Cards WBB prepares for MTSU -- Softball splits with Oklahoma

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

IN GAME UPDATES - LIVE FROM

-Update 4:31 p.m. 74-49 FINAL Shoni with 20, Mo with 15.

-Update 4:24 pm. Shelby Harper in with 2:45 left. 70-47 Cards 

-Update 4:17 p.m. It's 66-44 with 4:17 left. Deines in.  The Blue Raider just got raided.

-Update 4:10 p.m. Cards now lead 58-44 Shoni with eight second-half points. 6:08 remains in the game

-Update 4:01 p.m. Cards take off on a exciting run. 49-40 with 9:05 left. Shoni and Mo with ten combined second half points.

-Update 3:53 p.m. Cards clinging to a 38-35 lead, Shoni with 11 points. Refs are making some very interesting calls...

-Update 3:44 p.m. It's now 34-33 UofL with 15:59 to go The "horse of a different color" is charging down the stretch at Churchill Yum!

-Update Half 34-27 Cards. Nervous time..

-Update 3:10 p.m. Louisville up 32-24. Elie has three threes for MTSU and Louisville shooting 45%. 2:03 left.

-Update 3:03 p.m.. Got a 24-13 Cardinal lead. Offense getting a bit stagnant. TV time out and Walz preaching.

-Update 2:54 p.m. It's 20-8 and Walz is about to have a stroke on the sidelines. Elie has two threes for MTSU, Shoni with five points for us and three others with four each. Jude, Mo and Walton have seen action off the bench so far.

-Update 2:47 p.m. Make that 18-3. Five different players have scored and Louisville on a 14-0 run. Blue section in 102-103 rather quiet.

-Update 2:44 p.m. Cards 9 - MTSU 3 16:55 left Vails has four !


-Update 2:28 p.m. 7:09 until tip. Cards still warming up. MTSU just came back out. They got a good crowd here, the Blue Raiders do. Overall, looks like we may have 8,000 in here. Gaps in the end zones. Upstairs curtained off. Play ball, already!

-Update #2. 65-32 Boilermakers putting out the Liberty Flames. Sonja getting drowsy, must be a blow-out. Coutrney Moses with 21 for PU. Quick, little guard. 

-Update from the YUM! Purdue 33 - Liberty 17 at the half. Looking like the Cards will have Boilermakers on Tuesday if this keeps up.-  

-Cards look to Middle Tennessee, Rowe

-Media Day at KFC YUM!

-Softball splits with #1 Oklahoma

-Pick 'Em Contest -- nobody's perfect


(Quentin Voigt has the preview of the Middle Tennessee Radiers in the Sunday Edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. It isn't too late...get your tickets today and get out there for the
2:40 p.m. tip --- or the noon tip for Liberty/Purdue!)

Congratulations to the Lady Cardinals on achieving a #5 seed in the 2013 NCAA Women's Tournament. They will take on the #12 seed Sun Belt Conference champs -- the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders at approximately 2:40 p.m. Sunday (or 30 minutes following the Liberty/Purdue game). By no means new to the NCAA Tournament, MTSU is making their 5th. consecutive appearance in the "Big Dance".

Coached by Rick Insell, MTSU comes to the tournament with an impressive 25-7 overall record and 17-3 Sun Belt Conference slate. They won the regular season and conference titles. Teams they have played include losses to Tennessee by seven -- in overtime -- and a 22 point defeat by the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington. Other losses include Iowa by six, South Dakota State by seven, FIU by seven, Troy by four and UARL by eight. In Coach Insell's words:

"Louisville is a good matchup for us - it's good for our fans. It'll be good for our team. It will help keep us in our routine for when we travel on the road and a three-hour drive isn't bad at all."

Let's hope our Lady Cards can do something to move Coach Insell out of his comfort zone when the game commences.

Leading rebounder (11 rpg) and point-maker for the Blue Radiers in Lexington, KY junior 6'1" Ebony Rowe. She's started every game for MTSU and has played an average of 39.2 minutes a contest. Next is 5'9" senior guard Kortni Jones with 16.4 ppg and a team high 4.5 assists per game. Icelyn Elie, a 6'1" senior, contributes 13.9 ppg and 7.3 rebounds. Jones and Elie are the three-point threats.

As a team, the Blue Raiders typically score 67.7 points a game, make 41.3% of their shots (30.3% from three range) 71.0% of their free throws, 15.9 turnovers a game and get 9.1 steals. They average 4213 fans a home contest. Coach Insell's success has probably been a result of the chip he seems to carry about recruiting:

"We are going after the best players in the state of Tennessee every year. If Tennessee or Vanderbilt is after them, then Middle Tennessee is going to be after them, too. We will recruit alongside of them. We are not going to be intimidated, nor will we back down because they are in the Southeastern Conference, We are Division I, they are Division I. We are going to use all of our contacts." 

10 of his 13 players this year are from Tennessee.

