierra Warren for the lead in rebounds with 7. 

I expect a wildly different affair this go round.  While Louisville is still plagued with some nagging injuries (Gibbs, A. Taylor) and not-at-full-speed Reid and Walton, Louisville returns some very seasoned players (Reid, S. Schimmel, Vails, Slaughter and Harper), sophomores who got a wealth of experience during last year (Dyer, Hammond, Smith and J. Schimmel) and what looks to be 2 great freshman in Deines and Walton.   On paper I give Louisville the nod with experience and strength players. 

Louisville will need to find a way to contain Kelsey Bone while finding a way to score around her in the paint.  This will be Louisville’s biggest challenge, I believe. 

Texas A&M has a very strong freshman class, their highest ranked class ever, at #2.  There are 6 freshmen that signed in this class and 4 of the 6 are top 25 kids.  Courtney Williams, a forward/guard leads this class as the # 9 ranked player in the country.   I expect these kids will be making a big impact for this team. Will it show up in their first game? I do not know.  But look for these kids, with some experience under their belt, to offer a big impact for this team later in the season...if not before. 

What do we need to see from our team?  Shoni at the point is a huge advantage for us.  She needs to have a strong showing in leading this team and minimizing turnovers.  Look for some snazzy no-look passes and a hopefully good night of shooting.  The combination of Shoni, Smith, J. Schimmel, Harper and Deines gives us a strong presence on the perimeter. While Reid’s time in the game will be limited, due to continued swelling in her knee, she will need to be efficient in her scoring and her athleticism inside with rebounding is a must.  Combine that with a strong showing from Dyer, Hammond and Vails and Louisville wins the battle inside.

It will be a battle, though.

Louisville's  'bigs' are going to need to rebound and defend against Bone.  This is no small task.  With the wealth of experience Dyer and Hammond gained last year in Reid’s absence -- I think we have an edge in this category.   Hammond will need to stay out of early foul trouble (hopefully summer workouts on footwork will minimize this) and Vails needs to have a big game defensively.   I am a little concerned about rebounding, as Taylor seemed to carry the load last season when Reid was out, but, she is sidelined still for a bit.  Reid can impact this stat while she plays, but the others will need to step up in a big way in this area. 

Another area that doomed Louisville in last years match-up was turnovers.  Louisville had 27 turnovers to A&M’s 15.   With Shoni and Gibbs not in this game last year, one could have predicted turnovers from the young guards.  Combine the Cardinals primary guards being out and the very strong guard play of Sydney Carter and Tyra White (both having since graduated) and the full court press was very difficult for Louisville to handle.  This looks to be, and needs to be, a very different stat this year. 

In my humble opinion Louisville can, should, and will win this game.   I do not expect it to be an easy win, but a win none-the-less. 

As a fan base, we can impact this game with our attendance.  This is a great opportunity to showcase our growing fandom.  Coach Walz has thrown down the gauntlet and has asked for a sell out for the opening game.   I’ll be there, will you?

( As Jenny mentioned, it is a Red Out game, so get there and cheer on the Cards!)  

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( Editor's link. Watch this girl absolutely tear up the competition in youth football! LINK BELOW:


Sam Gordon blows by the boys....

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