Cards put seven in double figures in win over Lafayette -- Saturday Cardinal Couple

CARDS ROLL TO 102-61 WIN OVER LAFAYETTE

Parity was the name of the game in the KFC YUM! Center Friday night as seven Cardinals reached double figures in the 41 point win over Patriot League member Lafayette.

Parity was also the mode in playing time...no Card seeing over 28 minutes or less than 11...as Louisville goes 6-0 on the season. 

As we've grown used to this year, the Cards took awhile to get started...trailing 20-18 after Lafayette guard Jamie O'Hare hit her third three of the game with 13:27 left in the first half. Louisville responded with a 14-0 run over the next five minutes...six different Cardinals scoring in the stretch that saw Lafayette commit five turnovers and miss five shots. 

The Leopards finally got a Emily Homan layup to make it 32-22 Louisville...but the Cards took off on a 23-3 run in the next six minutes to lead 55-25 after Jude Schimmel connected on a layup off a Mariya Moore assist. 

56-28 at halftime...Louisville hitting 61% from the floor and outscoring Lafayette 36-6 in the paint. 

Mayor for Life Jerry Abramson makes his first visit of the season

UofL steadily increased the lead as the second half wore on...Walz having all five starters on the bench seven minutes into the half and leading 77-42. It became a succession of Louisville grabbing rebounds and coming down the court in transition to hit close in shots and layups. 


At the "under 8" media timeout Louisville enjoyed a 87-48 lead and the only question remained was at what point would Louisville reach the 100-point mark and who would put them over? My guess was Megan Deines...and she had the chance with a minute remaining and the Cards ahead 99-61...but her three missed badly and Louisville reached the century mark with 38 seconds remaining on a Emmonnie Henderson free throw.


Seven players with 10 or more...led by Myisha Hines-Allen with 18. Jude Schimmel followed with 15, including 4 threes. Henderson added 13 (in fourteen minutes) Deines, Hammond and Moore chipped in 11 each and Smith finished with 10. If Sherrone Vails had been able to cash in on a couple of easy ones beneath the basket...she would have joined them...but the senior center finished with six points. Dyer was good for four, Ariana Freeman put in three and Arica Carter logged 19 minutes with no points. 

What we liked:

- Jude breaking the slump and going 4 for 5 from three point range. She attributed it to remaining confident in her shot and slightly changing her aim. It worked.

- 44-28 Cardinal advantage on the boards. Shawnta' Dyer with 10 of those in just 14 minutes.

- 33-2 edge in points off turnovers. Louisville forced 22 Leopard miscues and capitalized on 16 of them. 

What needs work:

- We'll bring it up again. Free throws.19-30 and 63% percent. They're sneaking up on the 70 percentile but Moore and Henderson were 10 for 16 combined. I asked Walz in the post-game presser if they emphasised them in practice. His deadpan reply was:

"No...they're over-rated."

I almost fell for the reply...based on what I saw tonight.

- 43% shooting in the second half. I know...this one is kinda nitpicking...but Lafayette had a higher second half percentage. 44%. 

The Cards put it all together tonight and won one for fun in front of 7923. Mariya Moore with 10 assists and Louisville's sole double-double for the night. 62 points in the paint and 19 from the charity stripe. 37 bench points. The machine rolls on...next stop Valparaiso on Sunday at 2:30 on ESPN3.

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

With out of town commitments and the annual UofL v. UK football game today...Paulie and Worldwide Jeff won't be in the studio to do the weekly broadcast of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO on WCHQ 100.9 FM.

(We'll let you guess who is travelling and who is tailgating)

We'll return next week with our hour-long dissertation of UofL women's sports...GO CARDS TODAY versus UK!!!

-paulie-