If the Lady Cards can defend the Lady from Lexington and force her into a sub-par performance while firing on all cylinders themselves then I think UofL will "survive and move on."


-Quentin Voigt


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I headed to the KFC YUM! Center after our Saturday Morning Confusion Radio show on Crescent Hill Radio to attend Media/Practice Day. Got there just in time to catch the press conference for Liberty University. Carey Green is a likable coach who builds his basketball philosophy around two things. Rebounding and Jesus Christ. The players know if they shout out things like "Block Out", "Rebound" or praise Jesus in the huddle or in practice, they are fulfilling the goals he has for the team. The Flames flew into Louisville and actually did a little sight-seeing --getting a tour of Churchill Downs before heading to the YUM! Center.

Let's hope they didn't run into Tommy Boy or Bread Boy out there. I doubt they placed any exactas or pick 4's either.

They're here to win and are not intimidated by the facility or Purdue. When I went out to the Denny Crum Court to watch them practice after the presser, I did catch several of them looking around at the interior of the KFC YUM! Center with open mouths and looks of wonderment, though.

Welcome to the big time, Flames. Good luck.

I had a little "down" time before the next presser and hit the media buffet. I heartily recommend the loaded potato soup and hope it makes a re-appearance today. It was also good to see Brad Knoop again, back in the YUM! as the moderator for the press conferences. Where you been, boy?  The likable and affable Knoop has always been a Paulie favorite. Other media were present...no major names...the usual Courier-Journal, AP and the always stand-offish, brown-nosing Jody Demling from Cardinal Authority. (If you read this, Jody...just kidding. WE steal some of our best material from your site.) Everyone was anxious for the Walz presser to begin, since a rather important event was taking place in Lexington in a few hours and most of these local guys were headed there.  

Coach Walz, Bria Smith, Shoni Schimmel and Sara Hammond took the podium at 2 p.m. The players answered questions, Walz threw in a few barbs and jokes and talked about the upcoming game. Five things from the presser I feel are print-worthy.

1) Walz says he has no idea who the other two teams are in town. He is solely focused on MTSU. I don't fully believe that...but I like the dedication and focus to the immediate task at hand. As he said, "We're all quite aware that it's one and done time."

2) Walz feels whoever scores the most points will win. He delivered that pearl of wisdom when I was asking Sara Hammond about negating the +4 margin MTSU has on opponents this season. It's refreshing to know that Coach still remembers the basics of the game. Most points...yeah, that's the ticket.

3) Walz isn't concerned about the pace or tempo of the contest. He'll be happy with "an ugly win" as compared to a "great loss". Yep, Jeff was on his "A" game yesterday.

4) Bria Smith says she can play any of the guard spots but feels she can best help the team at point. We're having a "good citizenship" trophy ordered for her. All three players are very team-focused and that's a good thing.

5) Strangest question I've heard at a presser lately. Whoever the lady was with the rapid-fire approach asks Walz a rambling question how who would win if the coaches had to go one-on-one against each other in the tournament. Walz used the opportunity to recall his own playing career at NKU. A career that spanned 2 1/2 seasons and featured absolutely no defense, except for hand-checking. His early retirement from the hardwood was a sad day for all fans who love the "get me the ball, I'll shoot it and defense, no way..." type of ballplayer. Walz, Iverson, Maravich, Barry and Angel. All legends.

After that, it was time to go. Important stuff coming up in Lexington, you know...

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Louisville Softball split with the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners yesterday in softball. It is the first time the Softball Cards have ever defeated a #1 ranked team.

Caralisa Connell tossed a four-hitter (Good Carl!) in the opener and Taner Fowler had two RBI's in the 5-1 win. TF's double in the top of the fourth made it 4-0 and she later scored on a Katie "Killer" Keller single.

The second game was a 9-1, five inning affair. The Sooners rocked Rachel LeCoq for seven hits and produced six runs in the fifth inning to blow the doors off the Cardinal bus.

Taner Fowler drilled a pitch over the left field fence for Louisville's only score in the top of the fifth. Her second base-cleaner of the year.

They were to meet again today at 1 p.m.
It's been cancelled due to inclement weather in the midwest. (thanks to Jeff McAdams and asst. SID Lori Korte for the news.)
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Nobody got all sixteen games correct in the first day of the CARDINAL COUPLE WBB Tournament Pick 'Em...but Nell J. got awfully close with 15 out of 16 correct. She's followed by seven contestants that went 14 for 16 in their picks...including CARDINAL COUPLE staff columnist Jeff (Zach) McAdams. Jenny's in a group of six that finished 13-3.

As for Sonja, Paulie, Bill the Goat and David Watson...we'd rather not talk about it. Colorado's loss to Kansas and Syracuse's fold to Creighton seemed to be the games that tripped most of us up.

Good luck in Day 2! We'll be back later today with a game report on the hoops and COME TO THE YUM! for the games today!!!

COME TO THE YUM!

-Paulie

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